AI Article Synopsis
- The study explored how symptoms associated with environmental factors (SAEF), like chemical substances and sounds, develop and relate to individual attributions (beliefs or expectations about the cause of symptoms).
- Using data from a large health study, they found significant links between symptom distress and the attribution of various SAEFs, highlighting different patterns of relationships.
- The results suggest that the way people attribute their symptoms significantly influences their experience of these environmental intolerances, particularly for sound and chemicals, but not for buildings.
Article Abstract
Objective: Not much is known on the development of symptoms associated with environmental factors (SAEF), also known as (idiopathic) environmental intolerances. Findings from qualitative studies suggest that appearance of symptoms might be the first step, followed by the acquisition of a specific attribution. The current study investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal (three years) associations between attribution and symptoms with respect to symptoms associated with chemical substances, certain indoor environments (buildings), sounds, and electromagnetic fields (EMFs).
Methods: We used data from the first two waves of the population-based Västerbotten Environmental Health Study (n = 2336). Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic Symptom Scale (PHQ-15), the Environmental Symptom-Attribution Scale, and answered single questions on the four aforementioned SAEFs.
Results: Using binary logistic regression analyses, all four SAEFs showed significant cross-sectional associations with somatic symptom distress and the respective attribution. In the longitudinal analysis, development of SAEF-Sound and SAEF-Chemicals were predicted by both somatic symptom distress and attribution. SAEF-EMFs was predicted only by attribution, whereas neither somatic symptom distress nor attribution forecasted SAEF-Buildings.
Conclusion: Overall, these findings suggest that attribution (i.e., a specific expectation) plays a substantial role in the development and maintenance of many SAEFs.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111637 | DOI Listing |
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