Comorbidity and Multimorbidity of Asthma and Allergy and Intolerance to Chemicals and Certain Buildings.

OBJECTIVES

We tested the hypothesis of high comorbidity between asthma/allergy and chemical intolerance (CI) and between asthma/allergy and building intolerance (BI), and high multimorbidity between asthma/allergy, CI, and BI.

METHODS

Population-based questionnaire data were used from 530 participants with asthma/allergy (allergic asthma, nonallergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, and/or atopic dermatitis), 414 with self-reported and 112 with physician-diagnosed CI, and 165 with self-reported and 47 with physician-diagnosed BI. Separate reference groups were formed for each of the five case groups.

RESULTS

Adjusted odds ratios varied from 4.6 to 13.1 for comorbidity, and from 6.6 to 46.4 for multimorbidity.

CONCLUSION

The large comorbidity and multimorbidity between asthma/allergy, CI, and BI evokes the question as to whether there are similarities in underlying mechanisms between these conditions.