In an article published in NBC News, experts explained that following an initial diagnosis of eczema, allergies can progress in quick succession in pediatric patients. The experts explained that the “allergic march” is a phenomenon in which allergies in young children up to the age of 3 can develop into further and potentially more serious allergies. In a new study—published by Gabryszewski et al in Pediatrics—investigators analyzed data from approximately 200,000 pediatric patients collected between 1999 and 2020. Children in the study with diagnoses of atopic dermatitis, immunoglobulin E–mediated food allergy, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eosinophilic esophagitis were identified using a combination of diagnosis codes and medication prescriptions. When examining trends in diagnosis in these conditions, the investigators found children tended to first receive a diagnosis of eczema around 4 months of age. Next, children were seen to develop food allergies with symptoms of anaphylaxis and asthma at about 13 months of age, followed by allergic rhinitis—also known as hay fever—at about 26 months of age. The investigators found that young children may develop a rare fifth allergy—eosinophilic esophagitis—at approximately 35 months. However, the experts clarified that their findings do not indicate that young children with eczema are certain to develop all of the allergies specified in their study. “Each child is different. Some may have one, others may have a couple, others may have all of them,” concluded lead study author Stanislaw Gabryszewski, MD, PhD, a fellow in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
July 26, 2023