ot? Chemical intolerance a common complaint.

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" Chemical intolerance " a common complaint.

<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/12/us-chemical-intolerance-idUSBRE86B194\

20120712>

A sizable percentage of low-income patients in primary care may be

particularly sensitive to chemicals in household cleaners, perfumes and

other everyday products, a small study suggests.

The study, done at two Texas family medicine practices, screened

patients for symptoms of " chemical intolerance, " also known as multiple

chemical sensitivity.

It's a controversial diagnosis, and there's no agreement on the cause -

or that it even should be considered a disorder unto itself.

But there is a standard screening questionnaire that's been used in

studies and in some doctors' practices. It asks people about whether

they feel sick when they're around various smells and chemicals -- like

gasoline, paint, perfumes, cleaning products or insecticides -- and how

bad the symptoms are.

Using that questionnaire, researchers found that 20 percent of 400

patients they screened met the criteria for chemical intolerance.

Most studies on chemical intolerance have focused on higher-income,

white people. But patients in this study were largely lower-income and

Hispanic.

So the findings give an idea of the prevalence of such symptoms in an

understudied group, according to lead researcher Dr. A.

Katerndahl, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San

....

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SOURCE:

bit.ly/MkAv8K <http://bit.ly/MkAv8K>

ls of Family Medicine, July/August 2012.