Seasonal allergies can do more than just annoy around 80 million Americans and run up their Kleenex bills every year. Studies have shown that allergy symptoms can put sufferers at risk for anxiety and depression.
Per the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, approximately 81 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with seasonal allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, as of 2021. That includes more than a quarter of U.S. adults and 19% of children in the nation.
“Anytime you don’t feel well, that’s a psychological stressor,” explained Dr. David A. Gudis, chief of the division of rhinology and anterior skull base surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, according to The New York Times.
This week, the outlet published a roundup of research into the connection between allergic rhinitis and mood disorders. Gudis said that the link is “really is underrecognized, not only in the general population but even among health care practitioners.”
While the relationship between seasonal allergies and mood may be commonly looked over, researchers have been exploring it going back to at least 2004. Here’s a collection of conclusions from research cited by The Times:
Molecular Psychiatry, 2004: “Tree pollen peaks are associated with increased nonviolent suicide in women.”
BMJ journal, 2013: “We noted a significant association between suicide risk and air pollen counts.”
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2016: “The study findings suggest that an increase in nonfatal [nonsuicidal self-directed violence] is associated with changes in tree and grass pollen counts.”
Environmental Research journal, 2017: “Our results indicate that pollen is associated with female suicide mortality in Tokyo.”
Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 2018: “The results from our study showed that allergic disorders significantly increased the risk of depression.”
Frontier Psychiatry, 2018: “Allergic diseases are therefore associated with a 1.66-fold increased hazard of psychiatric disorders in Taiwan.”
International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 2019: “The results support the relevance of psychosocial factors in association with allergies.”
Rhinology journal, 2021: “[Allergic rhinitis] appears to be associated with high risk of depression and anxiety.”
Those who suffer from seasonal allergies experience a reaction to pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
“This type of rhinitis occurs mainly in the spring and fall when pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds are in the air,” said the foundation.
When an allergen reaches membranes lining the nose, it prompts the allergy sufferer’s immune system to release substances that cause inflammation in the airways and brain, said The New York Times. Cytokines are one of the substances.
“These cytokines activate areas of the brain that regulate depression and anxiety,” said Dr. Todd Gould, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, according to the outlet.
The Times said it “isn’t possible to see direct evidence of this in a human study, so researchers have turned to rodents to try to get a better idea of the mechanisms at play,” and that a study of mice and rats showed that rodents exposed to allergens showed signs of anxiety, increased cytokine production and higher levels of stress hormone.
“We should keep in mind that suicide risk involves many different risk factors,” said Christopher Lowry, an associate professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told the paper.
According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, spring allergies begin in February and last until the early summer in much of the U.S.
Yale Medicine said the major allergens by season are: tree pollen in March/April, grass pollen in June/July and both ragweed and mold in the fall.
In summer 2021, Axios reported that “allergy season in North America [was] the lengthiest and the most severe in decades, and experts say the millions of disproportionately male trees planted in urban areas are partly to blame for high pollen counts.”
This phenomenon is called “botanical sexism” and it is prevalent in urban landscaping. Since male tress don’t drop seed pods or fruit, they are preferred in urban areas. However, male trees do produce pollen that can’t be captured due to the low number of female trees.
“It’s alarming to me because if we don’t start to get a handle on this pretty soon the air in our cities will be unbreathable,” horticulturist Tom Ogren told the outlet.
Those with allergies can get an idea of how saturated their areas is with allergens with this tool from the Allergy and Asthma Network.
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