Association between allergic diseases and body composition in toddlers: A Nationwide birth cohort study in Japan

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between allergic diseases and body composition, specifically obesity and thinness, in toddlers.

We performed a secondary analysis of data from the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the 21st Century in Japan. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between asthma, eczema, and food allergies occurring between 6 and 18 months of age and body composition, measured by body mass index (BMI) at 18 months. To assess potential reverse causality, we also analyzed whether BMI changes from birth to 18 months were associated with subsequent treatment history for allergic diseases within the same period.

A total of 77,281 children were included in the study. The incidence of asthma, eczema, and food allergy between 6 and 18 months was 3.4%, 16.5%, and 5.2%, respectively. Asthma was significantly associated with obesity (odds ratio [OR], 1.40; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.21-1.62). However, no significant associations were observed between eczema or food allergy and obesity or thinness. Additionally, BMI change from birth to 18 months was positively associated with a history of asthma treatment (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.09-1.15) but was negligible or minimally related to eczema or food allergy.

Our findings suggest that asthma in infancy is positively associated with obesity, while no significant associations exist between eczema or food allergy and body composition. These results underscore the importance of considering age-related differences when exploring the relationship between allergic diseases and body composition.