Table 10.
Comparison of the Prevalence of Chronic Illnesses Between Controls and Self‐Selected EHS Subjects
| Chronic illnesses at present | Chronic illnesses in the past | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls (n = 681) | Self‐selected EHS subjects (n = 116) | χ 2 test | Controls (n = 681) | Self‐selected EHS subjects (n = 116) | χ 2 test | |||
| Chronic illness | n (%) | n (%) | P‐value | n (%) | n (%) | P value | ||
| Diabetes mellitus | 7 (1.03) | 1 (0.86) | 0.868 | n.s. | 11 (1.62) | 2 (1.72) | 0.932 | n.s. |
| High blood pressure | 49 (7.20) | 5 (4.31) | 0.253 | n.s. | 37 (5.43) | 7 (6.03) | 0.793 | n.s. |
| Heart diseases | 10 (1.47) | 2 (1.72) | 0.834 | n.s. | 9 (1.32) | 6 (5.17) | 0.005 | n.s. |
| Autonomic imbalance | 5 (0.73) | 6 (5.17) | 1.52 × 10−4 | ** | 23 (3.38) | 20 (17.24) | 1.00 × 10−9 | *** |
| Migraines | 8 (1.17) | 2 (1.72) | 0.623 | n.s. | 33 (4.85) | 9 (7.76) | 0.194 | n.s. |
| Allergy symptoms a | 84 (12.33) | 16 (13.79) | 0.661 | n.s. | 285 (41.85) | 75 (64.66) | 5.06 × 10−6 | *** |
| Atopic dermatitis | 11 (1.62) | 3 (2.59) | 0.462 | n.s. | 60 (8.81) | 16 (13.79) | 0.091 | n.s. |
| Bronchial asthma | 9 (1.32) | 4 (3.45) | 0.095 | n.s. | 52 (7.64) | 15 (12.93) | 0.057 | n.s. |
| Allergic nasal catarrh | 31 (4.55) | 2 (1.72) | 0.158 | n.s. | 109 (16.01) | 36 (31.03) | 1.05 × 10−4 | ** |
| Allergic conjunctivitis | 12 (1.76) | 2 (1.72) | 0.977 | n.s. | 59 (8.66) | 28 (24.14) | 7.80 × 10−7 | *** |
| Rash | 8 (1.17) | 0 (0.00) | 0.241 | n.s. | 69 (10.13) | 25 (21.55) | 4.24 × 10−4 | *** |
| Hey fever | 44 (6.46) | 4 (3.45) | 0.207 | n.s. | 123 (18.06) | 39 (33.62) | 1.19 × 10−4 | *** |
| Food allergies | 5 (0.73) | 5 (4.31) | 0.001 | n.s. | 46 (6.75) | 24 (20.69) | 9.52 × 10−7 | *** |
| Other allergy symptom b | 0 (0.00) | 2 (1.72) | 6.02 × 10−4 | * | 33 (4.85) | 9 (7.76) | 0.194 | n.s. |
| Sick house syndrome | 0 (0.00) | 4 (3.45) | 1.19 × 10−6 | *** | 8 (1.17) | 23 (19.83) | 7.64 × 10−22 | *** |
| Multiple chemical sensitivity | 0 (0.00) | 46 (39.66) | 2.75 × 10−64 | *** | 7 (1.03) | 19 (16.38) | 7.74 × 10−18 | *** |
| Electromagnetic hypersensitivity | 0 (0.00) | 46 (39.66) | 2.75 × 10−64 | *** | 1 (0.15) | 19 (16.38) | 5.04 × 10−25 | *** |
| Others | 7 (1.03) | 9 (7.76) | 1.77 × 10−6 | *** | 42 (6.17) | 41 (35.34) | 1.90 × 10−21 | *** |
Note: Differences in prevalence of chronic illnesses between self‐selected EHS subjects (n = 116) and controls (n = 681) were analyzed using χ 2 test with Bonferroni correction for multiple tests (40 tests; P < 0.000125). n.s.: not significant.
a
Allergy symptoms: percentage for “Allergy symptoms” does not represent the sum of percentages from “Atopic dermatitis” to “Other allergy symptoms” because some participants described more than one allergy symptom.
b
Other allergy symptoms: allergy diseases other than those described above.
*
P ≤ 0.0005.
**
P ≤ 0.0001.
***
P ≤ 0.00001.