Psychological aspects of female patients with moderate-to-severe persistent allergic rhinitis.
BACKGROUND
Allergic rhinitis (AR) has been shown to impair social life and psychological functioning. The objective of our study was to explore the relationships between moderate-to-severe persistent AR and personality traits in non-psychiatric female outpatients.


METHODS
Female subjects were assigned to the allergic (n = 52, 24 singletons and 28 non-singletons) or non-allergic group (n = 28, 11 singletons and 17 non-singletons) on the basis of skin prick tests (SPT) and allergic symptoms. Individuals in this study were only allergic to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and/or D. farinae. The psychological aspects of the female subjects were assessed by using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).


RESULTS
The allergic group scored significantly higher than the non-allergic group on 6 clinical scales [hypochondriasis (Hs), depression (D), hysteria (Hy), psychasthenia (Pt), schizophrenia (Sc), social introversion (Si)] and 1 validity scale [infrequency (F)]. Analysis of female singleton outpatient MMPI profiles showed that allergic subjects scored significantly higher on D, Hy, masculinity/femininity (Mf), Pt, and F. In addition, the grade of skin index (resulting from an SPT) was positively correlated with T-scores on the Hs, Hy, Pt, and Sc scales.


CONCLUSIONS
Women with moderate-to-severe persistent AR, especially singleton patients, show poorer psychological functioning, indicating the close relationship between moderate-to-severe persistent AR and psychological functioning.
Lv
Xiaofei
X
Department of Otolaryngology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Han
Demin
D
Xi
Lin
L
Zhang
Luo
L
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D010551:Personality; D011788:Quality of Life; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult