Table 1

Characteristics of participating children


Total n (%)
Eczema1 n (%)
Controls n (%)
P-value2

Gender:




     -Male
11 (52.4)
4 (44.4)
7 (58.3)
0.67
Mode of delivery:



0.67
     -Vaginal
10 (47.6)
5 (55.6)
5 (41.7)

     -Cesarean
11 (52.4)
4 (44.4)
7 (58.3)

Maternal history of atopy
12 (57.1)
7 (77.8)
5 (41.7)
0.18
Term delivery3
17 (81.0)
7 (77.8)
10 (83.3)
1.00
Birthweight (g), mean (SD)
3319 (688)
3192 (395)
3415 (851)
0.24
5-minute APGAR, median
9
9
9
0.50
Breastfed
11 (52.4)
6 (66.7)
5 (41.7)
0.39
Daycare attendance
5 (23.8)
1 (11.1)
4 (33.3)
0.34
Use of antibiotics4
3 (18.8)
1 (16.7)
2 (20.0)
1.00
Measures of bacterial diversity:





DGGE bands5, mean (95%CI):




     -1 month of age
4.4 (3.6–5.1)
3.8 (2.6–4.9)
4.8 (3.8–5.9)
0.10
     -4 months of age
5.3 (3.8–6.7)
3.9 (2.3–5.4)
6.5 (4.2–8.8)
0.06
Shannon index6, mean (95%CI):




     -1 month of age
0.66 (0.55–0.76)
0.53 (0.38–0.67)
0.75 (0.63–0.88)
0.01
     -4 months of age
0.77 (0.62–0.91)
0.59 (0.38–0.81)
0.92 (0.76–1.08)
0.02

1 Defined as parental report of physician-diagnosed eczema at or before 6 months of age. 2Mann-Whitney P-values for the comparison between cases with eczema and controls.

3Birth between 37 and 41 weeks of gestation.

4Maternal report of antibiotic administration to the child

5Number of denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) bands in each sample

6Shannon H' index calculated using the relative intensity of all bands in each sample

Forno et al. Clinical and Molecular Allergy 2008 6:11   doi:10.1186/1476-7961-6-11