title: The Association Between Bathing Habits and Severity of Atopic Dermatitis in Children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atopic dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disease that frequently affects children. The current recommendations on management using lifestyle modification are highly variable, leading to confusion and uncertainty among patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine current bathing behaviors and the subsequent impact on disease severity.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted at an urban pediatric emergency department. Parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire concerning the patient's bathing habits. The results were correlated with the atopic dermatitis severity determined by the SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) tool.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No difference between variables was found to be significant for bathing frequency, time spent bathing, or use of moisturizers. Multivariate analysis showed that atopic dermatitis severity increased with age greater than 2 years (P = .0004) and with greater bathing duration (P = .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Atopic dermatitis severity may be associated with a longer duration of bathing. The frequency of bathing does not appear to affect atopic dermatitis severity.
authors.affiliation: St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA, USA Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA ioannis.koutroulis@drexelmed.edu.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koutroulis
authors.affiliation: St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA, USA Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Tia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pyle
authors.affiliation: Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kopylov
authors.affiliation: Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Little
authors.affiliation: Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gaughan
authors.affiliation: St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA, USA Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kratimenos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001494:Baths / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: SCORAD; atopic dermatitis; bathing; children; eczema