Eczema in early childhood could influence mental health later in life

Washington, Feb 11 (ANI): A new study has discovered an association between eczema in early childhood and psychological problems in children at ten years of age.

Eczema is a non-infectious skin disease characterized by scaling itchy skin rashes. It is the most common skin disease in children and adolescents. Children who suffer from eczema are known to have an increased predisposition for hay fever and allergic asthma. Eczema symptoms are accompanied by a broad spectrum of secondary symptoms, such as sleep disorders.

The prospective birth cohort study was done by scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum M|nchen and colleagues of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitdt (LMU), Technische Universitdt M|nchen (TUM) and Marien-Hospital in Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia.

The research, which followed 5,991 children born between 1995 and 1998, has appeared in the current issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 125 (2010); 404-410.

Researchers led by Assistant Professor Jochen Schmitt of Dresden University Hospital, Dr. Christian Apfelbacher (Heidelberg University Hospital) and Dr. Joachim Heinrich of the Institute of Epidemiology of Helmholtz Zentrum M|nchen, found that children who suffered from eczema during the first two years of life were more likely to demonstrate psychological abnormalities, in particular emotional problems, at ten years of age than children of the same age who had not suffered from the disease.

Dr. Heinrich said: "This indicates that eczema can precede and lead to behavioral and psychological problems in children."

Children whose eczema persisted beyond the first two years of life were more likely to have mental health problems than children who had eczema only in infancy.

Within the framework of the GINIplus study, scientists tracked the family history of the children, collected data on their physical health and emotional condition at age 10 years and gathered information on their daily lives. Questions were asked about the course of disease - also in early childhood - with special focus on diseases such as eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, stress tolerance and behavioral abnormalities.

Joachim Heinrich said: "We suspect that it is mainly the secondary symptoms that have a long-term effect on the emotions of the affected children."

The authors of the study therefore recommend documenting the occurrence of eczema as potential risk factor for later psychological problems in the children's medical records, even if he actual primary disease abates and disappears during the course of childhood. (ANI)