The Role of Skin Care Products and Early Food for the Prevention of Atopic Dermatitis in Infants

Abstract

The aim of the study
 The aim of this study was to assess the value of interventions aimed at improving the skin barrier and skin care products, as well as breastfeeding and early introduction of complementary foods, for the primary prevention of atopic dermatitis (AD) and food allergy in infants.
 Materials and methods
 We started a survey in the period from May 2022, which continues to this day. The survey was conducted with the help of Google forms and distributed on the Internet, as well as parents of children who applied for help at Kyiv children’s clinical hospital No. 2 and MC "Allergolog" were interviewed. The relationship between intervention methods and the development of AD and food allergy was determined using the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).
 Results
 According to the survey data, 42,2% of children received moisturizing cream, parents of 16,5% of children reported using moisturizing oil for bathing the child, 12,4% of parents used less soap and bathed the child less often, 28,9% reported that they did not use none of these methods and means of care.
 AD occurred in 23,7% of children interviewed. The odds ratio for the moisturizing cream group was 68,6 (CI 3,9-1201,5), p=0,004, for the groups that used moisturizing oils for bathing – 8,9 (CI 0,4-197,6), p= 0,17, for the group where the intervention was a reduction in bathing and using soap – 7,1 (CI 0,3-186,0), p=0,24.
 18,6% of respondents reported a reaction to food that occurred in the child within 2 hours after consumption. We have not found any role of emollients (OR=1,4, CI 0,4-4,9), p=0,56, moisturizing oils for bathing (OR=0,3, CI 0,03-2,6), p=0,27, and reduced use of soap and water (OR=1,4 (CI 0,3-7,2), p=0,66 for the development of food allergy.
 The duration of breastfeeding (more than 3 months) did not affect the risk of developing AD (OR = 0,1, CI 0,01-2,6), p = 0,19, or food allergy (OR = 1,3, CI 0,3-6,9), p=0,74. Also, the role of earlier introduction of supplementary food on the development of AD and food allergy was not shown: the OR for AD was 0,9 (CI 0,3-2,7), p=0,8, the OR for food allergy was 0,8 (CI 0,2- 2,9), p=0,76.
 Conclusions
 This study did not reveal the protective role of skin care products, breastfeeding, and early introduction of complementary foods for the development of AD and food allergies in children. A larger survey will allow us to study the effect of emollients and other preventive measures on the development of food allergies in a group of children with AD.