[Chemical sensitivity (CS)].
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Air Pollution, Indoor↗
Biomedical subjects
Mikio Miyata
Publications and source records attributed to Mikio Miyata.
Odor perception in patients with multiple chemical sensitivity.
Since symptoms typical for multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are induced by exposure to low levels of chemicals, we hypothesize that MCS represents an impaired recognition of odors or an increased emotional reaction to common odors. Twenty-five subjects with MCS, 20 women and 5 men, and 50 gender-and-age matched controls participated in this study. The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) and the Cross-Cultural Smell Identification Test (CC-SIT) were administered. In addition to selecting the most probable odor among the four, the subjects were asked their impression of each odor. Odor identifiability evaluated by the scores of two tests, were almost equal in MCS and control groups. The mean CC-SIT odor per person with pleasant feeling was lower in MCS than in controls. The mean odor per person creating an unpleasant sensation was higher in MCS than in the controls. Gingerbread was the only odor making MCS subjects more pleasant than the controls. Nine out of 40 UPSIT odors were felt as unpleasant by MCS subjects more than by controls. This study indicates that MCS subjects are able to identify the odors equally as well as the controls but feel unpleasant to a larger number of odors than the controls. Despite unknown mechanisms of the altered odor perception in MCS, the application of these tests for diagnostic procedure of MCS is proposed.
Adult↗
Symptom profile of multiple chemical sensitivity in actual life.
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to confirm the definition of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) in actual life: that multiple symptoms are provoked in multiple organs by exposure to, and ameliorated by avoidance of, multiple chemicals at low levels. We used the Ecological Momentary Assessment to monitor everyday symptoms and the active sampling and passive sampling methods to measure environmental chemical exposure. METHODS: Eighteen patients with MCS, diagnosed according to the 1999 consensus criteria, and 12 healthy controls participated in this study. Fourteen patients and 12 controls underwent 1-week measurement of physical and psychologic symptoms and of the levels of exposure to various chemicals. Linear mixed models were used to test the hypotheses regarding the symptom profile of MCS patients. RESULTS: Some causative chemicals were detected in 11 of 14 MCS patients. Two other patients did not report any hypersensitivity episodes, whereas passive sampling showed far less exposure to chemicals than control subjects. Another subject reported episodic symptoms but was excluded from the following analyses because no possible chemical was detected. Eleven of the 17 physical symptoms and all four mood subscales examined were significantly aggravated in the interview based on "patient-initiated symptom prompts." On the other hand, there were no differences in physical symptoms or mood subscales between MCS patients and control subjects in the interview based on "random prompts." CONCLUSIONS: MCS patients do not have either somatic or psychologic symptoms under chemical-free conditions, and symptoms may be provoked only when exposed to chemicals.
Adult↗