Sad In The Spring? Allergy-Mood Link Is Real

(CNN) — You know spring has sprung when hundreds of people daily turn to Twitter to vent about their itchy eyes, dripping nose and uncontrollable sneezing and coughing. Seasonal allergies, which affect about 36 million Americans, aren’t just an annoyance; many doctors agree that there is a real connection between allergies and mood. “‘Cranky’ is really the best word for it,” said Katie Ingram, 30, of Alexandria, Virginia, a triathlete who has seasonal allergies. “I take a lot of medication for it, and that makes me sleepy. And I can’t do a lot of the things that I like to do outside, so that makes me cranky. … The wheezing part of it makes me feel tired.” In some people, such annoyances are more serious. Research has shown that there is about a 50% increase in the risk for depression in a person suffering allergies, and if you’ve been seen by an allergist, that about triples the likelihood of having depression, said Dr. Paul Marshall, neuropsychologist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Those are correlations found in scientific studies, but they don’t show that allergies cause clinical depression. In practice, allergy-connected mood changes usually boil down to mild depressive symptoms, like feeling sad, lethargic and fatigued, Marshall said. Some people say they’re more likely to cry during the allergy season. Allergies could make symptoms even worse in a person with clinical depres...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Allergies Local TV Source Type: news