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Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
Published in: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 1/2012

01-01-2012 | Regular Article

The association between idiopathic environmental intolerance and psychological distress, and the influence of social support and recent major life events

Authors: Sine Skovbjerg, Alice Rasmussen, Robert Zachariae, Lone Schmidt, Rikke Lund, Jesper Elberling

Published in: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine | Issue 1/2012

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Abstract

Objectives

Idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI) is a disorder characterized by non-specific symptoms attributed to common airborne chemicals. Increasing evidence points to an association between IEI and symptoms of psychological distress. However, whether other risk factors influence this association has not been clarified. The objective of this study was to examine the association between psychological distress and IEI and to determine whether the association is confounded by social support and major life events.

Methods

Data were collected by postal questionnaires; other results from the study have been published previously in this journal. The study included participants from a general population-based study who had reported symptoms of chemical sensitivities (n = 787) and two patient groups. The first patient group (n = 101) included individuals who had contacted the Danish Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities, and the second included individuals who had been diagnosed with environmental intolerance (n = 136). Multiple, hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted with four IEI-related domains, i.e., mucosal and CNS symptoms, chemical intolerances and social consequences, as the dependent variables, and psychological distress, social support and major life events as the independent variables.

Results

Our study confirmed positive and statistically significant associations between psychological distress and IEI. The associations remained statistically significant after adjusting for major life events and social support.

Conclusions

The results suggest that the association between IEI and psychological distress cannot be explained by known risk factors. More studies, including longitudinal studies, are needed to determine the role of psychological distress in the development and course of IEI.
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Metadata
Title
The association between idiopathic environmental intolerance and psychological distress, and the influence of social support and recent major life events
Authors
Sine Skovbjerg
Alice Rasmussen
Robert Zachariae
Lone Schmidt
Rikke Lund
Jesper Elberling
Publication date
01-01-2012
Publisher
Springer Japan
Published in
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine / Issue 1/2012
Print ISSN: 1342-078X
Electronic ISSN: 1347-4715
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-011-0210-5

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