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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Lifetime prevalence of childhood eczema and the effect of indoor environmental factors: Analysis in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white children.

Authors: Kim, Hyo-Bin; Zhou, Hui; Kim, Jeong Hee; Habre, Rima; Bastain, Theresa M; Gilliland, Frank D

Published In Allergy Asthma Proc, (2016)

Abstract: The prevalence of eczema varies markedly across the globe. It is unclear whether the geographic variation is due to race and/or ethnic differences, environmental exposures, or genetic factors.We investigated the effects of ethnicity and environmental exposures on eczema in Hispanic white and non-Hispanic white children who participated in the Southern California Children's Health Study.We performed a cross-sectional study with sociodemographic predictors and environmental exposures among Hispanic white and non-Hispanic white children ages 4-8 years enrolled in the Children's Health Study, 2002-2003.Eczema prevalence differed by ethnicity: Hispanic whites showed lower prevalence (13.8%) compared with non-Hispanic whites (20.2%), and adjustment for sociodemographic factors did not account for the ethnic difference (odds ratio [OR] 0.79 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.65-0.95]). Parental history of allergic disease had a larger effect in Hispanic whites than in non-Hispanic whites (p for interaction = 0.005). High maternal education level (OR 1.46 [95% CI, 1.14-1.87]), parental history of allergic disease (OR 2.21 [95% CI, 1.78-2.76]), and maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR 1.44 [95% CI, 1.06-1.95]) increased the risk of eczema. Indoor environmental factors (e.g., mold, water damage, humidifier use) increased the risk of eczema in non-Hispanic whites independent of a parental history of allergic disease, but, in Hispanic whites, increased risks were observed, primarily in children without a parental history of allergic disease.Hispanic white children in southern California had a lower prevalence of eczema than non-Hispanic whites, and this ethnic difference was not accounted for by sociodemographic differences. The effects of a parental history of allergic disease and indoor environmental exposures on eczema varied by ethnicity, which indicated that the etiology of eczema may differ in Hispanic whites and in non-Hispanic whites.

PubMed ID: 26831849 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: No MeSH terms associated with this publication

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