Water hardness and eczema at 1 and 4 y of age in the INMA birth cohort.
Environ Res
; 142: 579-85, 2015 Oct.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26298601
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Exposure to hard water has been suggested as a risk factor for eczema in childhood, based on limited evidence from two ecologic and two cross-sectional studies.OBJECTIVES:
We evaluate this hypothesis for the first time in early infancy using prospective data from a mother-child cohort study.METHODS:
We used data from the INMA cohorts in Gipuzkoa, Sabadell and Valencia, Spain (N=1638). Current and ever eczema, bathing frequency and duration and covariables were collected by questionnaires at 14 months (14 m) and 4 years (4 y). Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) level in municipal water was assigned to home addresses at birth, 14 m and 4 y. We calculated Odds Ratio (OR) of eczema related to CaCO3 at home, bath exposure and a combination of both.RESULTS:
Prevalence of eczema ever was 18.4% at 14 m and 33.4% at 4 y. Mean CaCO3 ranged from 51.6 to 272.8 mg/L among areas. No association was detected between water hardness at home and current or ever eczema. Adjusted OR was 0.79 (95%CI=0.45, 1.39) at 14 m and 0.93 (0.56, 1.52) at 4 y among children in the highest vs. lowest tertiles of CaCO3. Bath exposure alone or in combination with water hardness did not increase the OR of eczema at 14 m or 4 y either.CONCLUSIONS:
We did not find an association between eczema and water hardness at home or bathing exposure during the first four years of life. This first cohort study in a critical age period with improved exposure assessment does not confirm the association suggested among children by previous studies.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Agua
/
Eccema
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Adult
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
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Infant
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Res
Año:
2015
Tipo del documento:
Article