PLoS ONE (Jan 2015)

Early-onset atopic dermatitis in children: which are the phenotypes at risk of asthma? Results from the ORCA cohort.

  • Flore Amat,
  • Philippe Saint-Pierre,
  • Emmanuelle Bourrat,
  • Ariane Nemni,
  • Rémy Couderc,
  • Emmanuelle Boutmy-Deslandes,
  • Fatiha Sahraoui,
  • Isabelle Pansé,
  • Martine Bagot,
  • Sébastien Foueré,
  • Jocelyne Just

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131369
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 6
p. e0131369

Abstract

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Atopic dermatitis (AD) is known to predate asthma and other atopic disorders described under the term "atopic march". However, this classic sequence is not always present and only a few studies have addressed children at risk of developing asthma. The objective of this study is to define early-onset AD phenotypes leading to asthma.We performed a cluster analysis with 9 variables of 214 infants with early-onset AD prospectively enrolled in the ORCA cohort and followed each year on the occurrence of asthma until the age of 6.We identified 3 clusters - cluster 1 (n = 94) with low to no sensitization to food (27.7%) or aeroallergens (10.6%) and moderate AD severity (SCORAD 25.29 +/- 14.6) called "AD with low sensitization"; - cluster 2 (n = 84) characterized by a higher AD severity (SCORAD 32.66+/-16.6) and frequent sensitization to food (98.9%) or aeroallergens (26.2%), most likely multiple (96.4% for food allergens), called "AD with multiple sensitizations" - cluster 3 (n = 36) with parental history, moderate AD severity (SCORAD 24.46+/-15.7), moderate rate of sensitization to food allergens (38.9%) (exclusively single) with no sensitization to aeroallergens, called "AD with familial history of asthma". Percentages of children suffering from asthma at the age of 6 were higher in clusters 2 and 3 (36.1% and 33.3% respectively versus 14.9% in cluster 1, p<0.01).Two phenotypes in infants with early-onset AD convey a higher risk of developing asthma during childhood: multiple sensitization and familial history of asthma.