People living in areas with high air pollution are at higher risk of developing eczema, an inflammatory skin condition, according to recent findings from the Yale School of Medicine.
Neighborhoods with sources of air pollution like factories have much higher particulate matter known to flare up asthma, which may also flare up someone's eczema.
That's according to Dr. Jeffrey M Cohen, assistant professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine and co-author of the study published in the journal PLOS One.
Particulate matter – tiny particles in the air, some so small that an electron microscope is needed to see them – are produced from a variety of sources, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Main sources include cars, trucks, buses, factories and construction sites.
“On a public health level, we're really learning a lot about what air pollution does and what environmental change, in general, means for human health,” Cohen said. “There are things that we should be doing on a policy level, based on our understanding of how environmental change is impacting vulnerable populations more so than other populations.”
The researchers looked into the electronic health records of more than 280,000 people across the country. Much of the data comprised racial and ethnic minorities, older individuals, and sexual and gender minorities. Findings indicated that much like asthma rates, location and income have a correlation with rates of eczema, too.
At an individual level Cohen said people with eczema might want to keep tabs on day-to-day air quality.
“They may say, you know, there's a lot of air pollution,” he said. “I know that when that is present, I get an eczema flare. Maybe I'll wear a long sleeve shirt today instead.”
But he acknowledges that eczema is harder to manage for people living close to sources of pollution.
