Objective: To determine if atopic disease is associated with infantile hemangioma.
Study design: Case control study.
Setting: State of Utah inpatient and outpatient records obtained from the Department of Health, Intermountain Healthcare medical records, and the University of Utah Health Care medical records using the Utah Population Database.
Subjects: Patients given an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnosis of hemangioma prior to age 5 years, from 1991 to 2009.
Methods: Allergy, asthma, and eczema rates in the hemangioma cohort compared to randomly matched controls using logistic regression analysis.
Results: The authors identified 2063 patients in the hemangioma group. The overall odds ratio of atopic disease in patients diagnosed with hemangioma was 1.67 compared to the control group (P < .0001). In the hemangioma cohort, the authors found a 36% increased risk of allergies (P < .0001), 67% increased risk of asthma (P < 4e-12), and 82% increased risk of eczema (P < 2e-16).
Conclusion: This study indicates that allergy, asthma, and eczema are positively associated with hemangioma. Eczema was most strongly associated with hemangioma, with a nearly 2-fold increased risk. Understanding the relationship between atopic disease and infantile hemangioma may elucidate the pathophysiology of each and ultimately lead to better treatment options.
Keywords: allergy; asthma; atopy; eczema; hemangioma; infantile hemangioma; prevalence; vascular tumor.