Key clinical point: Infections in early life increase the risk of developing atopic dermatitis (AD) later in infancy and early childhood.
Major finding: Prior to AD diagnosis, all infections including skin infection up to 2 years of age were more frequent in patients who subsequently developed AD vs. healthy controls ( P < .001), with a significant association observed between having any infection before AD diagnosis and subsequent development of AD (adjusted odds ratio, 1.40; P < .001), which persisted up to 2 years of age.
Study details: Findings are from a population-based, nationwide case-control study including 5,454 patients (mean age 2.6±2.9 years) with AD matched with 16,362 healthy controls without AD.
Disclosures: This study is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Taichung Veterans General Hospital. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Lin T-L et al. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2022 (Jan 9). Doi: 10.1111/jdv.17908