A substantial part of the psychodermatological literature has focused on atopic forms of eczema, and many of the above referred hypotheses concerning possible explanatory factors for the association between anxiety and depression, and eczema presuppose the involvement of atopy (elevated levels of IgE, in addition to "atopic symptoms" [16]) as a part of the aetiological chain underlying this association. This evidence concerns the gene IGHE and major depressive disorder.