Abstract
Atopic eczema, the most common atopic disease in infants, may pave the way for sensitization and allergy later in childhood. Fatty acids have immune-regulating properties and may regulate skin permeability. Here we examine whether the proportions of fatty acids among the infant and maternal plasma phospholipids at birth were associated with maternal dietary intake during pregnancy and development of atopic eczema during the first year of age in the Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment (NICE) birth cohort. Dietary data were collected with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, fatty acids were measured with GC-MS and atopic eczema was diagnosed by a pediatric allergologist at 12 months of age. We found that higher proportions of n-6 PUFAs (including arachidonic acid) but lower proportions of n-3 PUFAs (including DPA) in the infant’s phospholipids at birth were associated with an increased risk of atopic eczema at 12 months of age. The n-6 and n-3 PUFAs were related to maternal intake of meat and fish, respectively. Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to unsaturated fatty acids is associated with eczema development in the infant. Maternal diet during pregnancy may partly explain the fatty acid profiles in utero.
Highlights
Atopic eczema is the most common skin disease in children, affecting up to 20% of all children and up to 3% of adults [1]
We show that the fatty acid profiles of phospholipids in the cord blood samples obtained from infants at birth are linked to a modified risk of developing atopic eczema during the first year of life
Fatty acids are transported from the maternal circulation to the fetal circulation across the placenta, and for long-chain PUFAs, this is achieved through active transport mediated by transport proteins [37]. This active transport is evident when comparing the proportions of fatty acids in infant and maternal plasma, in that we found that the infant plasma contained lower proportions of linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, EPA, and DPA but higher proportions of DGLA, arachidonic acid, adrenic acid, and DHA
Summary
Atopic eczema is the most common skin disease in children, affecting up to 20% of all children and up to 3% of adults [1]. Atopic eczema is a multifaceted, chronic, inflammatory skin condition with age-specific distribution patterns [1]. The first manifestations of atopic eczema usually appear early in life and often precede other allergic manifestations such as allergic rhinitis and asthma [2]. The etiology of atopic eczema is not completely understood but depends on complex interactions between genetic and different environmental and lifestyle factors. Filaggrin is a protein essential for healthy skin barrier function. Lossof-function mutations in the filaggrin (FLG) gene have been associated with higher total
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