Assessment of relationship between the use of household products and atopic dermatitis in Seoul: focused on products with associated risks

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the use of certain household products (HPs) at home and atopic dermatitis (AD) in adults. The study was conducted on 1,500 households in Seoul, South Korea. We obtained information on general characteristics, the use of HPs, and AD through an online panel survey in July 2018. HPs were selected as 23 kinds of products with associated risks that are management targets of the Ministry of Environment. The international study of asthma and allergies in childhood was used for the AD questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify AD affected by the use of HPs. Average number of used HPs was 13.44 out of 23, and average usage frequency of HPs was 3.52 times a month at home in Seoul for the last 1 year. Compared with subjects with a low number of HPs used (reference), subjects with a high number of used HPs (4th quartile) were more likely to have lifetime diagnosis of AD (odds ratio (OR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI); 1.23-2.54), symptoms of AD in the last 12 months (OR = 2.66, 95% CI; 1.92-3.70), and treatment of AD in the last 12 months (OR = 2.37, 95% CI; 1.48-3.80). Compared with subjects with a low HPs usage frequency (reference), subjects with a high HPs usage frequency (4th quartile) were more likely to have lifetime diagnosis of AD (OR = 1.88, 95% CI; 1.31-2.70), symptoms of AD in the last 12 months (OR = 2.14, 95% CI; 1.54-2.96), and treatment of AD in the last 12 months (OR = 2.23, 95% CI; 1.39-3.60). Therefore, the use of HPs was significantly associated with AD. The findings of this study might be useful as basic data for managing allergic diseases and establishing preventive measures.