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Neurodevelopment at 6 years of age in children with atopic dermatitis
Ju Hee Kim1, Yoon Young Yi1, Eun Kyo Ha2
1Department of Pediatrics, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Insights
Children with atopic dermatitis (AD) before age two may face higher risks of neurodevelopmental issues, including problems with gross and fine motor skills. This study highlights a potential link between early childhood eczema and developmental challenges.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Dermatology
Background:
- Limited research exists on the link between atopic dermatitis and cognitive impairment in children.
- Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin condition in childhood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between early-onset atopic dermatitis and neurodevelopmental dysfunction in children.
- To assess risks for motor skills, cognition, language, social, and self-care domains.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 2,395,966 children from Korean National Health Insurance System databases (2008-2012).
- Atopic dermatitis defined by >=5 diagnoses before 24 months.
- Neurodevelopmental dysfunction assessed at age 6 using the Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants and Children; ADHD used as a positive control.
Main Results:
- The atopic dermatitis group showed increased risk for overall neurodevelopmental dysfunction (aOR 1.10 [1.05-1.16]), gross motor skills (aOR 1.14 [1.04-1.25]), and fine motor skills (aOR 1.15 [1.06-1.25]).
- AD treated with steroids or hospitalization indicated higher risks.
- Significant associations found between AD and intellectual disability, psychological development disorders, behavioral/emotional disorders, and ADHD.
Conclusions:
- Early-onset atopic dermatitis (before age 2) is potentially linked to an elevated risk of neurodevelopmental dysfunction.
- Gross and fine motor skills appear particularly affected in early childhood.
Background:
Few studies have reported an association between atopic dermatitis and cognitive impairment in children. Therefore, we evaluated the association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and neurodevelopmental dysfunction in children.
Methods:
We analyzed 2,395,966 children born between 2008 and 2012 in Korea. All data were acquired from the databases of the Korean National Health Insurance System. AD was defined as five or more diagnoses before age 24 months. The outcome was suspected neurodevelopmental dysfunction in the gross motor skill, fine motor skill, cognition, language, sociality, and self-care domains of the Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants and Children at age 6 years. The positive control outcome was defined as attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). The associations were assessed using ordinal logistic regression, adjusting for asthma and allergic rhinitis.
Results:
Among the eligible children, 89,452 and 30,557 were allocated to the control and AD groups, respectively. In the weighted data, the AD group showed a higher risk of suspected neurodevelopmental dysfunction in the total score (weighted adjusted odds ratio [95% CI] 1.10 [1.05-1.16]), gross motor skills (1.14 [1.04-1.25]), and fine motor skills (1.15 [1.06-1.25]) than the control group. The AD with steroids or hospitalization groups showed an increased risk of suspected neurodevelopmental dysfunction. In addition, the AD group showed a significant association with mental retardation, psychological development disorder, and behavioral and emotional disorders as well as ADHD.
Conclusions:
AD before age 2 years may be associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental dysfunction including gross and fine motor skills in the young childhood period.
