BACKGROUND: Parabens, widely used as preservatives in cosmetics, foods, and other consumer products, are suspected of contributing to allergy susceptibility. The detection of parabens in the placenta or amniotic fluid raised concerns about potential health consequences for the child. Recently, an increased asthma risk following prenatal exposure has been reported. Here we investigated whether prenatal paraben exposure can influence the riskfor atopic dermatitis (AD). METHODS: 261 mother-child-pairs of the German mother-child-study LINAwere included in this analysis. Eight paraben species were quantified in maternal urine obtained at gestational week 34. According to the parental report of physician-diagnosed AD from age one to eight years, disease onset, and persistence, childhood AD was classified into four different phenotypes. RESULTS: 4.6% (n=12) and 12.3% (n=32) of the children were classified as having very early-onset AD (until age two) either with or without remission, 11.9% (n=31) as early-onset (after age two), and 3.1% (n=8) as childhood-onset AD (after age six). Exposure to ethylparabenand n-butylparabenwas associated with an increased risk to develop very early-onset AD without remission (EtP:adj.OR/95% CI:1.44/1.04-2.00,nBuP:adj.OR/95% CI:1.95/1.22-3.12). The effectsof both parabens were predominant in children without a history of maternal AD and independent of children's sex. CONCLUSION: Prenatal EtP or nBuPexposure may increase children's susceptibility for persistent AD with disease onset at very early age. This association was particularly pronounced in children without a history of maternal AD, indicating that children without a genetic predispositionare more susceptible to paraben exposure.
- Thürmann, L.
- Herberth, G.
- Seiwert, B.
- Schlittenbauer, L.
- Rolle-Kampczyk, U.
- Röder, S.
- Sack, U.
- Borte, M.
- von Bergen, M.
- Trump, S.
- Reemtsma, T.
- Lehmann, I.
Keywords
- allergy
- atopic dermatitis
- paraben
- prenatal
- sex
