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The association between anxiety sensitivity and atopy in adult asthmatics

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Abstract

There is growing evidence linking psychological stress to atopic disease, particularly asthma. Anxiety sensitivity, which is the fear of anxiety-related symptoms, may be particularly important in the study of anxiety and atopic disease. The present study examined the association between atopy and anxiety sensitivity in adult asthmatics. A total of 217 asthma patients who had undergone standard pulmonary function and allergen skin prick testing were included. Participants completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Type D Personality Scale-16 and Beck Depression Inventory-II on the day of their asthma clinic visit. Total Anxiety Sensitivity Index score was found to be significantly higher in atopic (M = 17.15, SE = .9) versus non-atopic (M = 12.68, SE = 1.5) asthmatics, independent of age, sex, smoking status, asthma severity, asthma duration, and anxiolytic medication use (F = 6.11, p = .014). There was no evidence for a significant association between any of the other questionnaire scores and atopic status.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge grant support from the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) and the Fondation de l’Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal (Michel Auger Foundation) (KLL). Salary support was provided by a fellowship grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (KLL) and Salary Awards from the FRSQ (KLL and SLB). The authors thank Mr. Guillaume Lacoste and Drs. André Cartier, Jean-Luc Malo, and Catherine Lemière for their assistance with data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center, Division of Chest Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal – A University of Montreal-Affiliated Hospital, 5400 Gouin West, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4J 1C5

    Silvana Barone, Simon L. Bacon, Manon Labrecque & Kim L. Lavoie

  2. Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3A 1R1

    Silvana Barone & Blaine Ditto

  3. Research Center, Montreal Heart Institute – A University of Montreal-Affiliated Hospital, 5000 Belanger, Montreal, QC, Canada, H1T 1C8

    Simon L. Bacon & Kim L. Lavoie

  4. Department of Exercise Science, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4B 1R6

    Simon L. Bacon

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4

    Tavis S. Campbell

  6. Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), P.O. Box 8888, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3C 3P8

    Kim L. Lavoie

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  1. Silvana Barone
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Correspondence to Kim L. Lavoie.

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Barone, S., Bacon, S.L., Campbell, T.S. et al. The association between anxiety sensitivity and atopy in adult asthmatics. J Behav Med 31, 331–339 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-008-9164-5

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