Recent research has reported that there are many effects of climate change on allergic disease in humans. The aim of this study was to clarify evidence of the effects of climate change on the prevalence of allergic disease. We reviewed the available evidence of the relation between climate factors and allergic disease. And a systematic online and manual literature search to the theme "allergies and climate change" was made for model-derived keywords.
Air Pollution ; Asthma ; Climate ; Climate Change ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Pollen ; Prevalence ; Weather

PURPOSE: Food allergies can affect the growth and nutritional status of children with atopic dermatitis (AD). This study was conducted to determine the association between the number of sensitized food allergens and the growth and nutritional status of infants and young children with AD. METHODS: We studied 165 children with AD, aged 5 to 47 months, and who visited the Atopy Clinic of the Seoul Medical Center. We recorded the birth weight, time at which food weaning began, scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) index, eosinophil counts in peripheral blood, and total serum IgE and specific IgE to six major allergens (egg white, cow's milk, soybean, peanut, wheat, and fish). The height and weight for age and weight for height were converted to z-scores to evaluate their effects on growth and nutritional status. Specific IgE levels > or =0.7 kUA/L, measured via the CAP assay, were considered positive. RESULTS: As the number of sensitized food allergens increased, the mean z-scores of weight and height for age decreased (P=0.006 and 0.018, respectively). The number directly correlated with the SCORAD index (r=0.308), time at which food weaning began (r=0.332), eosinophil counts in peripheral blood (r=0.266), and total serum IgE (r=0.394). Inverse correlations were observed with the z-scores of weight for age (r=-0.358), height for age (r=-0.278), and weight for height (r=-0.224). CONCLUSIONS: A higher number of sensitized food allergens was associated with negative effects on the growth and nutritional status of infants and young children with AD. Therefore, a thorough evaluation of both growth and nutritional status, combined with adequate patient management, is crucial in pediatric AD patients presenting with numerous sensitized food allergies.
Aged ; Allergens ; Birth Weight ; Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Eosinophils ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Infant ; Milk ; Nutritional Status ; Soybeans ; Triticum ; Weaning

Though Fragile X syndrome is one of the most common inherited causes of mental retardation, it is not much detected yet in Korean population. One of the reason may be that the syndrome is not well known to the special education teachers as well as to the clinicians in this country. Thus, molecular test was undertaken to screen out fragile X syndrome in 122 children of two Korean schools for emotionally severely handicapped children. The subjects were all boys, previously known as having pervasive developmental disorder with or without mental retardation. Southern blot analysis of peripheral blood showed the abnormally enlarged (CGG)n repeat sequence associated with fragile X syndrome in two children. This finding suggests that the DNA testing for fragile X syndrome is warranted for Korean high risk population and that more concern about this syndrome is needed for the professionals who work for mentally handicapped children. The issues involved in genetic counseling for fragile X syndrome are discussed.
Blotting, Southern ; Child ; Disabled Children* ; Disabled Persons* ; DNA* ; Education, Special ; Fragile X Syndrome* ; Genetic Counseling ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Korea* ; Mentally Disabled Persons

PURPOSE: Unbalanced diets and decreased physical activity have contributed to increased prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in adolescents. We have performed a systematic review and data analysis to examine the association between dietary pattern and metabolic syndrome risk factors in adolescents. METHODS: We searched the PubMed and BioMedLib databases for appropriate articles published during the past 10 years and selected 6 articles. The studies reviewed applied factor analysis or cluster analysis to extract dietary patterns. For data analysis, we examined the association between dietary patterns and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome risk factors using data of 3,168 adolescents (13 to 18 years) obtained from 4 consecutive Korean Nutrition Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (1998, 2001, 2005, and 2007 to 2009). RESULTS: Our systematic review confirmed that western dietary patterns are positively associated with metabolic syndrome risk factors such as obesity and elevated triglycerides, while traditional dietary patterns were negatively associated. Data analysis found that the number of adolescents aged 16 to 18 years who had "Rice & Kimchi" dietary pattern decreased, while the number having western dietary patterns increased during the 1998 to 2009 time frame. There were no changes in the dietary patterns in adolescents aged 13 to 15 years. The risk of elevated serum triglycerides and reduced serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol was high in the "Rice & Kimchi" dietary pattern compared to the other dietary pattern groups. CONCLUSION: Because adolescents' dietary patterns are changing continuously and have long-term effects, further studies on the dietary patterns of adolescents and their health effects into adulthood are necessary.
Adolescent ; Aged ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Diet ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; Motor Activity ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Statistics as Topic ; Triglycerides

