Agnieszka Lipinska-Opalka
Military Institute of Medicine, Poland
Title: The influence of external factors: Vitamin D level and passive smoking on the severity of atopic dermatitis in children
Biography
Biography: Agnieszka Lipinska-Opalka
Abstract
Background: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases in children and poses a significant burden on their quality of life. Due to these facts and worldwide rising in the prevalence of allergic diseases, there is an urgent need to look for new factors affecting the course of atopic dermatitis in children.
Aim: The aim was to assess, whether vitamin D level and Exposure to Tobacco Smoke (ETS) have an influence on the course of atopic dermatitis in children and their immune system (natural regulatory T cells, lymphocytes: CD3, CD4, CD8, CD4/CD8, CD19, CD16/56, CD3 anti-HLA-DR).
Methods: The study consisted of 49 children with atopic dermatitis. The course of disease was evaluated by SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index. Vitamin D concentration was determined by chemiluminescent immunoassay technology, ETS was assessed by measuring urinary cotinine concentration by ELISA. The flow cytometry was used to evaluate the phenotype of lymphocytes.
Results: The vitamin D level was significantly lower in moderate and severe AD compared with mild (p=0.02). There was no significant correlation between ETS and the course of disease. A higher percentage of Natural killer T (NKT) cells was found in children with low concentration of vitamin D in serum compared to patients with optimal level (p=0.04). There were no significant differences in the course of atopic dermatitis between patients exposed to tobacco smoke and non-ETS group. A lower percentage of CD3 and CD4 lymphocytes was observed in patients with atopic dermatitis exposed to passive smoking compared to not exposed children (respectively p=0.04 and p=0.03).
Conclusion: The data suggest that vitamin D deficiency may be inversely associated with severity of atopic dermatitis in children. The study revealed that passive exposure to tobacco smoke may impair the number of CD3 and CD4 lymphocytes in children with atopic dermatitis.