Unmet health care needs for persons with environmental sensitivity

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographics

	Number	%
Gender*
Female	394	85.84
Male	64	13.94
Queer	4	0.87
Transgender	3	0.65
Questioning	2	0.44
Intersex	2	0.44
Age
18–25 years	8	1.77
26–33 years	13	2.89
34–41 years	53	11.70
42–49 years	82	18.10
50–57 years	139	30.68
58–65 years	106	23.40
66–73 years	35	7.73
74–81 years	14	3.10
82–89 years	2	0.56
90 years or over	1	0.44
Did not answer	12	2.65
Race
Caucasian	432	94.1
Mixed race	12	2.63
Latino/Latina	4	0.88
African American	3	0.66
Asian	3	0.66
Arabic/Middle Eastern	3	0.66
Sexual preference
Straight	402	88.16
Gay	18	3.95
Bisexual	18	3.95
Asexual	13	2.85
Pansexual	5	1.10
Country of residence
United States	332	71.40
Australia	43	9.25
Canada	37	7.96
United Kingdom	24	5.16
New Zealand	4	0.22
Dominica	4	0.22
Spain	1	0.22
Malaysia	1	0.22

Notes:

* More than one response per participant possible. Percentages do not add to 100.

Table 2 Description of disability

	Number	%
Course of disability over the past 2 years
Considerable decline	138	30.46%
Slight decline	86	18.98%
Mixed course/no change	124	27.37%
Slight improvement	65	14.35%
Considerable improvement	40	8.83%
Current level of disability
Mild	28	6.25%
Moderate	157	35.04%
Severe	202	45.09%
Disabled	61	13.62%

Table 3 Cause of environmental sensitivities

	Number
Series of low-level exposures	86
One large exposure	59
Unknown	20
A physical illness	14
Scarlet fever	1
Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection	1
Fibromyalgia	1
Psychological stress	1
Combination of any of the above	167
Other
Mold exposure	10
Genetics	5
Native American nationality	1
Living environment	4
Living above a laundry plant	1
Sick building syndrome	1
Water damaged building	1
Working environment	4
Art student	1
Renovations to workplace	1
Highly fragranced work environment	1
Scientist	1
Chemical factory	1
Printing ink	1
Postsurgery	3
Bilateral breast implant rupture	1
Medication	3
Antibiotics (prednisone and Levaquin)	2
Albendazole	1
War	2
Chemotherapy	2
Ofloxacin	1
Pesticides	2
Chlordane	1
Radiation	1
EMR exposure	1
Aspartame poisoning	1
Cigarette smoke	1
Contaminated water	1
Defective product	1
Mercury poisoning	1
Carbon dioxide exposure	1
Postmenopause	1
No chemical insensitivity	1

Abbreviation: EMR, electromagnetic radiation.

Table 4 Health services utilized in the past year by 465 persons with environmental sensitivities

Type of health service	Percent who accessed health service
Primary	67.60
Dental	62.61
Eye	47.26
Female care	37.95
Allergy/immunology	39.90
Mental health	28.80
Respiratory	28.76
Dermatology	25.20
Gastroenterology	21.09
Neurology	19.23
Male health	4.91
Other	54.22

Table 5 Reasons for unmet needs by type of health care in 465 persons with environmental sensitivities

Reasons for unmet need	Type of health care
	Medical n=281	Dental n=203	Eye n=133	Male/female n=106	Dermatology n=100	GI n=104	Mental n=116
No MCS provider	85.07%	75.53%	74.78%	86.41%	87.10%	93.07%	87.39%
Possible harm from chemical exposure	73.20%	74.61%	49.56%	65.31%	58.14%	77.55%	55.10%
Could not afford	61.96%	70.68%	69.23%	43.62%	47.78%	45.35%	61.68%
No accessible office	54.55%	44.38%	48.62%	64.52%	55.42%	47.67%	61.86%
Did not feel well enough to go	56.12%	43.45%	47.17%	47.87%	35.80%	51.14%	45.26%
No available provider	43.78%	24.39%	21.00%	30.23%	36.25%	35.63%	46.39%
Possible harm from electromagnetic exposure	26.87%	23.31%	14.00%	21.84%	14.10%	28.24%	16.67%
No transportation	24.45%	18.01%	20.79%	21.84%	15.19%	17.50%	21.51%
Wait time too long	22.22%	11.25%	11.11%	16.85%	21.52%	27.71%	18.48%
Other	50.50%	38.36%	42.55%	43.53%	42.50%	51.32%	51.69%

Abbreviations: n, number; GI, gastrointestinal; MCS, multiple chemical sensitivity.

