title: Early eczema and the risk of childhood asthma: a prospective, population-based study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Severe eczema in young children is associated with an increased risk of developing asthma and rhino-conjunctivitis. In the general population, however, most cases of eczema are mild to moderate. In an unselected cohort, we studied the risk of current asthma and the co-existence of allergy-related diseases at 6 years of age among children with and without eczema at 2 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaires assessing various environmental exposures and health variables were administered at 2 years of age. An identical health questionnaire was completed at 6 years of age. The clinical investigation of a random subsample ascertained eczema diagnoses, and missing data were handled by multiple imputation analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The estimate for the association between eczema at 2 years and current asthma at 6 years was OR=1.80 (95% CI 1.10-2.96). Four of ten children with eczema at 6 years had the onset of eczema after the age of 2 years, but the co-existence of different allergy-related diseases at 6 years was higher among those with the onset of eczema before 2 years of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although most cases of eczema in the general population were mild to moderate, early eczema was associated with an increased risk of developing childhood asthma. These findings support the hypothesis of an atopic march in the general population.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The Prevention of Allergy among Children in Trondheim study has been identified as ISRCTN28090297 in the international Current Controlled Trials database.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. marit.saunes@ntnu.no
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saunes
authors.forename: Torbjørn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Øien
authors.forename: Christian K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Dotterud
authors.forename: Pål R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Romundstad
authors.forename: Ola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Storrø
authors.forename: Turid L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Holmen
authors.forename: Roar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johnsen
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003233:Conjunctivitis, Allergic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires