Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested an association between allergy and mood and anxiety disorders. Yet, extant work suffers from methodological limitations. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between physician-diagnosed allergy and DSM-IV mood and anxiety disorders in the general population, and to examine the role of allergy treatment in this relationship. METHODS: Data were drawn from the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey, a population-based, representative sample of 4,181 adults aged 18-65 in Germany. Allergy was diagnosed by physicians during medical examination and mental disorders were diagnosed using the CIDI. RESULTS: Allergy was associated with an increased prevalence of any anxiety disorder [OR = 1.3 (1.1, 1.6)], panic attacks [OR = 1.6 (1.1, 2.1)], panic disorder [OR = 1.6 (1.01, 2.3)], GAD [OR = 1.8 (1.1, 3.0)], any mood disorder [OR = 1.4 (1.1, 1.7)], depression [OR = 1.4 (1.1, 1.7)] and bipolar disorder [OR = 2.0, (1.0, 3.8)]. After adjusting for desensitization treatment status, these relationships were no longer significant. Those treated for allergy were significantly less likely to have any mood or anxiety disorder [OR = 0.65 (0.4, 0.96)], compared to those untreated. All relationships were adjusted for age, gender and socioeconomic status (SES). CONCLUSIONS & CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings provide the first evidence of a link between physician-diagnosed allergy and DSM-IV mood and anxiety disorders in a representative sample. Treatment for allergy may mitigate much of this relationship.