Comorbidity patterns of self-reported chemical sensitivity, allergy, and other medical illnesses with anxiety and depression

Background. The relationship of anxiety and depression to chemical sensitivity is controversial. Objective. To assess relationships between self-reported chemical sensitivity, allergy, and medical illnesses to anxiety and depression. Design. A random dialing telephone survey was conducted. Subjects. A community sample in eastern North Carolina representing 1027 households (71% of those contacted) completed the survey. Results. Positive PRIME-MD screens for anxiety was significantly associated with increased risk of reporting chemical sensitivity (OR = 2.71). Positive screens for anxiety were similarly associated with allergy (OR = 2.08) and with mixed medical illnesses (OR = 1.95). Depression was comparable to anxiety in its associations with chemical sensitivity (OR = 2.35) and with allergy (OR = 2.09), while it was somewhat more related to other illnesses (OR = 2.58). Positive responses to the panic question were strongly and equally associated with chemical sensitivity (OR = 3.00), with allergy (OR = 2.66), and with medical illness (OR = 3.25). Logistic regression predicting positive screens for anxiety and for depression showed similar and independent relationships for chemical sensitivity, allergy, and medical illnesses. Conclusions. The relationship between anxiety and chemical sensitivity is not unique and does not support the contention that chemical sensitivity is somatized anxiety.