Department of Psychology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
Department of Psychology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2014 Apr-May;217(4-5):427-34. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2013.08.005. Epub 2013 Aug 19.
Environmental intolerance (EI) is characterized by attribution of several, multisystem symptoms to specific environmental exposures, such as exposure to odorous/pungent chemicals, certain buildings, electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and everyday sounds. The symptoms are medically unexplained, non-specific and the symptoms overlap between different types of EI. To approach the issue of underlying mechanisms the matter of overlap in prevalence between intolerances can provide valuable information. The aim of the study was to examine if the overlap between intolerance to odorous/pungent chemicals, certain buildings, EMFs and sounds is larger than the expected overlap if no association would exist between them. The study was using cross-sectional data from the Västerbotten Environmental Health Study in Sweden; a large questionnaire-based survey. 8520 adults (18-79 years) were randomly selected after stratification for age and sex, of whom 3406 (40%) participated. Individuals with the four types of intolerance were identified either through self-report, or by having been physician-diagnosed with a specific EI. The overlaps between the four EIs were greater than predictions based on coincidence for both self-reported and diagnosed cases (except for the overlap between diagnosed intolerance to sounds and EMFs). The results raise the question whether different types of EI share similar underlying mechanisms, or at least that the sufferers of EI share some predisposition to acquire the conditions.
环境敏感症（EI）的特点是将多种多系统症状归因于特定的环境暴露，例如暴露于有气味/刺激性的化学物质、某些建筑物、电磁场（EMF）和日常声音中。这些症状在医学上无法解释，是非特异性的，并且不同类型的 EI 之间存在症状重叠。为了研究潜在机制，对不同敏感症之间的患病率重叠问题进行研究可以提供有价值的信息。本研究旨在检验如果这些敏感症（包括对有气味/刺激性化学物质、某些建筑物、电磁场和声音的敏感症）之间的重叠比它们之间不存在关联时预期的重叠更大，那么它们之间是否存在关联。本研究使用了瑞典韦斯特博滕环境健康研究的横断面数据，这是一项基于问卷调查的大型研究。在年龄和性别分层后，随机选择了 8520 名成年人（18-79 岁），其中 3406 名（40%）参与了研究。通过自我报告或被医生诊断为特定 EI，确定了四类敏感症患者。无论是自我报告还是医生诊断的病例，四种 EI 之间的重叠都大于基于巧合的预测（被诊断为声音和电磁场敏感症之间的重叠除外）。研究结果提出了这样一个问题，即不同类型的 EI 是否具有相似的潜在机制，或者至少 EI 的患者是否具有某种易感性来获得这些疾病。
