High dietary intake of Trans and Saturated fatty acids may exacerbate Atopic Dermatitis, finds study

Numerous evidence has attributed diets with a high fatty acids (FAs) intake to be associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) development. Therefore, this study investigated the association between intake frequencies of five dietary Fatty acids and Atopic dermatitis exacerbations among young Chinese adults from Singapore and Malaysia. A validated International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was investigator-administered to 13,561 subjects to collect information on socioeconomic, anthropometric, dietary and lifestyles habits, and personal/family medical histories. Six novel dietary indices were derived to analyse the associations between total Fatty acids, trans fatty acids (TFAs), saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acids, and alpha-linolenic acids in diets and Atopic dermatitis exacerbation. Synergy factor (SF) analysis was used to identify interactions between the dietary Fatty acids to influence disease susceptibility.

Results: In the multivariable model adjusted for age, gender, BMI, parental eczema, and lifestyle factors, a diet high in total estimated Fatty acids was strongly associated with Atopic dermatitis. Particularly, high estimated total Trans fatty acids and Saturated fatty acids were significantly associated with Atopic dermatitis exacerbations including chronic and current moderate-to-severe Atopic dermatitis. The association between Transfatty acid and Atopic dermatitis remained strong even controlled for the total Fatty acids in diets and false discovery rate corrected. Similarly, having high saturated fatty acids in diets was associated with Atopic dermatitis independently on the total Fatty acids in diets. Fatty acids in diets do not interact to influence Atopic dermatitis. Overall, these results highlighted an association between high dietary Transfatty acids and Saturated fatty acids and Atopic dermatitis exacerbations in an Asian population.

Reference: Lim JJ, Lim SW, Reginald K, Say Y-H, Liu MH, Chew FT. Association of frequent intake of trans fatty acids and saturated fatty acids in diets with increased susceptibility of atopic dermatitis exacerbation in young Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study in Singapore/Malaysia. Skin Health Dis. 2024; 4(4):e330. https://doi.org/10.1002/ski2.330