title: Anxiety and depression in patients with self-reported food hypersensitivity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Self-reported food hypersensitivity (SFH) is common. Psychological factors are assumed to be associated. We assessed anxiety and depression in SFH patients, using both questionnaires and interview.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive patients (n=130) and randomly selected healthy volunteers (n=75) completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-N) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Seventy-six of the patients were also interviewed by use of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and the Montgomery-Aasberg Depression Rating Scale. All patients underwent extensive allergological, gastroenterological and dietary examinations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to interviews, 57% of patients fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder. Anxiety disorders (34%) and depression (16%) predominated. According to questionnaires, patients scored significantly higher than controls on all psychometric scales except for depression (HADS). We also found an underreporting of depression in HADS compared with interviews (2.5% vs. 16%, P=.001). Food hypersensitivity was rarely confirmed by provocation tests (8%). Eighty-nine percent of the patients had irritable bowel syndrome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anxiety and depression are common in patients with IBS-like complaints self-attributed to food hypersensitivity. Anxiety disorders predominate. In this setting, depression may be underreported by HADS.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen, N-5021 Bergen, Norway. kristine.lillestol@med.uib.no
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lillestøl
authors.forename: Arnold
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berstad
authors.forename: Ragna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lind
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Florvaag
authors.forename: Gülen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arslan Lied
authors.forename: Tone
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tangen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult