Proceedings of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting 2021

Background: COVID-19 symptoms overlap with allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma, potentially impacting mental well-being [1].Research regarding the effects of anxiety and stress on Health Care Professional (HCP) students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is beginning to emerge.It is currently unknown if trainees with atopic conditions experience different stress levels than their non-atopic peers.In Canadian adults, the estimated prevalence for AR and food allergy(FA) is 44% and 6.1%, respectively [2,3].Methods: Between August 2020 to June 2021, Faculty of Health Sciences students (n = 266) completed a one-time questionnaire using the QualtricsXM TM survey platform of which 114 respondents disclosed their atopic status.The following data was collected: Self-reported atopy status, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7), Patient Health Questionaire-9(PHQ-9), and Perceived Stress Score-10(PSS-10).Participants were then classified based on the type and number of atopic conditions they reported.A follow-up visit involving skin prick testing (SPT) to a standard panel of 9 aeroallergen and food extracts, and/or fresh fruits, where applicable, was completed (n = 34) to determine how accurately allergies were self-reported.Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 27.Results: Having a self-reported allergic condition or asthma did not impact GAD-7, PSS, and PHQ-9 scores, in HCP students.Further stratifying the dataset by the type and number of allergic conditions also did not impact GAD-7, PSS, and PHQ-9 scores or severity.The self-reported prevalence of asthma, AR and FA was 5.71%, 64.71%, and 29.41%, respectively.SPT confirmed 64.71% and 8.82% of participants were sensitized to AR and food allergens, respectively.Generally, seasonal AR allergies were underreported whereas, perennial AR and FA were overreported.Conclusions: Atopic conditions did not impact mental health scores in HCP student's which suggests that they are generally aware of their atopic conditions and able to differentiate allergy and COVID-19 symptoms.Self-reported accuracy varied and may be impacted by the specific allergic condition.