Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Review of the State of the Art in Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Future Perspectives

OBJECTIVE: Systematic bibliography analysis of about the last 17 years on multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) was carried out in order to detect new diagnostic and epidemiological evidence. The MCS is a complex syndrome that manifests as a result of exposure to a low level of various common contaminants. The etiology, diagnosis, and treatment are still debated among researchers. METHOD: Querying PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane library, both using some specific MESH terms combined with MESH subheadings and through free search, even by Google. RESULTS: The studies were analyzed by verifying 1) the typology of study design; 2) criteria for case definition; 3) presence of attendances in the emergency departments and hospital admissions, and 4) analysis of the risk factors. OUTLOOK: With this review, we give some general considerations and hypothesis for possible future research.