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Psychological features of subjects with idiopathic environmental intolerance
N P Poonai1, M M Antony, K E Binkley
1Gage Occupational and Environmental Health Unit, University of Toronto, 223 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 1R4.
Objectives:
Idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI) is associated with unexplained symptoms attributed to non-noxious levels of environmental substances. Clinically, some of the symptoms of IEI overlap with those of panic disorder (PD). We have recently reported a link between IEI and panic responses to a single inhalation of 35% carbon dioxide (CO(2)), a reliable panic induction challenge. This study assessed depression, stress, anxiety, and agoraphobic symptoms among IEI subjects from our previous study versus healthy controls.
Methods:
Thirty-six IEI and 37 control subjects with no preexisting psychiatric history were compared on self-report psychological questionnaires.
Results:
IEI subjects scored significantly higher than controls on the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), and Mobility Inventory for Agoraphobia (MI) (Student's t, P<.05).
Conclusions:
IEI subjects represent a group with morbidity significantly higher than a control population but less than what would be expected for a clinical psychiatric population.
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