Parental e-cig use linked to eczema in kids

Second-hand smoke from e-cigarettes has similar inflammatory effects.

Scratching your nicotine itch might give your children itch problems of their own.  

Atopic dermatitis in children can be triggered by environmental factors such as second-hand smoke, but it is not known whether parental e-cigarette use carries the same risk. 

Now, the findings of a new retrospective cross-sectional study, published in JAMA Dermatology, reveal children whose parents use e-cigarettes have a 24% increase in the odds of developing atopic dermatitis.  

US researchers used 35,000 responses from the National Health Interview Survey to explore the association between lifetime parental e-cigarette use and paediatric atopic dermatitis over the past 12 months. The responses were weighted to reflect a nationally representative sample of nearly 50 million people.  

After accounting for sociodemographic factors, parental smoking history and whether the child had a history of asthma, allergic rhinitis or respiratory allergies, having a parent who used e-cigarettes at least once was associated with a 24% increase in the odds of developing atopic dermatitis.  

The association remained regardless of whether the mother or father used e-cigarettes. Maternal e-cigarette use was associated with a 30% increase in the odds of developing atopic dermatitis, while paternal use was associated with a 20% increase.  

Researchers believe the inflammatory state created by e-cigarettes explains the increased risk of atopic dermatitis. 

“Evidence for this finding is present in in vitro studies, which have demonstrated increased oxidative stress in human keratinocytes and 3-dimensional skin models exposed to e-cigarette fluids and aerosol residues,” they wrote.  

Paediatric cigarette or e-cigarette use was not collected as part of the NHIS, which may have influenced the results of the study.   

JAMA Dermatology 2024, online 22 May