The relationship between the severity of itch symptoms and attentional bias in patients with chronic itch

Itch is an evolutionary mechanism that protects one from harm. It is an unpleasant sensation that often leads to scratching or rubbing. Some skin conditions have itching as a primary symptom. Moreover, it is an experience that is likely to draw attention. Therefore, attentional bias might be found in patients with a chronic itch condition. However, it has not been investigated whether experiencing a higher level of itch symptoms leads to a higher attentional bias towards itch. The aim of this research is to investigate whether patients with a chronic itch condition that experience more itch symptoms (at the current moment of testing) will have a higher attentional bias score as opposed to people with fewer itch symptoms. The subjects of this study were 5 patients with a chronic itch condition (atopic dermatitis and/or psoriasis). In order to answer the research question participants filled in questionnaires and an attention bias task (dot-probe task with itch-related pictures) was...Show moreItch is an evolutionary mechanism that protects one from harm. It is an unpleasant sensation that often leads to scratching or rubbing. Some skin conditions have itching as a primary symptom. Moreover, it is an experience that is likely to draw attention. Therefore, attentional bias might be found in patients with a chronic itch condition. However, it has not been investigated whether experiencing a higher level of itch symptoms leads to a higher attentional bias towards itch. The aim of this research is to investigate whether patients with a chronic itch condition that experience more itch symptoms (at the current moment of testing) will have a higher attentional bias score as opposed to people with fewer itch symptoms. The subjects of this study were 5 patients with a chronic itch condition (atopic dermatitis and/or psoriasis). In order to answer the research question participants filled in questionnaires and an attention bias task (dot-probe task with itch-related pictures) was performed. To establish the level of itch symptoms participants filled in a scale from 0 to 10. The result did not indicate higher attentional bias in patients with higher itch symptoms. The results did not support the expectation that a higher level of itch symptoms leads to a higher attentional bias towards itch. However, this might be due to the low number of participants. Future research should take coping style into account.Show less

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The relationship between the severity of itch symptoms and attentional bias in patients with chronic itch