Relationship between anxiety, depression and stressful life events with chronic idiopathic urticaria

Chronic idiopathic urticaria is a kind of urticaria, although it doesn’t have known external factor cause, but many studies have shown the role of psychological factors in development of allergic diseases, including the disease. The aim of this study is to compare the anxiety, depression and mental pressures caused by stressful life events in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria and healthy people.
This case-control study was performed on 22 patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria compared with 22 healthy subjects. Both groups responded to the checklist for demographic characteristics, Spielberger state/trait personality inventory, Beck Depression and Payckle scale of stressful life events. And the severity of the urticaria rash was recorded.
Results showed no meaningful difference in terms of age, gender, marital status and education level between the two groups. State/trait anxiety and depression scores were significantly higher in the case group than control group. In the case of stressful life events, the mean scores of patients did not reach to the meaningful level. On the other hand, the results of the study showed that with increasing the level of state/trait anxiety and depression in patients, the severity of urticaria rash has been significantly increased as well.
Regarding the higher level of anxiety and depression in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria, mental interventions are necessary for the treatment of these patients.