ARE VIRAL WARTS SEEN MORE COMMONLY IN CHILDREN WITH ECZEMA

Background and Design.-We sought to test the hypothesis that warts are seen more commonly in individuals with eczema by analyzing skin exami nation data from a national birth cohort study of 9263 British childre n born between March 3 and 9, 1958. Results.-Warts were seen less freq uently in those with visible eczema at ages 11 and 16 years (relative risk, 0.60; 95% confidence intervals, 0.37 to 0.95; P=.03). This inver se association persisted after adjustment for potential confounders an d was consistent within each age and sex group for children with a his tory of eczema who did not have visible eczema at the time of examinat ion and for children with asthma/wheezy bronchitis regardless of eczem a status. Visible acne or psoriasis was not associated with a decrease d prevalence of warts.Conclusions.-These findings contradict previous suggestions of an increased risk of viral warts in atopic eczema and r aise new questions regarding the role of cell-mediated immunity in ato pic subjects.