Resident Cohen Children's Medical Center Cohen Children's Medical Center New Hyde Park, New York, United States
Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory skin conditions in children. Previous studies have investigated relationships of social needs, housing deprivation, and AD in community-based populations with conflicting results, but few have looked at the intersection of socio-environmental and demographic characteristics with AD prevalence in clinic-based populations. In this study we chose to investigate associations between unmet social needs that disproportionately affect children of immigrant families (CIF) and determine if this contributes to the prevalence of AD in a clinic-based sample of CIF.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to continue a previous study that found higher rates of eczema in those exposed to sub-optimal housing conditions in a community based sample of low-income, urban CIF.
Design/Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using patients at the hospital pediatric clinic. A Family Wellness Screen was used to assess the home environment and identify unmet needs. Data was extracted for patients from immigrant families only, who completed the survey between May 2016 and May 2020. Chart review identified whether the patients had been diagnosed with AD. Study characteristics were described by AD. Chi-square tests were used to assess associations between study characteristics and AD.
Results: Data from 1,184 children between the ages of two days to 19 years were analyzed; minorities accounted for nearly three-quarters: Asian/Pacific Islanders were the largest group (32.2%), African Americans made up 20.5%, Latinx/Hispanics were 21.2%, and white children were 4.1% of the sample. One fifth (20.0%) of the patients had a diagnosis of AD within one year of the survey, with an additional 1.7% having a previous diagnosis, and 75.8% had never been diagnosed with AD. Those older than 1 year old (yo) were significantly more likely to have AD (24.5%) compared to those less than 1 yo (18.3%; p 0.019). Other variables analyzed included language spoken at home, ethnicity, parental education level, if born in the US, and home and financial concerns; none of which showed an association with rates of AD. Conclusion(s): No statistically significant differences were found in the rates of AD between those with unmet needs and those without. Further, the immigrant children who have access to primary care in this sample could be uniquely different from those in the community, which may warrant the difference in results.
Authors/Institutions: Mara Shapero, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Glen Oaks, New York, United States; Rehana Rasul, Northwell Health, Great Neck, New York, United States; Ronak Patel, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Glen Oaks, New York, United States; Anita Pillai, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Glen Oaks, New York, United States; Omolara T. Uwemedimo, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, New Hyde Park , New York, United States
