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. 2022 Feb 3;19(3):1761.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031761.

High Incidence of Atopic Dermatitis among Children Whose Fathers Work in Primary Industry: The Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS)

Hiroshi Yokomichi  1 , Mie Mochizuki  2 , Reiji Kojima  1 , Sayaka Horiuchi  3 , Tadao Ooka  1 , Yuka Akiyama  1 , Kunio Miyake  1 , Megumi Kushima  3 , Sanae Otawa  3 , Ryoji Shinohara  3 , Zentaro Yamagata  1   3 , On Behalf Of The Japan Environment And Children's Study Group
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High Incidence of Atopic Dermatitis among Children Whose Fathers Work in Primary Industry: The Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS)

Hiroshi Yokomichi et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The hygiene hypothesis assumes a low incidence of allergic diseases in families engaging in farming work. However, a few studies have indicated rural life as a potential risk factor for atopic dermatitis (AD). Using a large Japanese birth cohort dataset, we calculated the accumulated incidence of AD in children aged 6 months and 1, 2, and 3 years by family business and the hazard ratio. We adjusted for confounding factors. The father's job was considered the family business. We analysed data on 41,469 father-child pairs at 6 months of age, 40,067 pairs at 1 year, 38,286 pairs at 2 years, and 36,570 pairs at 3 years. We found the highest accumulated incidence of AD among children with fathers engaged in primary industry, with 2.5% at the age of 6 months, 6.6% at 1 year, 12.0% at 2 years, and 15.4% at 3 years. Among primary industry occupations, forestry was associated with the highest incidence of AD across these ages. The hazard ratio of AD was also highest for children whose family business was primary industry. In conclusion, the highest incidence and hazard ratio of AD were observed among children whose fathers worked in primary industry.

Keywords: agriculture; atopic dermatitis; children; country living; endotoxin; forestry industry; hygiene hypothesis; livestock; primary industry; urban living.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The crude accumulated incidence of atopic dermatitis in preschool children by the family business and the child’s age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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