OBJECTIVES: Antimicrobial chemicals are used in a variety of household and personal care products. Exposure to antimicrobial household products has been hypothesized to lead to allergic diseases in children. METHODS: We investigated antimicrobial household product exposure and allergic symptoms in Korean children. An antimicrobial exposure (AE) score was derived. To examine the symptoms of allergic diseases (current wheeze, current rhinitis, and current eczema) in the past 12 months, we used a questionnaire based on the core module of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children. Complete data for the analysis were available for 25,805 of the 35,590 (72.5%) children. RESULTS: The prevalence of current allergic diseases was as follows: wheeze, 5.6%; allergic rhinitis, 32.6%; and eczema, 17.7%. The mean (standard deviation) AE score was 14.3 (9.3) (range: 0-40). Compared with subjects with a low AE score (reference), subjects with a high AE score (fourth quartile) were more likely to have symptoms of wheezing and allergic rhinitis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] for wheezing 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.45, p for trend=0.24; aOR for allergic rhinitis 1.30, 95% CI, 1.20-1.40, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that frequent use of antimicrobial household products was associated with current wheeze and current allergic rhinitis.
Asthma ; Child ; Eczema ; Family Characteristics ; Household Products* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Sounds ; Rhinitis ; Triclosan ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: Childhood allergic diseases are a major concern because they lead to a heavy economic burden and poor quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of childhood atopic dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and the comorbidity of allergic diseases in Seoul, Korea. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey between May and October 2010 to evaluate the prevalence of childhood allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis, using a questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood group. Each questionnaire was completed by the parent or guardian of a child. RESULTS: In the 31,201 children studied, the prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms in the past 12 months was 19.3% in children 0 to 3 years of age, 19.7% in children 4 to 6 years of age, 16.7% in children 7 to 9 years of age, and 14.5% in children 10 to 13 years of age (p for trend < 0.001). The prevalence of asthma in these age groups was 16.5%, 9.8%, 6.5%, and 5.4%, respectively (p for trend < 0.001). The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in these age groups was 28.5%, 38.0%, 38.5%, and 35.9%, respectively (p for trend = 0.043). The percentage of subjects with both atopic dermatitis and asthma, both asthma and allergic rhinitis, or both atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis was 2.5%, 4.7%, and 8.7%, respectively. The prevalence of comorbid allergic diseases decreased with age (p for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the prevalence of some allergic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and asthma, was relatively high in very young children and that all of the principal allergic diseases in children often co-exist.
Asthma ; Child ; Comorbidity ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Parents ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the association between socioeconomic factors and asthma symptoms. METHODS: A total of 6,919 elementary school children in Seoul were enrolled in the study. Data were obtained from a web-based questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood core module. The prevalence of wheeze in the past 12 months and severe asthma symptoms were obtained. The potential risk factors for asthma symptoms included household income and the number of siblings. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the risk factors of asthma symptoms. RESULTS: The prevalence of current wheeze (wheeze in the past 12 months) was 5.2%. Household income and asthma symptoms were inversely associated after adjusting for other potential risk factors (p for trend=0.03). This association was modified by the number of siblings. With two or more siblings, the effect of household income on asthma symptoms was not significant. However, low household income was still a significant variable for patients with fewer than two siblings (OR 1.41; 95% CI, 1.09-1.81). CONCLUSIONS: It appears that childhood asthma disparity is dependent on household income. Therefore, policies to improve childhood health inequities should be emphasized.
Asthma ; Child ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Siblings ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

