Early eczema linked to problems later

DRESDEN, Germany, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- German researchers have linked early eczema with psychological problems by age 10.

Study leader Jochen Schmitt of Dresden University Hospital, along with Dr. Christian Apfelbacher of Heidelberg University Hospital and Dr. Joachim Heinrich of Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, found children with eczema during the first two years of life were more likely than same-age children without eczema to demonstrate psychological abnormalities, in particular emotional problems, as 10-year-olds.

Also, children whose eczema persisted beyond the first two years of life were more likely to have mental health problems than children who had eczema only in infancy.

"This indicates that eczema can precede and lead to behavioral and psychological problems in children," Heinrich said in a statement.

The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, tracked 5,991 children born between 1995-1998. It was part of a prospective birth cohort study conducted by researchers at Helmholt Zentrum Munchen, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat and Technische Universitat Munchen, all in Munich, as well as colleagues at Marien-Hospital in Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia.