Most associations of early-life environmental exposures and genetic risk factors poorly differentiate between eczema phenotypes: the Generation R Study.

Five eczema phenotypes were identified in a multiethnic paediatric population with limited differences in risk profiles, except for sex and ethnicity. What's already known about this topic? Two previous studies in longitudinal birth cohorts identified four and six different eczema phenotypes, predominantly in children of European ethnicity. What does this study add? Five eczema phenotypes were identified in a multiethnic paediatric population using latent class growth analysis. Children with early transient and persistent eczema were most often first-born children and had persistent wheezing, filaggrin mutation or additional risk alleles. Previously known eczema risk factors had limited differentiating capabilities for eczema phenotypes, except for the association of early transient eczema with male children, and late transient and persistent eczema with Asian ethnicity.