Moisturizer helps to prevent eczema in children: study

Applying moisturizer to your child on a daily basis could help reduce their chances of developing atopic dermatitis, known more commonly as eczema. That’s according to a clinical trial based out of the United States and published in JAMA Dermatology.It found that full-body application of emollients starting in the first two months of a child’s life reduced the risk of eczema development. This was especially the case in children without a family history of atopic disease, as well as those who had a dog in the household.Children who develop eczema early in life are at risk of developing allergic comorbidities and mental health disorders, as well as being bullied, the authors noted. “Given the current and frequent use of moisturizers by the U.S. population, this intervention may present a practical and safe approach to reducing the burden of [atopic dermatitis] ] in U.S. communities,” the authors wrote.The study sought to determine whether emollient intervention in infants starting at nine weeks of age would reduce the incidence of eczema by age two.More than 1,200 infant-parent dyads, or pairs, participated in the study. They were recruited from 25 community-based pediatric and family-medicine clinics between July 2028 and February 2021, with follow-up completed by the end of February 2023.The dyads were randomized to one of two groups: one in which full-bodied application of moisturizer took place daily, or the control arm that refrained from emollient use.The families in the intervention group were mailed a “bland emollient” every six months. Moisturizers were selected “for their ability to improve skin barrier function and lack of irritants and common allergens.”The cumulative incidence of eczema in children by age two was found to be 36.1% in the daily moisturizer group, compared with 43% in the control group. Other clinical trials that have similarly examined the effect of “enhancing the skin barrier” on preventing eczema have been conducted in high-risk populations, the authors noted. For this clinical trial, participants were not selected for risk.Children are considered at high risk of developing atopic dermatitis if they have a first-degree blood relative with an atopic disease such as eczema, asthma and hay fever. The development of atopic disease in these high-risk children is driven by “immune dysregulation, including genetic causes,” the authors explained.By contrast, the development of eczema in low-risk children, or children without a family history of atopic disease, is likely “initiated by skin barrier insults,” such as irritation from soap or from inhabiting a dry climate, and “additional unknown genetic factors.” These children are “more amenable to skin barrier repair.”Among the children in the trial who were considered low-risk, the study found a "statistically significant” 10.1% difference in the cumulative incidence of eczema: 33.2% in the daily moisturizer group and 43.4% in the control group.The authors also found that the daily-moisturizer intervention had a “stronger protective effect” with the presence of a dog in the household. They found that the children who lived with a dog were less likely to develop eczema compared to the children who had no pets, citing a 14.2% risk difference.The study did not assess for differences in eczema incidence by emollient type.

Moisturizer helps to prevent eczema in children: study

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