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A new study published in the advance online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, revealed that prenatal exposure to a universal household chemical, butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP), can increase a child's risk for developing eczema.

Eczema, dry, itchy red skin on the face, scalp, or extremities, is common in early childhood.

First author on the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health Allan C. Just said this is the first study of this kind.

"While hereditary factors, allergens, and exposure to tobacco smoke are known to contribute to the condition, our study is the first to show that prenatal exposure to BBzB is a risk factor," Just said.

BBzB is commonly used in vinyl flooring, artificial leather and other materials and can be slowly released into the air in homes.

Researchers studied over 400 nonsmoking African-American and Dominican women and their children in New York City. A urine test during the third trimester of pregnancy was used to measure the exposure to BBzB. After birth, a record of children diagnosed with eczema was kept.

Researchers found that by age two, the likelihood of children whose mothers had been exposed to higher concentrations of BBzP to be diagnosed with the skin disorder was52 percent, compared with those whose mothers had been exposed to lower concentrations. All but one of the women in the study showed some level of exposure to the chemical.

A clear and direct connection that BBzP can cause eczema is still fuzzy. So, researchers looked at allergies as a possible mechanism. Children were tested for three common indoor allergens: cockroaches, dust mites, and mice, as well as for total IgE, a biomarker for an immune response to all allergens. But they found no evidence of a link between BBzP exposure and allergy.

Senior author of the study and Director of the Allergy and Immunology fellowship program Rachel Miller said the study shows something different where BBzP is concerned.

"We know allergies are a factor with some childhood eczema, but our data suggest that is not the case when BBzP is involved," Miller said. "However, these are important findings, given that eczema is a common and uncomfortable disease of early childhood."

According to the findings, African-American mothers in the study were twice as likely as their Dominican-American counterparts to report that their child had been diagnosed with eczema, both groups had a similar association between BBzP exposure and the disease.

Delayed motor skill development in young children, an increase risk for behavioral problems and disruption of the body's endocrine system are some results of an exposure to BBZp, according to previous studies.

The research was conducted at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health.