Psychiatric Illness in the First-Degree Relatives of Persons Reporting Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

The multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) syndrome is characterized by unexplained physical & psychiatric complaints attributed by patients & some of their physicians to low-level chemical exposures. In this study, we interviewed 15 subjects with MCS & 21 controls about their first-degree relatives. Subjects with MCS were more likely than controls to report their relatives to have major depression, alcoholics, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, & antisocial personality disorder. They were also likely to have past suicide attempts, & to have received some form of psychiatric treatment. Nearly 30% of the relatives of the subjects with MCS were reported to have MCS themselves. (26 refs)