Abstract
Purpose: To determine whether client referrals to a clinic that specializes in the assessment and treatment of food intolerance might benefit from psychological interventions for management of stress, in addition to dietary manipulation. Design: A correlational design was employed, with stress status compared to published normative data. Materials and Methods: Stress status was assessed in 47 consecutive new patients in the Allergy Nutrition Clinic, referred for management of putative adverse reactions to foods. Stress was measured with the Derogatis Stress Profile (DSP®). The scorer was blind to patient identity and clinical presentation. The DSP is a well-validated instrument that yields a Total Stress Score, and three ''Domain Scores'', comprised of emotional responses, environmental events and personality mediators. Further subscales are embedded within the Domain scales. Results: The results showed no elevation on any of the stress variables measured by the DSP in the subjects relative to the normative sample. A number of subjects actually scored significantly below normal on personality factors related to psychological disturbances (for example, time pressure, driven behaviour, low relaxation potential). None of the subjects showed elevations on indices of anxiety, depression or hostility. A subgroup of clients with predominantly irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like symptoms engaged in fewer relaxing activities compared to clients without gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. The individuals with IBS symptoms of gradual onset scored highest for overall stress on the DSP. Conclusions: It is concluded that only a small subgroup of individuals with IBS-like symptoms referred to the Allergy Nutrition Clinic might benefit from psychological intervention for stress management in addition to dietary management. The low DSP scores in those with symptoms in other organ systems, suspected to be because of adverse reactions to foods, indicate that the psychological factors measured by the DSP are not contributing significantly to their presenting morbidity.