Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41773622›Full record

ArticleActa dermato-venereologica2026

Catastrophizing in Chronic Itch: Associations with Demographic, Clinical and Psychological Factors.

Isabel Niemeyer, Pascale Salameh, Hanna H Linß, Eva M Grekowitz, Leonie S Herzog, Martin Metz, Manuel P Pereira

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Acta dermato-venereologica, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Isabel NiemeyerInstitute of Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0009-0000-2957-9042
Pascale SalamehInstitute of Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology and Allergology, Berlin, Germany; Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University of Nicosia Medical School, 2417, Nicosia, Cyprus; Institut National de Santé Publique d'Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban (INSPECT-LB), Beirut, Lebanon.ORCID 0000-0002-4780-0772
Hanna H LinßInstitute of Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0009-0000-3623-9548
Eva M GrekowitzInstitute of Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology and Allergology, Berlin, Germany.
Leonie S HerzogInstitute of Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology and Allergology, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7691-0372
Martin MetzInstitute of Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology and Allergology, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4070-9976
Manuel P PereiraInstitute of Allergology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Immunology and Allergology, Berlin, Germany. manuel.pereira@charite.de.ORCID 0009-0008-0162-0742

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Catastrophizing, defined as an overly negative evaluation of one's situation, is associated with worse disease outcomes in patients with chronic pain but remains unexplored in pruritus medicine. In this cross-sectional study, we included patients with chronic prurigo (CPG, n=50), chronic pruritus on nonlesional skin (CPNL, n=50) and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU, n=50) to investigate catastrophizing and determine possible associations with demographic and clinical factors. Patients completed validated questionnaires assessing catastrophizing (Itch-Cognition-Questionnaire), itch intensity, disease control, quality of life, anxiety, depression, stress and attention to itch. We recorded median [interquartile range] catastrophizing scores of 19.0 [11.0; 29.0] for CPG, 17.0 [11.8; 24.3] for CPNL and 10.0 [5.0; 18.3] for CSU patients. Catastrophizing correlated positively with itch intensity (r=0.382-0.678, p<0.001-0.006), quality of life impairment (r=0.554-0.716, p<0.001) and vigilance and awareness to itch (r=0.407-0.591, p<0.001-0.003) across patient groups. Linear regression analysis revealed a lower likelihood of catastrophizing in CSU patients (CSU: β=-5.905, p<0.001; CPG: reference), a positive association of catastrophizing with average itch intensity (β=1.119, p=0.008) and attention to itch (β=0.150, p<0.001), and a negative association with age (β=-0.095, p=0.004) and short disease duration (β=-5.797, p=0.049). Catastrophizing represents a pivotal cognitive process, which is associated with worse clinical outcomes in chronic itch patients.

Indexed as

CatastrophizationChronic UrticariaPruritusAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsChronic DiseaseCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansLinear ModelsMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesQuality of Life

Identifiers

PMID41773622
PMCPMC12954574

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.