Dairy and nondairy beverage consumption for childhood atopic eczema: what health advice to give?

Summary Background Many parents of children with atopic eczema (AE) practise empirical dietary avoidance and supplementation, and seek healthcare advice on whether consumption of dairy and nondairy beverages may be beneficial or detrimental for this condition. Aim We investigated if frequency of consumption of beverages was associated with disease severity and quality of life (QoL). Methods Parent‐reported frequency of drinks and beverages were recorded in consecutive children with AE, and disease severity (Nottingham Eczema Severity Score; NESS), QoL (Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index; CDLQI), skin hydration (SH), transepidermal water loss (TEWL), blood pressure (BP), resting heart rate (RHR) and body mass index (BMI) were evaluated. Results AE was associated with worse QoL than miscellaneous non‐AE skin diseases (P