Comparison between psychological traits of patients with various atopic allergic diseases and healthy volunteers: A case-control study

Abstract

Purpose: Allergic patients have a specific psychological profile and experience a specific mental and emotional context. This study examines the psychological traits of allergic patients in comparison with those of control group. Materials and Methods: This was a case-control study in which 102 men and women allergic patients who referred to Sari Tooba clinic were selected. One hundred and two people from the normal population were selected as the control group and were matched with allergic samples. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI2) questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were analyzed by variance analysis, t?test, and correlation tests. -test, and correlation tests. Results: The average scores of patients in MMPI2 test for hypochondriasis, hysteria, depression, psychasthenia, and social introversion were significantly higher than for paranoia (P < 0.05). Also, allergic women obtained higher scores in hypochondriasis, psychasthenia, masculinity-femininity, hysteria, and depression scales than allergic men (P < 0.05). These results also showed that hypomania has a higher frequency among asthmatic patients than in patients with allergic rhinitis (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that psychopathological traits such as hypochondriasis, hysteria, depression, psychasthenia, and social introversion have a higher frequency among allergic patients than in the general population. These results emphasize on considering psychological interventions along with medical treatments.