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Stanley M. Caress, PhD and Anne C. Steinemann, PhD

Stanley M. Caress is with the State University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Ga. Anne C. Steinemann is an associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Stanley M. Caress, PhD, State University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118 (e-mail: scaress{at}westga.edu).

We examined the prevalence of multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), a hypersensitivity to common chemical substances. We used a randomly selected sample of 1582 respondents from the Atlanta, Ga, standard metropolitan statistical area. We found that 12.6% of our sample reported the hypersensitivity and that, while the hypersensitivity is more common in women, it is experienced by both men and women of a variety of ages and educational levels. Our prevalence for MCS is similar to that (15.9%) found by the California Department of Health Services in California and suggests that the national prevalence may be similar.