Investigation of psychopathology in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria

Aims: Aim of this study is, to establish the frequency of axis I and axis II comorbidity and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and coping ability of patients who admitted to allergy policlinics of Dermatology and Respiratory Diseases departments and who were diagnosed as chronic idiopathic urticaria. Methods: Study population divided into three groups consisted of fifty patients each, chronic urticaria, contact dermatitis and control groups, respectively. All patients underwent SCID-I (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I Disorders) and SCID-II (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personamy Disorders) for determining axis I and axis II diagnosis and trauma evaluation form for traumatic life events. Patients who showed high scores in this test also underwent SCID-I PTSD module. Coping scale (COPE) was applied in order to evaluate patients’ coping ability for problems which he encounters. Results: In our study, when axis I diagnosis were compared; major depression (%48) and anxiety disorder (%48) were significantly more frequent in chronic idiopathic urticaria group than other two groups. When it came to comparison of axis II diagnosis, avoidant personal disorder (%20) and dependent personality disorder (%16) were significantly more frequent in chronic idiopathic urticaria group than other two groups. Urticaria group also showed significantly higher frequency for PTSD (%42) than other two groups. Patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria used religious (%64), denial (%26), substance abuse (%40), adoption (%40), emotional social support (%32) and abstaining (%26) maladaptive coping methods which were incoherent, significantly more than other two groups. Conclusion: Probability of mental disorders is high among patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria. It is important to consider existence of PTSD and coping methods for life events. Studies enrolling larger patient groups are needed for detailed investigation of cause-and-effect relationship.