Takeaway
- Prevalence and risk of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric medication prescription were significantly higher in patients with chronic urticaria (CU) than in controls in the general population.
Why this matters
- Findings indicate that mental health evaluations and management should be considered in routine clinical practice in managing patients with CU.
Study design
- This study retrospectively analysed 167,132 patients with CU who were classified as mild (n=138,029), moderate (n=28,414), and severe (n= 689) according to their medication types.
- Funding: Novartis (Taiwan) Co., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan.
Key results
- The overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 7.00%, 7.49% and 11.76% in patients with mild, moderate and severe CU, respectively
- Patients with severe CU were at increased risk for psychiatric disorders (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 2.32; 95% CI, 1.80-3.00) followed by those with moderate (aRR, 1.50; 95% CI,1.43-1.57) and mild (aRR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.40-1.46) CU vs control group (P<.0001 for all).
- The risk for psychiatric medication prescription was significantly higher in patients with moderate CU (aRR, 2.70; 95% CI, 2.64-2.76), followed by those with severe (aRR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.77-2.48) and mild (aRR 1.95, 95% CI, 1.93-1.98) CU vs control group (P<.0001 for all).
Limitations
- Failure to detect self-paid medications.
- Misclassification of severity due to intermittent treatment.
References
References
