 |
|
Do Hair Care Practices Affect the Acquisition of Tinea Capitis?
A Case-Control Study
Vidya Sharma, MBBS, MPH;
Nanette B. Silverberg, MD;
Renee Howard, MD;
Cam Tu Tran, MD;
Teresita A. Laude, MD;
Ilona J. Frieden, MD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155:818-821.
Objective To determine the influences of hair-grooming practices and environmental
factors as risk factors for the acquisition of tinea capitis (TC) in children.
Design Case-control study comparing children with culture-proved TC with age-,
sex-, and race-matched control subjects without scalp disease.
Setting A multicenter study involving 3 urban referral centers in the United
States.
Participants A convenience sample of 66 patients aged 12 years and younger presenting
to pediatric dermatology clinics with clinical evidence of TC were enrolled
as cases. Matched control subjects (n = 68), without known scalp disease,
were enrolled from the outpatient pediatric clinics at the same institutions.
Results Significant associations with TC in the conditional logistic regression
model were a prior history of TC (odds ratio, 3.11; 95% confidence interval,
1.02-9.43; P = .04) and exposure to TC (odds ratio,
16.32; 95% confidence interval, 3.55-75.16; P = .001).
The use of a hair conditioner was statistically significant in the univariable
model but not in the multivariable model (odds ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence
interval, 0.20-1.08; P = .07). Hairstyling, frequency
of washing, use of oils or grease, and other hair care practices were not
shown to be associated with the presence of TC.
Conclusions Hair-grooming practices do not appear to play a major role in the acquisition
of TC. Hair conditioners may be protective in children at risk for TC, but
further studies are needed to confirm this finding.
From the Department of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Hospital and the
University of Missouri School of Medicine at Kansas City (Dr Sharma); the
Departments of Pediatrics and Dermatology, State University of New York Health
Science Center at Brooklyn (Drs Silverberg and Laude); and the Departments
of Dermatology (Drs Howard and Frieden) and Pediatrics (Drs Tran and Frieden),
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.
Corresponding author and reprints: Vidya Sharma, MBBS, MPH, Department
of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gilham Rd, Kansas City, MO
64108 (e-mail: vsharma{at}cmh.edu).
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Tinea Capitis and Tonsorial Practices
Krowchuk
AAP Grand Rounds 2001;6:56-57.
FULL TEXT
Hair-Grooming Practices Do Not Promote Tinea Capitis
Journal Watch Dermatology 2001;2001:2-2.
FULL TEXT
|