This study examined the effects of corn gluten (CG) and its hydrolysate consumptions on weight reduction in rats fed a high-fat diet. Eight-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=40) were fed a high-fat diet (40% calorie as fat) for 4 weeks. They were then randomly divided into four groups and fed the isocaloric diets with different protein sources for 8 weeks. The protein sources were casein (control group), intact CG (CG group), CG hydrolysate A (CGHA group, 30% of protein as peptides and 70% as free amino acids) and CG hydrolysate P (CGHP group, 93% of protein as peptides and 7% as free amino acids). Body weight gain, adipose tissue weights, nitrogen balance, absorptions of energy, protein and fat, lipid profiles in plasma, liver and feces and hepatic activities of carnitine palmitoyl transferase (CPT), fatty acid synthase (FAS), malic enzyme (ME) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) were assessed. The CGHA diet had the highest amount of BCAAs, especially leucine, and most of them existed as free amino acid forms. The CGHA group showed significant weight reduction and negative nitrogen balance. Protein absorption and apparent protein digestibility in the CGHA group were significantly lower than those in other groups. Adipose tissue weights were the lowest in the CGHA group. Activity of CPT tended to be higher in the CGHA group than in other groups and those of FAS, ME and G6PDH were significantly lower in the CGHA group than in other groups. In conclusion, the CGHA diet which had relatively high amounts of free amino acids and BCAAs, especially leucine, had a weight reduction effect by lowering adipose tissue weight and the activities of FAS, ME and G6PDH in experimental animals, but it seemed to be a negative result induced by lowering protein absorption, increasing urinary nitrogen excretion and protein catabolism.
Absorption ; Adipose Tissue ; Amino Acids ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Carnitine ; Caseins ; Diet ; Diet, High-Fat ; Fatty Acid Synthetase Complex ; Feces ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase ; Glutens ; Humans ; Leucine ; Liver ; Male ; Nitrogen ; Peptides ; Plasma ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Staphylococcal Protein A ; Transferases ; Weight Loss ; Weights and Measures ; Zea mays

OBJECTIVES: One of the factors that obstructs active progress of the temperament study in Korea is lack of the standardized assessment tools. Therefore, this study was designed and conducted for the purpose of Korean standardization of "Parental Temperament Questionnaire(PTQ)", which was developed by Thomas and Chess, to assess the temperament of children between the ages of 3 and 7 years through parental questionnaire. METHOD: The samples consisted of 1,175 children who were attending nurseries nationwide. PTQ was translated into Korean language by the authors and distributed to the parents of these children, along with "Toddler Temperament Scale(TTS)" and "Yale Child Inventory(YCI)" which had been previously standardized by different investigators. The reliability and validity of the Korean version of PTQ were tested. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability, item-category correlations and internal consistency of the Korean version of PTQ were generally satisfactory. Correlations between the perceived temperament and the rated temperament were statistically significant in all temperamental categories except distractibility. The correlation between PTQ and TTS was statistically significant in all categories. The 9 categories of PTQ correlated variously with 11 subscales of preschool behavioral assessment of YCI. CONCLUSIONS:The Korean version of PTQ is a standardized tool to assess the temperament of children between ages 3 and 7 years, which will be a useful basic tool for the study of temperament of Korean children.
Child* ; Humans ; Korea ; Nurseries ; Parents* ; Surveys and Questionnaires* ; Reproducibility of Results ; Research Personnel ; Temperament*

Primary autoimmune myelofibrosis, the development of which is not preceded by a well-defined autoimmune disease, has recently been defined as a distinct clinicopathologic syndrome. We report herein a case of a 68-year-old woman who was diagnosed with primary autoimmune myelofibrosis and present a review of the literature. The patient manifested peripheral pancytopenia, was positive for autoantibodies, and developed myelofibrosis with no preceding autoimmune or hematologic disorders. Her condition was dramatically improved after administration of prednisolone.
Aged ; Autoantibodies ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Female ; Humans ; Pancytopenia ; Prednisolone ; Primary Myelofibrosis*