urticaria and stress

Last reviewed 01/2018

  • urticaria and angio-oedema can lead to significant stress and the converse is also recognized namely that psychological stress can trigger or aggravate urticaria
  • possible mechanism for the latter is through stress-induced release of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH)
    • known to be expressed locally in the skin
    • in chronic urticaria there is up-regulation of the CRH-R1 receptor that mediates CRH-dependent cutaneous mast cell degranulation

Reference: