Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2002 Jun;88(6):556-9.
doi: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)61885-6.

Self-reported hay fever and panic attacks in the community

Renee D Goodwin  1
Affiliations

Self-reported hay fever and panic attacks in the community

Renee D Goodwin. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2002 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between self-reported hay fever and common mental disorders among adults in the general population.

Methods: Data were drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States Survey, a representative household survey of the adult US population (25 to 74 years old; n = 3,032). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between self-reported hay fever and current major depression, panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, and alcohol/substance use disorders.

Results: Self-reported hay fever was associated with a significantly increased odds of panic attack (odds ratio = 1.8 [1.2, 2.6]), which persisted after adjusting for differences in sociodemographic characteristics and comorbid mental disorders. Self-reported hay fever was not associated with a significantly increased likelihood of major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or alcohol/substance use disorders.

Conclusions: Consistent with previous findings, these data show a relationship between self-reported hay fever and increased likelihood of panic attacks among adults in the general population. The mechanism of the observed association remains unknown. Future work that examines the relationship between hay fever and panic attacks, as well as other mental disorders using both self-report and objective measurement of allergic response in prospective, longitudinal, epidemiologic data may be useful in improving our understanding of this observed link.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in