A prospective longitudinal birth control cohort study evaluated whether neonatal colonization with Staphylococcus aureus was associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) development during the first 3 years of life. The study population comprised 356 neonates (median age 4 weeks) who completed the 3-year follow-up. Of these neonates, over half (55.3%) had at least one swab culture positive for S. aureus. Forty-two per cent of infants developed AD before the age of 3 years. However, there was no association between S. aureus colonization at 1 month of age and the risk of AD development by age 3. Nevertheless, in children presenting with acute AD, the severity as measured by the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) ...