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
. 2019 Jul 9:10:453.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00453. eCollection 2019.

Atopy Increases Risk of Psychotic Experiences: A Large Population-Based Study

Marieke J H Begemann  1   2 , Mascha M J Linszen  1   2 , Janna N de Boer  2 , Wytske D Hovenga  2 , Shiral S Gangadin  1   2 , Maya J L Schutte  1   2 , Iris E C Sommer  1
Affiliations

Atopy Increases Risk of Psychotic Experiences: A Large Population-Based Study

Marieke J H Begemann et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Introduction: Building upon the comorbidity between atopy and schizophrenia, we conducted a large cross-sectional, observational population-based study to examine if such associations also exist between atopic disorders (eczema, allergic rhinitis, and asthma) and nonclinical psychotic experiences. Methods: We examined psychotic experiences in a Dutch population sample through an online survey (≥14 years of age). Participants filled out the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences, together with questions screening for atopic disorders (eczema, allergic rhinitis, and asthma). Prevalence rates were calculated; binary logistic regression was used to determine odds ratios (ORs) (age, gender, and years of education as covariates). Results: We included 6,479 participants. Individuals diagnosed with one or more atopic disorders had an increased risk of psychotic experiences as compared with controls (OR = 1.26). Analysis of individual symptoms revealed an OR of 1.27 for hallucinations, whereas delusions only showed a trend. With each additional atopic disorder, the risk of psychotic experiences increased. This was also observed for hallucinations alone but not for delusions alone. Atopy was associated with hallucinations across all modalities (OR ranging from 1.19 to 1.40). These results did not appear to be driven specifically by any one of the atopic disorders. Conclusion: In the largest population sample of adolescents and adults to date, we found that atopic disorders (asthma, eczema, and allergic rhinitis) increase the risk of psychotic experiences, in a dose-response fashion. These results provide further support for the role of immunological components in the predisposition for psychosis and can serve as a base for further research.

Keywords: allergic rhinitis; asthma; atopic disorders; delusions; eczema; hallucinations; immune; psychotic experiences.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of individuals reporting psychotic experiences, grouped by the number of diagnosed atopic disorders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Khandaker GM, Dantzer R. Is there a role for immune-to-brain communication in schizophrenia? Psychopharmacol (2016) 233(9):1559–73. 10.1007/s00213-015-3975-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sekar A, Bialas AR, de Rivera H, Davis A, Hammond TR, Kamitaki N, et al. Schizophrenia risk from complex variation of complement component 4. Nature (2016) 530(7589):177. 10.1038/nature16549 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Benros ME, Eaton WW, Mortensen PB. The epidemiologic evidence linking autoimmune diseases and psychosis. Biological psychiatry (2014) 15(75):300–6. 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.09.023 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eaton WW, Byrne M, Ewald H, Mors O, Chen CY, Agerbo E, et al. Association of schizophrenia and autoimmune diseases: linkage of Danish national registers. Am J Psychiatry (2006) 163(3):521–8. 10.1176/appi.ajp.163.3.521 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen YH, Lee HC, Lin HC. Prevalence and risk of atopic disorders among schizophrenia patients: a nationwide population based study. Schizophr Res (2009) 108(1-3):191–6. 10.1016/j.schres.2008.12.021 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources