The role of anxious temperament in patients with allergic rhinitis.

To evaluate the ‎depressive and anxiety levels in allergic rhinitis (AR) and to investigate the relationship between ‎depression and anxiety symptoms and depressive and anxious temperament features. 

Methods: The study design is cross-sectional. The study was conducted between January 2017 and January  2018. Patients (n=101)  diagnosed with  AR and healthy controls (n=74) were included in this ‎study. All participants were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety‎ Inventory (BAI), and TEMPS-A (Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, San Diego ‎Autoquestionaire).‎ 

Results: The median BAI and BDI scores of the patients were found to be significantly higher than the control group (p=0.016 and p=0.001). In AR patients, ‎the percentage of depressive and anxious temperaments were ‎significantly higher than in the control group (p=0.029). Depressive temperament scores showed strong positive correlation with anxious temperament ‎ and BDI scores and a medium relationship with the BAI (r; p=0.639; p less than 0.001, p=0.671; p less than 0.001, and p=0.495; p less than 0.001, respectively). Participants with anxious ‎temperament had 6.3-times (95% CI: 1.3-28.3) the risk for developing AR.‎ 

Conclusion: Screening of temperament traits in AR patients may allow prediction of future ‎depression and anxiety symptoms. These temperament traits may be mediators of depression ‎and anxiety in AR patients. Depressive and anxious temperament traits may contribute to both ‎depression and allergy.