title: Childhood eczema and the importance of the physical environment.
abstract: In this issue, Simpson and colleagues report a large-scale ecological study that reminds us of the importance of physical environmental factors in the development of atopic dermatitis. The mechanisms through which these factors influence AD development are incompletely understood, but further research in this area is likely to yield substantial insights into this very common childhood dermatological disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. sinead.langan@lshtm.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sinéad M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Langan
authors.forename: Alan D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Irvine
mesh_terms: D002980:Climate; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D008297:Male; D013696:Temperature