Aggression and allergic disorder in depressives.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Immunology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Depression is associated with various comorbidities.
• Aggression is a complex behavior observed in depressive disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between aggression and allergic disorders in depression.
• To compare aggression levels in allergic versus non-allergic depressive patients.
• To use infectious diseases as a control factor for allergic disorders.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the FAF (Fragebogen zur Erfassung von Aggressivitätsfaktoren--the Questionnaire for Measuring Factors of Aggression) to measure aggression.
• Sample included 115 depressive patients.
• Categorized patients based on allergic disorders and history of infectious diseases.

Main Results:

• Significantly higher aggression scores were observed in subjects with allergic disorders compared to non-allergic subjects (p < 0.05).
• A similar, though less pronounced, tendency for higher aggression was found in subjects with a history of infectious diseases.
• Aggression scores were not exclusive to depressive patients with allergic disorders.

Conclusions:

• Allergic disorders are significantly correlated with higher aggression in depressive patients.
• Infectious diseases also show a correlation with increased aggression, though less marked than allergic disorders.
• Factors such as sex, psychiatric diagnosis, and the specific form of aggression influence its degree.