Résumé
We collected the axillary body odour of individuals with severe seasonal allergy (N = 14) and healthy controls (N = 10) during and outside the allergy season and measured serum levels of two inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-5). Independent participants (N = 67) then sampled and rated these odours on intensity and pleasantness. While individuals with seasonal allergy had nominally more unpleasant and intense body odours during the allergy season - relative to outside of the allergy season and to healthy controls - these effects were not significant. When examining immune markers, the change in perceived pleasantness of an individual’s body odour (from out- to inside pollen season), was significantly related to the change in their interleukin-5 levels but not to tumor necrosis factor-α.See published paper for more information.