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Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is rising globally, with genetics and environmental factors both playing crucial roles. Dietary habits during pregnancy are linked to children's allergic disease risk. However, limited studies have explored the association between maternal vegetarian diets during pregnancy and child AD. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between maternal vegetarian diets during pregnancy and the occurrence of AD in children. Methods: In this study, the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS) database was used, comprising a representative national birth cohort of infants born in Taiwan in 2005. Of 24,200 mother–child pairs in the database, 20,172 completed face‐to‐face interviews at 6 and 18 months. Employing a 1:10 matching strategy based on maternal age, education level, and child sex, 408 mothers who followed a vegetarian diet during pregnancy were matched with 4080 nonvegetarian mothers. This resulted in a final dataset of 4488 subjects. Logistic regression was used to explore the association between maternal vegetarian diets during pregnancy and the occurrence of AD in children. Results: Among the TBCS participants, there were 292 (1.8%) mothers who adhered to lacto‐ovo vegetarianism and 116 (0.7%) mothers who adhered to veganism, totaling 408 (2.4%) vegetarians during pregnancy. Compared to children of nonvegetarian mothers, children of mothers who followed a vegetarian diet during pregnancy showed a lower risk of developing AD before 18 months of age (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.45–0.93, p = 0.018). Conclusion: This study suggests that a vegetarian diet during pregnancy may lower the risk of AD in children. It is essential to carry out long‐term follow‐up to fully understand the impact of a mother's diet on allergic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the journal Allergy, explores the role of miR-223 in atopic dermatitis (AD). The study found that AD patients had higher levels of neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, which decreased after treatment. The expression of miR-223 was elevated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma of AD patients, but decreased in neutrophils and skin lesions. The authors hypothesize that the down-regulation of miR-223 in neutrophils leads to increased NET formation and promotes skin inflammation in AD. The study was supported by grants from Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has caused changes in the medical practice. However, it is unclear whether the patients receiving phototherapy for their dermatoses have been affected. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on phototherapy, focusing on the patient profile, adherence, and attitude before and after the surge. Methods: The study encompassed the time 5 months prior to and after the surge of the COVID‐19 pandemic (from May to July, 2021), resulting in the temporary closure of our phototherapeutic unit. Results: Nine hundred eighty‐one patients received phototherapy during this period. Vitiligo, psoriasis (Ps), and atopic dermatitis (AD) represented the groups with the highest patient numbers. For vitiligo, Ps and AD, 39.6%, 41.9%, and 28.4% of the patients resumed phototherapy after the pandemic‐related shutdown (PRS). No significant difference was noted in age, gender, and number of weekly sessions between those who resumed or stopped phototherapy after PRS among three groups. Patients who resumed phototherapy after PRS tended to receive more weekly sessions of phototherapy than those who initiated after PRS. Additionally, patients who resumed phototherapy showed no significant difference in the number of weekly sessions before and after PRS. Conclusions: This study reveals a significant impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on patients undergoing phototherapy. Although the patient number remained similar before and after PRS, a significant portion of patients discontinued phototherapy after PRS. New strategies and continued education are needed to improve patient management in times of pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nickel, the fifth most common element on Earth, is the leading inducer of contact allergies in humans, with potent immunological effects. Nickel‐induced contact allergies predominantly affect females. Maternal exposure to nickel has been associated with several developmental abnormalities. However, how a maternal nickel exposure affects the development of atopic diathesis and immune abnormalities in children has never been addressed. Objectives: We aimed to determine whether maternal nickel exposure affects the development of atopic dermatitis and immune abnormalities in their children. Methods: Using a birth cohort study, we analysed 140 mother–child pairs recruited in 2012–2015 from central Taiwan. Maternal exposure to nickel was estimated using urinary nickel levels measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS). The serum levels of 65 analytes and IgE in 3‐year‐old children were profiled with a multiplex ELISA. The correlation between the maternal urinary nickel concentration and serum analyte levels was assessed using Spearmen's correlation. Multivariant regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between maternal urinary nickel levels and serum analyte concentrations in their children. Results: The geometric means of the maternal urinary nickel and the children's serum IgE levels were 2.27 μg/L and 69.71 IU/mL, respectively. The maternal nickel exposure was associated with increased serum levels of IL‐1β, IL‐2, TNF‐α, and leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) but with decreased serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase‐1 (MMP‐1), IL‐2R, and eotaxin‐1 in the children. In addition, the development of childhood atopic dermatitis at 3 years old was significantly associated with the child's serum levels of IgE and IL‐2R, but it was negatively associated with the maternal nickel exposure. Conclusions: This is the first study showing the potential immunological effects of maternal nickel exposure in their children at an early developmental stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microbial dysbiosis has been implicated in the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). The risk of development of AD following early‐life infections remains unclear. Objective: To investigate the impact of early‐life infections on AD development. Methods: This population‐based nested case–control study was conducted using the Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 5454 AD patients and 16 362 control subjects without AD were identified, for the period 1997 to 2013. Demographic characteristics, comorbidities and maternal factors were compared. Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) was calculated to examine the associations between early‐life infections and subsequent AD by conditional stepwise logistic regression analysis. Results: Mean age was 2.6 ± 2.9 years in both groups. Overall infections (41.8% vs. 28.9%) before the diagnosis of AD were more common in AD patients than in control subjects (P < 0.001). Infectious diseases [aOR, 1.40; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29–1.51], skin infections (aOR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.40–1.71) and systemic antibiotic exposure (aOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.55–1.79) before AD diagnosis were independently associated with AD development on multivariate analyses. These results were consistent across observation periods (0–1, 1–2 and >2 years after birth) and sensitivity analyses after redefining the index date as 3 or 6 months before the date of AD diagnosis. Other independent risk factors included asthma, allergic rhinitis, intussusception and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. No association with subsequent AD was found for maternal age at delivery, Caesarean delivery or prenatal antibiotic exposure. Conclusion: Infections in early life are associated with AD development in infancy and early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]