Background: The Mushua Innu of Natuashish, Labrador, Canada seem to have a high rate of childhood eczema.\nAnecdotally this problem seems to be more common now than 20 years ago. There has been speculation that this\ncould be related to food sensitization that may have arisen coincident with a move away from a traditional Innu\ndiet. We undertook to assess the prevalence and severity of pediatric eczema in Natuashish (population 792), and\ninvestigate the level of sensitization to common food antigens.\nMethods: Over a three-month period we performed a population survey of all children in the community from the\nages of 2ââ?¬â??12 inclusive. The one-year prevalence of eczema was assessed using the United Kingdom Working Partyââ?¬â?¢s\ndiagnostic criteria, and graded on the Nottingham Severity Scale. All children with eczema and twice as many\nage/sex matched controls were offered complete blood counts, total IgE, and food specific IgE levels for egg\nwhite, cowââ?¬â?¢s milk protein and wheat.\nResults: One hundred and eighty two (95% of the eligible children) were assessed. Of the 182 children examined\neczema was diagnosed in 30 (16.5%) - 22 females and 8 males. The majority of children with eczema (20/30) were\nclassified as being in the moderate and severe category. Of the 22 with eczema and 40 controls who consented\nto venipuncture all but 3 had IgE levels above the lab''s reference range. Food specific antibody assays showed\nthat 32, 23, and 5 percent of children with eczema were sensitized to egg, milk, and wheat respectively. None of\nthe controls were sensitized.\nConclusions: The children of Natuashish, Labrador have a high rate of eczema, much of it graded as moderate or\nsevere. IgE levels were markedly elevated in children with and without eczema, with average values at least ten-fold\nhigher than other populations. There is no evidence of an unusual amount of sensitization to egg, milk or wheat.
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