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Water hardness and eczema at 1 and 4 y of age in the INMA birth cohort.

Author information

Affiliations

  • 1. Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, 88 Doctor Aiguader, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 80 Doctor Aiguader, Barcelona 08003, Spain; IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), 88 Doctor Aiguader, Barcelona 08003, Spain; CIBER Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 3-5 Melchor Fernández Almagro, Madrid 28029, Spain.
      Authors
    • Font-Ribera L 1
    • Sunyer J 1
    • Villanueva CM 1
    (3 authors)
  • 2. Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, 88 Doctor Aiguader, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 80 Doctor Aiguader, Barcelona 08003, Spain; IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), 88 Doctor Aiguader, Barcelona 08003, Spain.
      Authors
    • Gracia-Lavedan E 2
    (1 author)
  • 3. CIBER Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 3-5 Melchor Fernández Almagro, Madrid 28029, Spain; FISABIO-UJI-Universitat de València Joint Research Unit, Av. Catalunya 21, Valencia 46020, Spain.
      Authors
    • Esplugues A 3
    • Ballester F 3
    (2 authors)
  • 4. Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Basque Government, 4 Av. de Navarra, San Sebastian 20013, Spain; BIODONOSTIA Health Research Institute, Paseo Dr. Beguiristain, San Sebastian 20014, Spain.
      Authors
    • Jiménez Zabala A 4
    (1 author)
  • 5. CIBER Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 3-5 Melchor Fernández Almagro, Madrid 28029, Spain; Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Basque Government, 4 Av. de Navarra, San Sebastian 20013, Spain; BIODONOSTIA Health Research Institute, Paseo Dr. Beguiristain, San Sebastian 20014, Spain.
      Authors
    • Santa Marina L 5
    (1 author)
    • Show all (6)

ORCIDs linked to this article

Show all (8)

Environmental Research, 01 Oct 2015, 142:579-585
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2015.07.013 PMID: 26298601 

Abstract 

Background

Exposure to hard water has been suggested as a risk factor for eczema in childhood, based on limited evidence from two ecologic and two cross-sectional studies.

Objectives

We evaluate this hypothesis for the first time in early infancy using prospective data from a mother-child cohort study.

Methods

We used data from the INMA cohorts in Gipuzkoa, Sabadell and Valencia, Spain (N=1638). Current and ever eczema, bathing frequency and duration and covariables were collected by questionnaires at 14 months (14 m) and 4 years (4 y). Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) level in municipal water was assigned to home addresses at birth, 14 m and 4 y. We calculated Odds Ratio (OR) of eczema related to CaCO3 at home, bath exposure and a combination of both.

Results

Prevalence of eczema ever was 18.4% at 14 m and 33.4% at 4 y. Mean CaCO3 ranged from 51.6 to 272.8 mg/L among areas. No association was detected between water hardness at home and current or ever eczema. Adjusted OR was 0.79 (95%CI=0.45, 1.39) at 14 m and 0.93 (0.56, 1.52) at 4 y among children in the highest vs. lowest tertiles of CaCO3. Bath exposure alone or in combination with water hardness did not increase the OR of eczema at 14 m or 4 y either.

Conclusions

We did not find an association between eczema and water hardness at home or bathing exposure during the first four years of life. This first cohort study in a critical age period with improved exposure assessment does not confirm the association suggested among children by previous studies.

Full text links 

Read article at publisher's site: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2015.07.013

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Funding 

Funders who supported this work.

Conselleria de Sanitat

    Department of Health of the Basque Government (2)

    Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT (1)

    Instituto de Salud Carlos III (21)

    Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (2)

    Spanish Ministry of Health (2)

    UE (3)