title: Association between obesity and atopic dermatitis in childhood: a case-control study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity in children is associated with increased asthma and atopy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to determine whether obesity in childhood or adolescence increases the risk of atopic dermatitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective, practice-based, case-control study randomly sampled 414 children and adolescents (age, 1-21 years) with atopic dermatitis between January 2000 and December 2007 and 828 randomly sampled healthy control subjects. Information was obtained from an electronic medical record. Observations were made before the a priori hypothesis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Obesity in children is associated with increased atopic dermatitis (conditional logistic regression: odds ratio, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.22-3.26; P = .006). These atopic dermatitis-predisposing effects are found when obesity started by less than 2 years of age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 15.10; 95% CI, 1.51-151.21; P = .02) and 2 to 5 years (aOR, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.24-5.41; P = .01) but not greater than 5 years (aOR, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.66-2.64; P = .43) and when obesity was prolonged for 2.5 to 5 years (aOR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.13-6.18; P = .03) and greater than 5 years (aOR, 3.40; 95% CI, 1.34-8.63; P = 0.01). Obesity is associated with more severe atopic dermatitis (ordinal logistic regression: aOR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.24-5.37; P = .01). Obese children who eventually have atopic dermatitis require more frequent pediatrician visits for the management of atopic dermatitis (ordinal logistic regression: aOR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.12-4.50; P = .03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prolonged obesity in early childhood is a risk factor for atopic dermatitis. Weight loss might be an important approach for the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA. JonathanISilverberg@Gmail.com
authors.forename: Jonathan I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Silverberg
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kleiman
authors.forename: Hadar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lev-Tov
authors.forename: Nanette B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Silverberg
authors.forename: Helen G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Durkin
authors.forename: Rauno
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Joks
authors.forename: Tamar A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Smith-Norowitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000150:complications* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D016017:Odds Ratio; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications; D012307:Risk Factors; D015431:Weight Loss; D055815:Young Adult