Hair Mineral Analysis in Children with Atopic Dermatitis
January 2017
in “
Annals of dermatology/Annals of Dermatology
”
TLDR Mineral levels in hair don't significantly affect the severity of atopic dermatitis in children.
The study analyzed hair mineral levels in 66 children with atopic dermatitis (AD) and compared them to 25 controls. It found that AD patients had significantly lower levels of calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, and phosphate, and higher levels of sodium, potassium, manganese, chromium, and molybdenum. Toxic elements like cadmium, lead, and arsenic were also higher in AD patients but remained within safe reference ranges. Despite these differences, the study concluded that there was no meaningful clinical relevance between the severity of AD and the mineral levels, suggesting that mild mineral deficiencies are unlikely to cause clinical changes in AD. Further large-scale trials are needed to assess the efficacy of mineral supplementation in AD patients.