title: Self-reported sensitivity to chemical exposures in five clinical populations and healthy controls.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Section on Biological Rhythms, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1390, USA. ssnawab@hotmail.com
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Nawab
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Dale
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Chrousos
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Straus
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
mesh_terms: D000224:Addison Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D003480:Cushing Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018777:Multiple Chemical Sensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D016574:Seasonal Affective Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology