Self-reported sensitivity to chemical exposures in five clinical populations and healthy controls

Two hundred and twenty-five subjects, including normal volunteers and patients with previously documented seasonal affective disorder (SAD), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Cushing's syndrome, Addison's disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), completed a self-rated inventory of reported sensitivity to various chemical exposures. Patients with CFS, Addison's disease and SAD self-reported more sensitivity to chemical exposures than normal controls. In addition, women reported more sensitivity than men. This report suggests that chemical sensitivity may be a relevant area to explore in certain medical and psychiatric populations. A possible relationship between reported chemical sensitivity and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis functioning is discussed.