Early Respiratory Infections Linked to Atopic Dermatitis Diagnosis

FRIDAY, Aug. 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) – Early respiratory infection burden is associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) diagnosis in childhood, according to a study published online July 29 in JAMA Dermatology.Nicklas Brustad, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues examined whether early infection burden and infection subtypes are associated with childhood AD in a cohort study using data from children aged 0 to 10 years from the 2010 Danish Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC2010) birth cohort (663 children). Replication was explored in the U.S. Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART) cohort (707 children).The researchers found that being in the upper versus the lower tertiles of infection episodes and days in COPSAC2010 was associated with an increased risk for yearly AD prevalence during ages 0 to 10 years in a generalized estimating equation model (adjusted odds ratio, 1.61 and 1.69, respectively). The risk for AD was higher in association with each infection episode, independent of systemic antibiotic treatments and filaggrin gene (FLG) variants. Respiratory infections were the main driver of the associations. In VDAART, children in the upper versus lowest tertiles of infection episodes had a significantly increased risk for AD at 0 to 6 years (odds ratio, 1.76), with an increase seen in association with each infection episode (odds ratio, 1.03)."These findings suggest a long-term relationship between early respiratory infections and AD that has previously been unclear due to inconsistent findings in previous studies," the authors write.Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry; one author has a patent pending for metabolite ratios.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Early Respiratory Infections Linked to Atopic Dermatitis Diagnosis

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