A European study involving Irish scientists has increased our understanding of why some babies develop atopic dermatitis (AD) early in life.

Also known as atopic eczema, AD is an inflammation of the skin that leads to red, swollen, itchy and cracked skin. Up to 20% of children in Ireland are affected and it can cause great distress for sufferers and their parents.

However, this latest study has found that mothers who are predisposed to developing certain allergic reactions such as hay fever and asthma, along with a high fat mass in new babies, are major risk factors for AD in infants.

"This novel finding of an association between a high level of infant body fatness and risk of AD in the first year, particularly among infants of parents with self-reported allergic disease, may aid in the identification of those at risk of AD, because early identification of at-risk infants represents the best opportunity for prevention," explained Prof Mairead Kiely of University College Cork, who is leading the four-year EU project.

She pointed out that over the years, a number of different variables have been proposed as risk factors for AD, including maternal smoking, maternal obesity, how the baby was delivered, early infant feeding and domestic pets. However, this study found that those variables ‘did not affect infant risk of persistent AD'.

The researchers hope that these findings could lead to the more rapid implementation of preventive measures.

Details of these findings are published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

For more information on AD and other types of eczema, see our Eczema Clinic here