Comparison of Mental Health and Resilience among Patients with Acute and Chronic Urticaria and Healthy Individuals

Fatemeh  Jahanshahi; Azar  Rahimi; Zeinab  Razazi; Fatemeh  Mokhtari; Sahar  Bahmanyar

doi:10.18502/jabs.v16i2.20880

Fatemeh Jahanshahi Department of Nursing, Sav.C., Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran
Azar Rahimi Department of Nursing, Fir.C., Islamic Azad University, Firoozabad, Iran
Zeinab Razazi Department of Psychology, Sav.C., Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran
Fatemeh Mokhtari Department of Midwifery, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
Sahar Bahmanyar Department of Midwifery, Ar.C., Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jabs.v16i2.20880

Keywords: Mental health, Resilience, Chronic urticaria, Acute urticaria, Psychological well-being

Abstract

Background & Objective: Urticaria is a common inflammatory skin disorder that, particularly in its chronic form, may result in substantial psychological and social consequences. Despite extensive evidence regarding mental health disturbances among affected individuals, the role of resilience as a psychological protective factor has remained insufficiently explored, particularly in comparative studies. This study aimed to compare mental health and resilience among patients with acute urticaria, patients with chronic urticaria, and healthy individuals.

Materials & Methods: This causal-comparative study was conducted in Arak, Iran, between 2019 and 2020. A total of 90 participants were recruited through convenience sampling and equally assigned to three groups: patients with acute urticaria (n = 30), patients with chronic urticaria (n = 30), and healthy individuals (n = 30). Mental health was assessed using the Symptom Checklist-25 (SCL-25), while resilience was measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (2003). Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Tukey’s post hoc test in SPSS version 20.

Results: The findings indicated that patients with chronic urticaria exhibited the highest levels of mental health disturbances and the lowest levels of resilience compared with patients with acute urticaria and healthy individuals. In addition, patients with acute urticaria demonstrated poorer psychological status than healthy individuals across most domains.

Conclusion: Chronic urticaria is associated with marked psychological vulnerability and diminished resilience. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating psychological screening, resilience-enhancing interventions, and patient education into the routine management of patients with chronic urticaria in order to improve long-term adaptation and quality of life.