Skin Colonization by Staphylococcus Aureus Precedes the Clinical Diagnosis of Atopic Dermatitis in Infancy.

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Skin Colonization by Staphylococcus Aureus Precedes the Clinical Diagnosis of Atopic Dermatitis in Infancy.

J Invest Dermatol. 2017 Aug 22;:

Authors: Meylan P, Lang C, Mermoud S, Johannsen A, Norrenberg S, Hohl D, Vial Y, Prod'hom G, Greub G, Kypriotou M, Christen-Zaech S

Abstract
Atopic dermatitis (AD) has a well-established association with skin colonization or infection by Staphylococcus aureus, which can exacerbate the disease. However, a causal relationship between specific changes in skin colonization during the first years of life and AD development still remains unclear. In this prospective birth cohort study, we aimed to characterize the association between skin colonization and AD development in 149 Caucasian infants with or without a family history of atopy. We assessed infants clinically and collected axillary and antecubital fossa skin swabs for culture-based analysis, at birth and at seven time points over the first two years of life. We found that at age three months, S. aureus was more prevalent on the skin of infants who developed AD later on. S. aureus prevalence was increased on infants' skin at the time of AD onset and also two months before it, when compared to age-matched unaffected infants. Furthermore, at AD onset, infants testing positive for S. aureus were younger than uncolonized subjects. In conclusion, our results suggest that specific changes in early-life skin colonization may actively contribute to clinical AD onset in infancy.

PMID: 28842320 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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