Improvement in Psychological Condition of Patients With Persistent Moderate–Severe Allergic Rhinitis by Drug Therapy Combined With Psychological Intervention

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of drug treatment combined with psychological intervention on mental disorders in patients with persistent moderate–severe allergic rhinitis. Methods: Sixty patients with persistent moderate–severe allergic rhinitis who met the criteria were randomly divided into 2 groups: control group and experimental group. The control group was only given medication, whereas the experimental group was given psychological intervention on the basis of the same medication. Cognitive behavioral therapy was used for psychological intervention. After 12 weeks of treatment, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire (RQLQ) were used to evaluate the changes in anxiety, depression, and quality of life before and after treatment. Results: The SAS and SDS scores of the control group after treatment were lower than those before treatment, and the difference was statistically significant. Similarly, the SAS and SDS scores of the experimental group after treatment were lower than those before treatment with statistically significant difference. In addition, after treatment, the SAS and SDS scores of the experimental group were statistically lower than those of the control group. The results of RQLQ showed that the scores of each dimension in the control group after treatment were lower than those before treatment, and the difference was statistically significant. Similar results were found in the experimental group. After treatment with these 2 different schemes, the RQLQ scores of sleep, nonnasal/eye symptoms, and emotion in the experimental group were statistically lower than those in the control group. Conclusion: Drug therapy or drug therapy combined with psychological intervention can alleviate anxiety and depression of patients with persistent moderate–severe allergic rhinitis and improve their quality of life. Moreover, based on the effect of improving mental disorder and quality of life of patients, drug therapy combined with psychological intervention is better than drug treatment alone.

Quality of Life, Psychological State, and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in Allergic Rhinitis Patients vs Healthy Population: A Comparative Study

“…This result can be explained by the fact that allergic rhinitis disease not only negatively affects the patients' physical condition but also affects their psychological health (Meltzer, 2016). This disease makes patients constantly worried about their health and can block effective communication, and cause much suffering (Tsiakiris et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2021). Although the symptoms of allergic rhinitis do not directly induce mortality, in the long run, they can cause many adverse effects and lead to depression, anxiety, immune system dysfunctionality, lower QoL, and even suicide (Wang et al, 2021).…”

Effects of Psychosomatic Mutual Aid Treatment on Anxiety and Depression in Turner Syndrome

“…Wustmann and Preuss ( 26 ) published a case report in a 50-year-old TS patient, suffering from depression and schizophrenia due to various complications of TS, both of which improved after medication and psychological intervention. Wang et al ( 27 ) investigated the effect of drug therapy and psychological intervention in patients with persistent moderate to severe allergic rhinitis, showing that combination therapy was more effective than medication alone in reducing anxiety and depression in patients, and significantly improving their quality of life.…”

Allergies, depression, and anxiety: The role of the rhinologist

“…Allergy treatment can improve symptoms of both allergies and concomitant mood disorders, and simultaneously treating mood disorders with therapy appears to help even more. 28 However, we cannot offer appropriate treatment or referrals if we do not know what our patients experience. We routinely ask our chronic rhinosinusitis patients about their sense of smell and our skull base patients about their vision because we are familiar with the neurologic sequelae of such disorders and their treatments.…”

“…The good news is that treatment helps. Allergy treatment can improve symptoms of both allergies and concomitant mood disorders, and simultaneously treating mood disorders with therapy appears to help even more 28 . However, we cannot offer appropriate treatment or referrals if we do not know what our patients experience.…”