Table 6 Correlations among major variables for 465 persons with environmental sensitivities

	Personal income	Household income	Age	Level of disability	Course of illness (improved)	Years ill	Education	Total unmet needs
Personal income
Pearson correlation	1	0.675**	0.072	−0.295**	0.063	−0.058	0.198**	−0.289**
Sig (two-tailed)		0.000	0.144	0.000	0.196	0.236	0.000	0.000
N	423	412	418	413	417	416	418	407
Household income
Pearson correlation	0.675**	1	−0.050	−0.230**	0.020	−0.133**	0.124*	−0.231**
Sig (two-tailed)	0.000		0.312	0.000	0.684	0.007	0.011	0.000
N	412	420	415	410	415	413	415	401
Age
Pearson correlation	0.072	−0.050	1	−0.009	0.088	0.323**	0.139**	−0.049
Sig (two-tailed)	0.144	0.312		0.857	0.063	0.000	0.003	0.314
N	418	415	453	447	452	451	453	429
Level of disability
Pearson correlation	−0.295**	−0.230**	−0.009	1	−0.117*	0.060	−0.148**	0.366**
Sig (two-tailed)	0.000	0.000	0.857		0.013	0.204	0.002	0.000
N	413	410	447	448	447	446	448	423
Course of illness (improved)
Pearson correlation	0.063	0.020	0.088	−0.117*	1	0.055	0.091	−0.104*
Sig (two-tailed)	0.196	0.684	0.063	0.013		0.245	0.052	0.031
N	417	415	452	447	453	451	453	428
Years ill
Pearson correlation	−0.058	−0.133**	0.323**	0.060	0.055	1	0.025	0.115*
Sig (two-tailed)	0.236	0.007	0.000	0.204	0.245		0.599	0.017
N	416	413	451	446	451	452	452	427
Education
Pearson correlation	0.198**	0.124*	0.139**	−0.148**	0.091	0.025	1	0.025
Sig (two-tailed)	000	0.011	0.000	0.0002	0.052	0.599		0.606
N	418	415	453	448	453	452	454	429
Total unmet needs
Pearson correlation	−0.289**	−0.231**	−0.049	0.366**	−0.104*	0.115*	0.025	1
Sig (two-tailed)	0.000	0.000	0.314	0.000	0.031	0.017	0.606
N	407	401	429	423	428	427	429	436

Notes:

* P<0.05;

** P<0.01.

Abbreviation: Sig, significance.

Table 7 Duration of negative reactions due to general anesthesia (number =97)

Duration	%
<1 hour	5.15%
1–5 hours	11.34%
5–10 hours	7.22%
10–24 hours	14.43%
24–48 hours	6.19%
2–7 days	17.53%
>7 days	37.11%

Table 8 Negative side effects from anesthesia use

Side effects	Frequency*
Nausea/vomiting	18
Fatigue	17
Reduced cognitive ability/brain fog	16
Headaches	14
“Out of it” longer than usual	13
Pain (from anesthesia use, not surgery)	11
Dizziness	9
Difficulty breathing	8
MCS worsened	8
Heart problems/palpitations	6
Depression	6
Difficulty being anesthetized	5
Body convulsions	5
Rash	5
Undefined chemical reactions	3
Difficulty sleeping	3
“Pins and needles” sensation	3
Allergic reaction	2
Other	20

Note:

* Frequency was used because these reported reactions were written in rather than answered on structured questions.

Abbreviation: MCS, multiple chemical sensitivity.