Authors

Raden Mohamad Rendy Ariezal Effendi ^1,2, Hok Bing Thio¹, Robert Kraaij³, Chrysanti Murad⁴, Reiva Farah Dwiyana², Oki Suwarsa² , Tamar E. C. Nijsten¹ and Luba M. Pardo¹

Affiliations

¹Department of Dermatology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands, ²Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Aesthetics, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Padjadjaran, Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, ³Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands, ⁴Division of Microbiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

Background

• Gut bacteria may play a role in atopic dermatitis (AD), but most studies focus on Western populations and examine gut or skin microbiota separately.

• Evidence on skin–gut interactions in non-Western children is limited.

Methods

• Case-control study of 218 children and adolescents aged 4–18 (111 AD cases, 107 controls) at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung.

• 16S rRNA sequencing of paired gut and skin samples, with predicted functional pathway analysis.

Key Results

• Gut diversity did not differ between AD cases and controls; gut composition was linked to birth method, maternal education, and age.

• Several bacteria differed in AD (including Dialister invisus and Parabacteroides), along with 24 predicted functional pathways.

• Skin–gut correlations were modest to weak, with some skin–gut pairs differing between AD and controls.

Discussion & Conclusion

• Gut microbiota differences by AD status were modest.

• Findings suggest selective cross-site associations between skin and gut bacteria.

Related SDGs

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being – Improving understanding of childhood skin disease

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Including non-Western populations in microbiome research

Journal Information

Journal: Frontiers in Microbiology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1864438