ReviewNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews2018
The vicious cycle of itch and anxiety.
Review in Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
82 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Integration of GWAS, QTLs and keratinocyte functional assays reveals molecular mechanisms of atopic dermatitis.Nature communications · 2025Pooled it
- The prevalence of comorbid mental health difficulties in young people with chronic skin conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of health psychology · 2025Pooled it
- IL-31 Inhibition as a Therapeutic Approach for the Management of Chronic Pruritic Dermatoses.Drugs · 2021Pooled it
- Prevalence and determinants of anxiety and depression in adult patients with atopic dermatitis in Tanzania.Skin health and disease · 2026Article
- Psychosomatic Burden and Childhood Trauma in Chronic Pruritus without Primary Dermatosis or Systemic Disease: A Case-control Study.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2026Article
- Triazole 187 is a biased KOR agonist that suppresses itch without sedation and induces anxiolytic-like behaviors in mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Supraspinal Circuit Mechanisms Underlying Itch Processing.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Study of Clinico-demography and Impact on Quality of Life of Patients with Scalp Pruritus.Indian dermatology online journal · 2026Article
- Lateral hypothalamus directs stress-induced modulation of acute and psoriatic itch.Cell reports · 2026Article
- The contribution of endocytic mediators to itch transmission.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Novel therapeutic use of nemolizumab for refractory chronic scalp dysesthesia.JAAD case reports · 2026Article
- Breaking the vicious cycle: a bibliometric and visual analysis of the bidirectional relationship between pruritus and negative emotions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Tobacco smoking and occupational hand eczema severity in a North African adult population: a cross-sectional analytical study.Frontiers in allergy · 2026Article
- The contribution of endocytic mediators to itch transmission.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Article
- Central neural circuits underlying itch sensation.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Chronic Pruritus in Older Adults: Prevalence, Associations, and Pruritus-specific Quality of Life.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2025Article
- Chronic cough and chronic pruritus in older adults: a population-based cross-sectional study.ERJ open research · 2025Article
- Psilocin alleviates acute itch in mice: possible involvement of 5-HT2A receptors and kynurenine pathway.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Article
- Review
- Long-term scratching analysis of mice using machine learning.PNAS nexus · 2025Article
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Chronic itch is associated with increased stress, anxiety, and other mood disorders. In turn, stress and anxiety exacerbate itch, leading to a vicious cycle that affects patient behavior (scratching) and worsens disease prognosis and quality of life. This cycle persists across chronic itch conditions of different etiologies and even to some extent in healthy individuals, suggesting that the final common pathway for itch processing (the central nervous system) plays a major role in the relationship between itch and anxiety. Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments that reduce anxiety have shown promising anti-itch effects. Further research is needed to establish specific central mechanisms of the itch-anxiety cycle and provide new targets for treatment.
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Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.