Key clinical point: Children born to mothers who had a cumulative exposure to psychological distress in the prenatal and postnatal periods were at an increased risk of developing atopic dermatitis (AD) at 1-2 years of age.
Major finding: Maternal psychological distress vs. no psychological distress in both prenatal and postnatal periods (adjusted relative risk [RR] 1.34; 95% CI 1.20-1.47) and only in the postnatal period (adjusted RR 1.23; 95% CI 1.07-1.39) was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing AD in children at 1-2 years of age.
Study details: This study analyzed maternal psychological distress during early pregnancy and 1 year after delivery in 8377 mother-child pairs, wherein the child had not developed AD by the age of 1 year.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan. K Murakami declared being an editorial board member of BMC Public Health.
Source: Kawaguchi C et al. Cumulative exposure to maternal psychological distress in the prenatal and postnatal periods and atopic dermatitis in children: Findings from the TMM BirThree Cohort Study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022;22:242 (Mar 24). Doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04556-8