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The relationship between childhood atopic dermatitis and asthma in an under resourced community
Citation:
Bernstein, J., L. Wymer, M. Nye, AND S. Vesper. The relationship between childhood atopic dermatitis and asthma in an under resourced community. Allergy and Asthma Proceedings. OceanSide Publications, Providence, RI, 45(2):108-111, (2024). https://doi.org/10.2500/aap.2024.45.230093
Impact/Purpose:
Asthma is the most common chronic disease of children in the US and is caused by environmental exposures. Environmental Justice communities have a higher prevalence of asthma than other communities. Therefore, reducing the development of asthma is an environmental priority. In this study, we assessed Medicaid data for the 6- and 7-year-olds living in the under-resourced community of Sun Valley, Denver Colorado to determine the chronological relationship between atopic dermatitis and the development of asthma. Atopic dermatitis is an allergenic disease suggesting that exposures to biological agents, like molds, is causative. Previously we demonstrated that infants exposed to high levels of mold were more likely to develop asthma by age 7. This Medicaid data indicates that 6-year-olds with atopic dermatitis are likely to be diagnosed with asthma at age 7. These results suggest that infants and children should not be exposed to highly allergenic environments. These findings will be important for parents, physicians, property managers, landlords, and the EPA Office of Children's Health and the Environmental Justice Team at EPA.
Description:
Background:Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease caused by allergen exposures and estimated to affect ∼20% of children. Children in urban areas have a higher prevalence of AD compared with those living outside of urban areas. AD is believed to lead to asthma development as part of the “atopic march.”Objective:Our objective was to determine the sequential and chronological relationships between AD and asthma for children in an under-resourced community.Methods:The progression from AD to asthma in the under-resourced, urban community of Sun Valley, Colorado, was examined by assessing Medicaid data for the years 2016 to 2019 for a diagnosis of AD or asthma in children 6 and 7 years old.Results:Pearson correlations between AD and asthma diagnoses were significant only with respect to AD at age 6 years compared with asthma 1 year later, at age 7 years.Conclusion:By studying a susceptible community with a consistent but mixed genetic background, we found sequential and chronological links between AD and asthma.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: The relationship between childhood atopic dermatitis and asthma in an under resourced community
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38449008/