Persistent eczema leads to both impaired growth and food allergy: JECS birth cohort

Abstract

Skin inflammation leads to altered cytokine/chemokine production and causes systemic inflammation. The systemic mechanism of atopic dermatitis (AD) is recognized to affect systemic metabolism. This study aimed to examine the relationship between early-onset persistent eczema and body weight, height, and body mass index (BMI), in addition to food allergy in a birth cohort among infants. This study design was a nationwide, multicenter, prospective birth cohort study—the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS). Generalized linear models were fitted for z scores of weight, height, BMI, and food allergy to evaluate the relationship between eczema and these outcomes for infants at age1, 2, and 3 years. Persistent eczema was negatively associated with height at the age of 2 years (estimated coefficient, −0.127; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.16 to −0.095) and 3 years (−0.177; 95% CI, −0.214 to −0.139). The same tendency was also observed with weight and BMI. Early disease onset at younger than 1 year and persistent eczema had the strongest association with development of food allergy at age 3 years (OR, 11.794; 95% CI, 10.721–12.975). One phenotype of eczema with early-onset and persistent disease creates a risk of both physical growth impairment and development of food allergy. Infants who present with the early-onset and persistent type of eczema should be carefully evaluated daily for impaired physical growth and development of food allergy.

Intake of allergenic foods at 1.5 years and 3 years of age in a general child population in Japan: a cross-sectional study

“…Below, we review recent epidemiological studies on pediatric allergic diseases in Japan. A nationwide survey of approximately 60,000 people (the Japan Environment and Children’s Study: JECS) reported atopic dermatitis in 18.5% of 1-year-olds and 14.7% of 3-year-olds, and physician-diagnosed food allergies in 6.6% and 6.3% of respondents, respectively [ 37 ]. In an online nationwide survey of 633 children aged 2–6 years, 16.7% of caregivers reported atopic dermatitis by ISAAC, and 16.7% also reported physician-diagnosed food allergy [ 38 ].…”

Season of birth and atopic dermatitis in early infancy: results from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

“…Thus, the eczema seen at this age may be much more influenced by the season of observation. In Japan, hot and humid conditions in summer are associated with the prevalence of eczema in 1 month olds [ 47 – 49 ]. In our study, the prevalence was particularly high in 1 month olds (61.0%) compared with older infants, probably because eczema at this age shows a high degree of clinical heterogeneity, similar to other forms of eczema such as seborrheic dermatitis, intertrigo, and diaper dermatitis.…”

Allergic Disorders and Risk of Anemia in Japanese Children: Findings from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

“…“Anemia” was defined by a positive response to the question “Has your child ever been diagnosed with anemia by a doctor since the age of 2 years?” The variables used in the analysis included dichotomous variables (smoking exposure (yes or no), maternal allergic history (yes or no), parental education levels (low vs. normal or high), family income (<4 or ≥4 million JPY per year), pet keeping (yes or no), birth weight (<2500 or ≥2500 g), sex (boys or girls), premature birth (<37 or ≥37 weeks), breastfeeding (yes or no), sleeping time (<11.5 or ≥11.5 h), kindergarten (yes or no), and parity (nulliparous or multiparous)) and a continuous variable (z score of body mass index (BMI) at 2 years). We calculated z scores for BMI using the LMS method, with age- and sex-specific values of L, M, and S obtained from the Japanese growth curve criteria [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”