Looking at Allergens Increases Symptom Report in Patients with Allergic Asthma

Abstract

Objective. Accurate symptom perception is highly important for self-management and clinical treatment of asthma. Recent findings suggest that psychological factors can greatly impact asthma symptom perception. This study examined whether looking at allergens would lead to changes in perceived asthma symptoms. Methods. Allergic asthma patients and healthy controls viewed picture series containing either allergens or neutral material. Symptom reports and respiratory parameters were measured. Results. The present results demonstrate that looking at pictures with allergens increases subjective symptom reports in patients with allergic asthma in the absence of changes in objective respiratory parameters, but not in healthy controls. Conclusions. The results are suggestive of preceding learning processes during which patients have learned the association between visual representations of allergens and symptom-inducing effects of real contact with these allergens. This impacts asthma symptom perception without changes in respiratory status and might influence treatment decisions.

• allergy
• asthma
• learning
• perception
• symptoms

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Prof. Uwe Koch-Gromus, Rieke Moritzen-Patwardhan, and Volker Beierlein for their valuable support during data acquisition.

Declaration of Interest

This study was supported by a stipend from the German Research Society (DFG LE 1843/9-2) to A.v.L. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.