Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026
08:47
Symptom Assessment of Patients with Allergic Rhinitis Using an Allergen Exposure Chamber
Published on: March 3, 2023
The environmental hypersensitivity symptom inventory: metric properties and normative data from a population-based
Steven Nordin1, Eva Palmquist1, Anna-Sara Claeson1
1Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå SE-90187, Sweden.
Summary
The Environmental Hypersensitivity Symptom Inventory (EHSI) effectively assesses symptoms across various environmental intolerances. This validated tool provides normative data for comparing symptom prevalence in diverse populations.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health
- Psychometrics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Growing concern over environmental intolerances to chemicals, EMF, and noise necessitates a reliable assessment tool.
- The Environmental Hypersensitivity Symptom Inventory (EHSI) was developed to address this need.
- The EHSI is a 34-item questionnaire designed for efficient and comprehensive symptom evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate the Environmental Hypersensitivity Symptom Inventory (EHSI).
- To establish normative data for symptom prevalence in environmental hypersensitivity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 3406 participants in the Västerbotten Environmental Health Study (Sweden).
- Sample stratified for age and gender, aged 18-79 years.
- Employed exploratory factor analysis to identify symptom clusters.
Main Results:
- Identified five key symptom factors: airway, skin/eye, cardiac/dizziness/nausea, head/gastrointestinal, and cognitive/affective.
- Internal consistency (KR-20) ranged from 0.55 to 0.80 for factors, and 0.85 for the total EHSI.
- Established normative data based on weekly symptom prevalence over three months.
Conclusions:
- The EHSI is a recommended instrument for assessing symptom prevalence in environmental hypersensitivity.
- The inventory allows for comparison of individual symptom rates against established normative data.
- The EHSI provides a detailed and broad description of symptomology for various environmental intolerances.
