Table 1. Characteristics of the Sabadell cohort subsample composed of 4-year-old children.
| Characteristics | Control (n=104) | Atopic eczema (n=20) | p* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender [% male] | 49 | 60 | 0.369a |
| Predominant breastfeeding for at least 2 weeks [%] | 77.7 | 70 | 0.460a |
| Maternal educationт [%] | 77.7 | 66.7 | 0.313a |
| 1 Fatty acids (mean % of total FA) † | |||
| Linoleic (LA, C18:2 n-6) | 25.21 ± 2.26 | 25.84 ± 2.30 | 0.282b |
| γ-Linolenic (GLA, C18:3 n-6) | 0.09 ± 0.04 | 0.09 ± 0.06 | 0.545b |
| Dihomo-γ-Linolenic (DGLA, C20:3 n-6) | 2.72 ± 0.66 | 2.40 ± 0.42 | 0.014b |
| Arachidonic (AA, C20:4 n-6) | 9.48 ± 2.45 | 8.46 ± 1.77 | 0.046b |
| Adrenic (DTA, C22:4 n-6) | 0.38 ± 0.10 | 0.38 ± 0.11 | 0.920 b |
| α-Linolenic (ALA, C18:3 n-3) ‡ | 0.10 ± 0.04 | 0.11 ± 0.04 | 0.423b |
| Eicosapentanoic (EPA, C20:5 n-3) ‡ | 0.31 ± 0.16 | 0.30 ± 0.39 | 0.723b |
| Docosapentaenoic n-3 (DPA, C22:5 n-3) | 0.48 ± 0.13 | 0.46 ± 0.19 | 0.680b |
| Docosahexanoic (DHA, C22:6 n-3) | 2.35 ± 0.90 | 2.29 ± 1.03 | 0.811b |
| 1 Enzyme activities (fatty acids ratios) | |||
| Elongase 5 (ELOVL5) | |||
| DGLA:GLA | 36.26 ± 17.10 | 34.14 ± 16.23 | 0.628b |
| DTA:AAѢ | 4.09 ± 0.76 | 4.49 ± 0.79 | 0.049b |
| D5D activity (FADS1) | |||
| AA:DGLA | 3.57 ± 0.91 | 3.58 ± 0.82 | 0.962b |
| D6D activity (FADS2) | |||
| DGLA:LAѢ | 10.96 ± 3.13 | 9.35 ± 1.61 | 0.002b |
т Secondary and university. 1 Fatty acids and enzyme activities (control, n= 94; atopic eczema, n=18). † Mean±SD. ‡ Natural log- transformation. Ѣ Fatty acid ratios x 100. a Significance for Pearson’s chi-squared test. b Significance for Student t- test.*p<0.05.