Allergies Worsened by Stress

New research reveals that stress and anxiety lengthens the effect of seasonal allergic reactions. From Ohio State University, Professor of psychology and psychiatry Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and her team studied 28 volunteers who all suffered from seasonal allergies, such as hay fever. The group were given different tasks on different days, ranging from quietly relaxing with a magazine to public speaking to some' behaviour evaluators'. The tasks were graded according to how stressful they were.

Before and after each event the volunteers underwent stress evaluation tests and allergy reaction skin prick tests. The researchers discovered that when the volunteers had experienced a stressful event, their anxiety was higher and as a result the allergic reaction tests produced a significantly greater effect. The allergic reactions came up as wheals on the forearm.

Even only a moderate amount of stress had the effect of producing 75% larger wheals on the skin as compared to when the same person had no stress. If the stress factor was very high, then the same person would not only have wheals that were 100% larger but they would also be present a full day later.

Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser said "People may be setting themselves up to have more persistent problems by being stressed and anxious when allergy attacks begin."

Dr. Ronald Glaser, an immunologist from Ohio State who was helping with the study, believes that the high stress levels led the body to produce catecholamines which are stress hormones and also interleukin-6 which initiates inflammation and that these two combined caused the delayed reaction of the allergy.