Asthma, Hay Fever Up Risk of Psychiatric Disorders

People with common allergic diseases have a 1.66-fold increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder, according to a study published online in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Study lead author Nian-Sheng Tzeng, MD, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taiwan, decided to investigate the matter after noticing something unexpected about patients with the 3 “A”s: asthma, allergic rhinitis (hay fever), and atopic dermatitis. 

“As a clinician, I observed that some patients with the 3 ‘A’s appeared to suffer emotionally,” said Dr. Tzeng. “Therefore, I wanted to clarify whether these allergic diseases are associated with psychiatric disorders.”

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For the study, Dr. Tzeng and colleagues tapped an extensive Taiwan database of health insurance claims and focused in on 46,647 patients of all ages with allergic disease and 139,941 patients without allergic disease.

Over a 15-year period, 10.8% of patients with an allergic disease developed a psychiatric disorder, according to the study, compared with 6.7% of people without an allergic disease who did. The data translated to a 1.66-fold heightened risk of developing a psychiatric disorder for people with an allergic disease.

When researchers looked at specific diagnoses, they found atopic dermatitis was associated with a lower risk of developing a psychiatric disorder. Asthma and allergic rhinitis, however, were associated with higher risks. In patients with asthma, using certain asthma medications was linked to a lower risk of psychiatric disorder.

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Although the study did not examine the cause of the association, researchers suspect inflammation—linked with both allergies and psychiatric disorders—may play a role. The increased psychologic stress of living with a psychiatric disorder may also contribute to physical symptoms, they noted. 

“We would like to let clinicians who care for patients with allergic diseases know that their risk for psychiatric diseases may be higher,” said Dr. Tzeng. “Assessing their emotional condition and monitoring their mental health could help to avoid later psychiatric problems.”

—Jolynn Tumolo

References

Tzeng N, Chang H, Chung C, et al. Increased risk of psychiatric disorders in allegic diseases: a nationwide, population-based, cohort study. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2018 April 24.

Asthma and hay fever linked to increased risk of psychiatric disorders [press release]. Lausanne, Switzerland: Frontiers; April 23, 2018.