State and trait anxiety in women affected by allergic and vasomotor rhinitis

It is still debatable whether anxiety and depression in patients affected b y rhinitis could play a role in the genesis of the disease, whether they ar e a consequence of the symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate anxi ety levels in both state and trait forms, and depression, in patients affec ted by allergic (AR) and vasomotor rhinitis (VMR). A total of 45 women, 24 AR and 21 VMR were compared with 64 healthy nonallergic women matched for a ge and sociodemographic characteristics. All subjects were administered the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Zung self-rating depressi on scale. The percentage of subjects with high levels of state anxiety was significantly higher in AR (p<0.005) and VMR (p<0.01) with respect to contr ols. The percentage of subjects with high levels of trait anxiety was signi ficantly higher in AR (p<0.001) and VMR (p<0.05) than controls. There was n o significant difference in depression between AR and VMR and controls. No significant difference was found in state anxiety, trait anxiety, or depres sion between AR and VMR. In conclusion, anxiety in patients with rhinitis i s present both as a state and as a trait, at least when measured with the S TAI. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.