Babies with eczema are more likely to develop food allergies than those without, Scottish research suggests.

The study, conducted by Dundee University and King’s College London, found that the breakdown and inflammation in the skin barrier of those with eczema could expose the immune system to food allergens, Scotsman reports.

Overall, infants with an impaired skin barrier were over six times more likely than healthy infants to be sensitised to foods. The more severe a child’s eczema was, the stronger the link, the researchers found.

“Very exciting”

Clinician scientist and senior lecturer at King’s College, Dr Carsten Flohr, said: “This is a very exciting study, providing further evidence that an impaired skin barrier and eczema could play a key role in triggering food sensitivity in babies, which could ultimately lead to the development of food allergies.

“This work takes what we thought we knew about eczema and food allergy and flips it on its head – we thought that food allergies are triggered from the inside out, but our work shows that in some children it could be from the outside in, via the skin.

“The skin barrier plays a crucial role in protecting us from allergens in our environment, and we can see here that when that barrier is compromised, especially in eczema, it seems to leave the skin’s immune cells exposed to these allergens.

“It opens up the possibility that if we can repair the skin barrier and prevent eczema effectively then we might also be able to reduce the risk of food allergies.”

It is thought that in the UK, one in 12 children has a food allergy and one in five suffers from eczema.

 
With additional source material from: Scotsman; The Telegraph