Birthmarks and Transient Skin Lesions in Newborns and Their Relationship to Maternal Factors: A Preliminary Report from Northern Italy

Abstract

Background: A total of 620 healthy term neonates, randomly selected among babies born at the San Paolo Hospital in Milan (Italy), were examined to study the relationship between birthmarks and transient cutaneous lesions in newborns of different ethnic groups. Methods: Information on sociodemographic factors and on physiopathological variables of the pregnancy was collected. Multiple logistic analyses were performed to assess associations between diagnosed skin lesions and various factors. Odds ratios (OR) as a measure of association and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Results: A positive association was found between reduced hypoderm and pregnancy illness (OR = 2.78), hypertrophy genitalia and use of drugs (OR = 1.86) and illnesses in pregnancy (OR = 1.61). Hyperpigmentation in the genital area and Mongolian spot showed significant positive association with geographical area of origin, being systematically more frequent in non-European neonates, while for melanocytic congenital nevi a positive association was observed only for Asiatic newborns (OR = 4.67); salmon patch on the nape showed a significant OR of 1.81 among mothers aged ≧35. Conclusions: Significant associations between some sociodemographic factors and cutaneous lesions of the newborn and anamnestic data related to the pregnancy were found. Dermatologic conditions are common in the newborns and may justify dermatologic examination.

Prevalence of Blue Spot among Mongolian Newborn Infants

“…The size of the Mongolian spot square was strongly and directly correlated with the body surface area of the infant (p=0.0001) (Figure 2 Several studies on prevalence of Mongolian spot have been conducted worldwide. The reported prevalence of the Mongolian spot variesas follows: East Africa (95.0%), Native Americans (90.0%), Korean (97.1%), China (86.3), Japan (81.5%), Nigeria (74.8%), Iran (71.3%), India (60.2-62.2%), Spain (60.0%), Taiwan (61.6%), Brazil (60.0%), Hungary (22.6%), Australia (25.5%), Italy (2-5%), Arab (8-10%), Azerbaijan (10%), and Turkey (10-12%) [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…In general, Mongolian spot is located lower side of back and has deep blue and grey blue color [17]. According to the study of Silengo et al the classical location of Mongolian spot is the back [9].…”

“…Studies of "Mongolian spot" prevalence have been conducted in many countries, namely in USA (Native Americans), Korea, China, Japan, Nigeria, Iran, India, Taiwan, Brazil, Australia, Italy, Arab, Turkey [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Those studies determined the specific prevalence among newborns and general population.…”

Cutaneous lesions and disorders in healthy neonates and their relationships with maternal-neonatal factors: a cross-sectional study

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Mostly, these studies included the examination of 500-1000 neonates, and were conducted in Asia; [1][2][3][5][6][7][8][9] few studies on neonatal skin manifestations have been reported in Europe. [4] Some reports detected all the skin manifestations found, whereas others examined only some specifi c condition, such as erythema toxicum neonatorum (ETN).…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Mostly, these studies included the examination of 500-1000 neonates, and were conducted in Asia; [1][2][3][5][6][7][8][9] few studies on neonatal skin manifestations have been reported in Europe. [4] Some reports detected all the skin manifestations found, whereas others examined only some specifi c condition, such as erythema toxicum neonatorum (ETN). [10,11] In certain studies, the correlations between skin disorders and neonatal factors (gender, gestational age, birth weight and Apgar score) were examined, while some authors [3,4,[6][7][8][9] also studied the associations with such maternal factors as age, parity, toxic habits and maternal diseases.…”