Baby or Infant Eczema: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment | Everyday …

While baby eczema is the result of immune-system dysfunction, likely from a genetic predisposition, studies have found a number of risk factors.

For example, a study published inFebruary 2018 in theInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Healthsuggested that children have a higher risk of developing eczema if their mothers experienced high-stress situations during pregnancy. (4)

In a study published in May 2018 in theJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researchers in the United Kingdom analyzed the sociodemographic characteristics of about 675,000 children in a primary-care database. They found that the children were more likely to be diagnosed with eczema if they fit one of the following descriptions:

Another study, published in May 2018 in theJournal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, looked at how the outdoor environment specifically air pollutants and meteorological conditions affected eczema risk in children of both sexes. The researchers concluded that high levels of carbon monoxide, ammonia, formaldehyde, lead, particulate matter, and ozone levels may all influence the development of infantile eczema. (6)

Other studies, though, have had contradictory findings. For example, one study of American children published in August 2016 in the journalPediatric Allergy and Immunologysuggested that a hot and sunny climate combined with high particulate matter and ozone levels actually appears to protect against eczema. (7)

A small Australia-based study, published in March 2019 in theJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found an association between ultraviolet (UV) sunlight exposure in early infancy and lower incidence of eczema by 6 months of age.(8)

The scientists, though, caution against intentionally exposing babies to direct sunlight until researchers better understand this complicated issue.(9)

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