CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
-
Case Reports
Psychiatric assessment of patients with "20th-century disease" ("total allergy syndrome").
"Twentieth-century disease", or "total allergy syndrome", is a condition attributed to hypersensitivity to the environment that may sometimes be seen as so serious that the patient is incapable of living in the modern world. Although the popular media frequently carry stories about it, there is little scientific literature. It is diagnosed by clinical ecologists, who maintain, among other theories, that susceptible individuals experience an overload in assaults by artificial materials in the environment. ⋯ The case histories and management of three of them are presented. Although this group of patients may have been atypical in that they had more severe psychologic symptoms, the experience indicates that a psychiatric diagnosis ought to be considered. The symptoms of 20th-century disease have much in common with other conditions known to physicians for centuries.