Background: This study aimed to estimate the association between eczema in early childhood and the onset of\r\nasthma and rhinitis later in life in children.\r\nMethods: A total of 3,124 children aged 1ââ?¬â??2 years were included in the Dampness in Building and Health (DBH)\r\nstudy in the year 2000, and followed up 5 years later by a parental questionnaire based on an International Study\r\nof Asthma and Allergies in Childhood protocol. The association between eczema in early childhood and the\r\nincidence of asthma and rhinitis later in life was estimated by univariable and multivariable logistic regression\r\nmodelling.\r\nResults: The prevalence of eczema in children aged 1ââ?¬â??2 years was 17.6% at baseline. Children with eczema\r\nhad a 3-fold increased odds of developing asthma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.07; 95% confidence interval (CI)\r\n1.79ââ?¬â??5.27), and a nearly 3-fold increased odds of developing rhinitis (aOR, 2.63; 1.85ââ?¬â??3.73) at follow-up compared\r\nwith children without eczema, adjusted for age, sex, parental allergic disease, parental smoking, length of\r\nbreastfeeding, site of living, polyvinylchloride flooring material, and concomitant allergic disease. When eczema was\r\ndivided into subgroups, moderate to severe eczema (aOR, 3.56; 1.62ââ?¬â??7.83 and aOR, 3.87; 2.37ââ?¬â??6.33, respectively),\r\nearly onset of eczema (aOR, 3.44; 1.94ââ?¬â??6.09 and aOR, 4.05; 2.82ââ?¬â??5.81; respectively), and persistence of eczema (aOR,\r\n5.16; 2.62ââ?¬â??10.18 and aOR, 4.00; 2.53ââ?¬â??6.22, respectively) further increased the odds of developing asthma and rhinitis.\r\nFurther independent risk factors increasing the odds of developing asthma were a parental history of allergic\r\ndisease (aOR, 1.83; 1.29ââ?¬â??2.60) and a period of breast feeding shorter than 6 months (aOR, 1.57; 1.03ââ?¬â??2.39). The\r\nincidence of rhinitis was increased for parental history of allergic disease (aOR, 2.00; 1.59ââ?¬â??2.51) and polyvinylchloride\r\nflooring (aOR, 1.60; 1.02ââ?¬â??2.51).\r\nConclusion: Eczema in infancy is associated with development of asthma and rhinitis during the following 5-year\r\nperiod, and eczema is one of the strongest risk factors. Early identification is valuable for prediction of the atopic\r\nmarch.
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