Physiological Health and Physical Performance in Multiple Chemical Sensitivity—Described in the General Population

Anne A. Bjerregaard, Marie W. Petersen, Sine Skovbjerg, Lise K. Gormsen, José G. Cedeño-Laurent, Torben Jørgensen, Allan Linneberg and Thomas Meinertz Dantoft
Additional contact information
Anne A. Bjerregaard: Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Nordre Fasanvej 57, Hovedvejen, Entrance 5, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Marie W. Petersen: Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics, Aarhus University Hospital, Universitetsbyen 22–23, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Sine Skovbjerg: The Danish Center for Mindfulness, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Hack Kampmanns Plads, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Lise K. Gormsen: Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics, Aarhus University Hospital, Universitetsbyen 22–23, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
José G. Cedeño-Laurent: Department of Exposure Epidemiology and Risk Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 1350 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Torben Jørgensen: Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Nordre Fasanvej 57, Hovedvejen, Entrance 5, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Allan Linneberg: Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Nordre Fasanvej 57, Hovedvejen, Entrance 5, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Thomas Meinertz Dantoft: Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Nordre Fasanvej 57, Hovedvejen, Entrance 5, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-12

Abstract: Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a multifactorial somatic disorder characterized by physical reactions triggered by even extremely low levels of different airborne chemicals. In most individuals with MCS, these reactions have substantial negative impact on social, occupational, and everyday life often including limited or no engagement in physical activities. The aim of this study was to explore associations between MCS and objective measurements of anthropometry, cardiorespiratory health, and physical performance. From the Danish population-based cohort DanFunD counting 9656 participants aged 18–76 years, 1.95% ( n = 188) were categorized as MCS individuals (MCS All). Of those 188, 109 participants were subcategorized as having MCS without functional somatic disorders (FSD) (MCS with no comorbid FSD). The remaining study population without any FSD were regarded controls. We used adjusted multiple linear regression analyses to evaluate associations between MCS and anthropometry, cardiorespiratory fitness, and physical performance. Compared with the general population, MCS All had less optimal body composition, increased risk of obesity, impaired cardiorespiratory fitness, and physical performance which was not seen in MCS with no comorbid FSD. MCS individuals may be inhibited to maintain an active lifestyle which can increase risk of obesity and consequently have negatively impact on general health, which may not be the case among MCS with no comorbid FSD.

Keywords: multiple chemical sensitivity; MSC; DanFunD; functional somatic disorders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9039/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9039/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9039-:d:871045

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().