Maternal prepregnancy BMI, birth length linked to offspring atopic dermatitis

Increasing maternal prepregnancy body mass index (ppBMI) and increasing birth length are associated with offspring atopic dermatitis by age 3 years, according to a study published online March 23 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: Global.

Frida Berents, from the University of Bergen in Norway, and colleagues examined whether ppBMI and offspring newborn anthropometric measures or fetal growth are associated with atopic dermatitis by age 3 years. Maternal ppBMI was reported at enrollment at midpregnancy in 2,107 mother-child pairs from the general population-based Scandinavian Preventing Atopic Dermatitis and ALLergies cohort. Standard criteria were used to diagnose atopic dermatitis at ages 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months.

The researchers found that by age 3 years, atopic dermatitis was diagnosed in 525 of 2,107 children (25%), with a positive association seen with increasing maternal BMI (adjusted odds ratio per BMI unit, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.06). There was a positive association for increasing birth length with atopic dermatitis (adjusted odds ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.12), while an inverse association was seen for short birth length (<48 cm; adjusted odds ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.51 to 1.00). There were no associations observed for birth weight; thoracic, abdominal, or upper arm circumference at birth; or fetal growth with atopic dermatitis.

“Our results highlight the importance of early-life growth patterns for the development of atopic dermatitis,” the authors write.

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