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Antioxidant nutrient intakes and corresponding biomarkers associated with the risk of atopic dermatitis in young children

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

To investigate the association of antioxidant nutritional status with the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD) in young children in a case–control, population-based study.

Subjects/Methods:

Identified from preschools by using the Korean version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Final analysis included 180 AD (mean age 5.3±0.9 years) and 242 non-AD (mean age 5.2±1.0 years) children. Diet was assessed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Fasting blood samples were used for analyses of fat-soluble vitamins (retinol, α-tocopherol, and β-carotene) and vitamin C.

Results:

AD was associated negatively with intakes of antioxidant-related nutrients. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were 0.44 (0.22–0.88) for the highest (vs lowest) quintile of β-carotene. A similar association was observed for dietary vitamin E (OR=0.33, 95% CI=0.16–0.67), folic acid (OR=0.37, 95% CI=0.18–0.73), and iron (OR=0.39, 95% CI=0.19–0.79). Reduced AD risk was found with 1 s.d. increase of serum α-tocopherol [OR=0.64, 95% CI=0.41–0.98) and retinol (OR=0.74, 95% CI=0.58–0.96) concentrations, and marginally with that of serum β-carotene levels (P=0.0749 for trend). There was no relationship of AD risk with dietary and plasma vitamin C as well as nutrient supplement intake regardless of nutrient type. AD was predicted better by the intake measure than the corresponding blood biomarker regarding vitamin E and β-carotene.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that higher antioxidant nutritional status reduces the risk of AD and that such risk-reduction effects depend on nutrient type.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grant no. R01-2006-000-10887-0 from the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation. We thank Ms Bo-Yeun Park for her work on biochemical analyses.

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Correspondence to S-Y Oh.

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Contributors: SYO, JC, and BHC designed the overall study and obtained funding; SYO and JC provided the definition of the variables; SYO, JC, MKK, and SOK were responsible for data analyses; SYO wrote the manuscript draft; JC and BHC provided critical reviews; and MMK and SOK were responsible for overseeing the data collection.

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Oh, SY., Chung, J., Kim, MK. et al. Antioxidant nutrient intakes and corresponding biomarkers associated with the risk of atopic dermatitis in young children. Eur J Clin Nutr 64, 245–252 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.148

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