Environmental Intolerance, Symptoms and Disability Among Fertile-Aged Women

Aki Vuokko, Kirsi Karvala, Jussi Lampi, Leea Keski-Nisula, Markku Pasanen, Raimo Voutilainen, Juha Pekkanen and Markku Sainio
Additional contact information
Aki Vuokko: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 40, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Kirsi Karvala: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 40, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Jussi Lampi: Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 95, 70701 Kuopio, Finland
Leea Keski-Nisula: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kuopio University Hospital, P.O. Box 100, 70029 KYS Kuopio, Finland
Markku Pasanen: School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Raimo Voutilainen: Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, P.O Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Juha Pekkanen: Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 95, 70701 Kuopio, Finland
Markku Sainio: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 40, 00032 Helsinki, Finland

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: The purpose was to study the prevalence of environmental intolerance (EI) and its different manifestations, including behavioral changes and disability. Fertile-aged women ( n = 680) of the Kuopio Birth Cohort Study were asked about annoyance to 12 environmental factors, symptoms and behavioral changes. We asked how much the intolerance had disrupted their work, household responsibilities or social life. We chose intolerance attributed to chemicals, indoor molds, and electromagnetic fields to represent typical intolerance entities. Of the respondents, 46% reported annoyance to chemicals, molds, or electromagnetic fields. Thirty-three percent reported symptoms relating to at least one of these three EIs, 18% reported symptoms that included central nervous system symptoms, and 15% reported behavioral changes. Indicating disability, 8.4% reported their experience relating to any of the three EIs as at least “somewhat difficult”, 2.2% “very difficult” or “extremely difficult”, and 0.9% “extremely difficult”. Of the latter 2.2%, all attributed their intolerance to indoor molds, and two thirds also to chemicals. As the number of difficulties increased, the number of organ systems, behavioral changes and overlaps of the three EIs also grew. EI is a heterogeneous phenomenon and its prevalence depends on its definition. The manifestations of EI form a continuum, ranging from annoyance to severe disability.

Keywords: idiopathic environmental intolerance; multiple chemical sensitivity; sick building syndrome; electromagnetic hypersensitivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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