Longitudinal analysis of the effect of water hardness on atopic eczema: evidence for gene-environment interaction

TY - JOUR

T1 - Longitudinal analysis of the effect of water hardness on atopic eczema

T2 - evidence for gene-environment interaction

AU - Jabbar-Lopez, Z K

AU - Craven, J

AU - Logan, K

AU - Greenblatt, D

AU - Marrs, T

AU - Radulovic, S

AU - McLean, W H I

AU - Lack, G

AU - Strachan, D P

AU - Perkin, M R

AU - Peacock, J L

AU - Flohr, C

N1 - © 2019 British Association of Dermatologists.

PY - 2019/10/10

Y1 - 2019/10/10

N2 - Background: Several studies have identified an association between water hardness and atopic eczema (AE); however, there is a paucity of longitudinal data in early life. Objectives: To examine whether water hardness is associated with an increased risk of AE and skin barrier dysfunction in infants and to assess effect modification by filaggrin (FLG) loss-of-function variants. Methods: We performed a longitudinal analysis of data from infants in the Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) study, who were enrolled at 3 months and followed up until 36 months of age. Results: Of 1303 infants enrolled in the EAT study, 91·3% (n = 1189) attended the final clinic visit and 94·0% (n = 1225) of participants’ families completed the 36-month questionnaire. In total, 761 (58·4%) developed AE by 36 months. There was no overall association between exposure to harder (> 257 mg L −1 CaCO 3) vs. softer (≤ 257 mg L −1 CaCO 3) water: adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1·07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·92–1·24. However, there was an increased incidence of AE in infants with FLG mutations exposed to hard water (adjusted HR 2·72, 95% CI 2·03–3·66), and statistically significant interactions between hard water plus FLG and both risk of AE (HR 1·80, 95% CI 1·17–2·78) and transepidermal water loss (0·0081 g m −2 h −1 per mg L −1 CaCO 3, 95% CI 0·00028–0·016). Conclusions: There is evidence of an interaction between water hardness and FLG mutations in the development of infantile AE.

AB - Background: Several studies have identified an association between water hardness and atopic eczema (AE); however, there is a paucity of longitudinal data in early life. Objectives: To examine whether water hardness is associated with an increased risk of AE and skin barrier dysfunction in infants and to assess effect modification by filaggrin (FLG) loss-of-function variants. Methods: We performed a longitudinal analysis of data from infants in the Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) study, who were enrolled at 3 months and followed up until 36 months of age. Results: Of 1303 infants enrolled in the EAT study, 91·3% (n = 1189) attended the final clinic visit and 94·0% (n = 1225) of participants’ families completed the 36-month questionnaire. In total, 761 (58·4%) developed AE by 36 months. There was no overall association between exposure to harder (> 257 mg L −1 CaCO 3) vs. softer (≤ 257 mg L −1 CaCO 3) water: adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1·07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·92–1·24. However, there was an increased incidence of AE in infants with FLG mutations exposed to hard water (adjusted HR 2·72, 95% CI 2·03–3·66), and statistically significant interactions between hard water plus FLG and both risk of AE (HR 1·80, 95% CI 1·17–2·78) and transepidermal water loss (0·0081 g m −2 h −1 per mg L −1 CaCO 3, 95% CI 0·00028–0·016). Conclusions: There is evidence of an interaction between water hardness and FLG mutations in the development of infantile AE.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077063736&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/bjd.18597

DO - 10.1111/bjd.18597

M3 - Article

C2 - 31599965

SN - 0007-0963

JO - The British journal of dermatology

JF - The British journal of dermatology

ER -