PURPOSE: Childhood asthma has a considerable social impact and economic burden, especially in severe asthma. This study aimed to identify the proportion of childhood asthma severity and to evaluate associated factors for greater asthma severity. METHODS: This study was performed on 667 children aged 5–15 years with asthma from the nationwide 19 hospitals in the Korean childhood Asthma Study (KAS). Asthma was classified as mild intermittent, mild persistent, and moderate/severe persistent groups according to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program recommendations. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to identify the associated factors for greater asthma severity. RESULTS: Mild persistent asthma was most prevalent (39.0%), followed by mild intermittent (37.6%), moderate persistent (22.8%), and severe persistent asthma (0.6%). Onset later than 6 years of age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.69 for mild persistent asthma; aOR, 1.92 for moderate/severe persistent asthma) tended to increase asthma severity. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (aOR, 1.53 for mild persistent asthma; aOR, 1.85 for moderate/severe persistent asthma), and current dog ownership with sensitization to dog dander (aOR, 5.86 for mild persistent asthma; aOR, 6.90 for moderate/severe persistent asthma) showed increasing trends with greater asthma severity. Lower maternal education levels (aOR, 2.32) and no usage of an air purifier in exposure to high levels of outdoor air pollution (aOR, 1.76) were associated with moderate/severe persistent asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Modification of identified environmental factors associated with greater asthma severity might help better control childhood asthma, thereby reducing the disease burden due to childhood asthma.
Air Filters ; Air Pollution ; Animals ; Asthma ; Child ; Dander ; Dogs ; Education ; Environmental Exposure ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Ownership ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Social Change ; Tobacco

PURPOSE: Data are lacking on the association between the allergic rhinitis (AR) phenotype and sensitization to specific allergens or bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in children. We here investigated risk factors and comorbidities, including sensitization to specific allergens and BHR, for the AR phenotype by AR and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) classification in a general population-based birth cohort study. METHODS: We enrolled 606 children aged 7 years from the Panel Study of Korean Children. The AR phenotype was assigned in accordance with the ARIA classification in children. Skin prick tests and Provocholine provocation test were performed. Risk factors and comorbidities for AR phenotypes were then analyzed. RESULTS: The prevalence of mild and moderate to severe AR in our study cohort was 37.2% and 8.8%, respectively. Recent use of analgesics or antipyretics and current cat ownership were associated with the risk of mild persistent AR. Sensitizations to Dermatophagoides Pteronyssinus (Der p), Japanese hop and cat were associated with moderate to severe persistent AR. Children with moderate to severe AR had a higher risk of current asthma and BHR compared to mild AR cases (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 5.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.77–15.62). Moderate to severe AR with allergic sensitization was associated with the highest risk of BHR (aOR, 11.77; 95% CI, 3.40–40.74). CONCLUSIONS: Moderate to severe-persistent AR is more closely related to respiratory comorbidities and sensitizations than mild AR. Stratifying the AR phenotype by ARIA classification may assist in disease management.
Allergens ; Analgesics ; Animals ; Antipyretics ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Asthma ; Bronchial Hyperreactivity ; Cats ; Child ; Classification ; Cohort Studies ; Comorbidity ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Disease Management ; Humans ; Methacholine Chloride ; Odds Ratio ; Ownership ; Parturition ; Phenotype ; Prevalence ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Risk Factors ; Skin

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of Hydrangeae Dulcis Folium (EHDF) on physical stress, changes in the whole-body cortisol level and behaviour in zebrafish (Danio rerio). METHODS: One hundred and seventy-four fish were randomly divided into 4 [adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) challenge test: 4 fish per group] or 6 groups (behavioural test: 10-12 fish per group, whole-body cortisol: 4 fish per group). Net handling stress (NHS) was used to induce physical stress. Fish were treated with vehicle or EHDF (5-20 mg/L) for 6 min before they were exposed to stress. And then, fish were sacrificed for collecting body fluid from whole-body or conducted behavioural tests, including novel tank test and open field test, and were evaluated to observe anxiety-like behaviours and locomotion. In addition, to elucidate the mode of action of the anti-stress effects of EHDF, ACTH (0.2 IU/g, i.p.) challenge test was performed. RESULTS: The increased anxiety-like behaviours in novel tank test and open field test under stress were prevented by treatment with EHDF at 5-20 mg/L (P <0.05). Moreover, compared with the unstressed group, which was not treated with NHS, the whole-body cortisol level was significantly increased by treatment with NHS (P <0.05). Compared with the NHS-treated stressed control group, pre-treatment with EHDF at concentrations of 5-20 mg/L for 6 min significantly prevented the NHS-increased whole-body cortisol level (<0.05). In addition, ACTH challenge test showed that EHDF completely blocked the effects of ACTH on cortisol secretion (P <0.05). CONCLUSION EHDF may be a good antistress candidate and its mechanism of action may be related to its positive effects on cortisol release.

Antineoplastic Agents ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies ; Comorbidity ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Morinda ; Multivariate Analysis ; Myocardial Ischemia ; National Health Programs ; Observational Study ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Social Class

Anticoagulants ; Dalteparin ; Hemorrhage ; Heparin ; Humans ; Mortality ; Multivariate Analysis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Recurrence ; Rivaroxaban ; Urinary Tract ; Venous Thromboembolism

Adult ; Atypical Squamous Cells of the Cervix ; Education ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Immunization Programs ; Korea ; Papanicolaou Test ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Single Person ; Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions of the Cervix ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Vaccination ; Vaccines

24 mm² (sensitivity, 76.5%; specificity 64.8%), and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.72. For ASR(area), the cut-off value was > 1.58 (sensitivity, 76.5%; specificity, 58.0%) and the AUC was 0.64. Multivariable Cox regression showed that ARO > 24 mm² (hazard ratio = 3.79, p = 0.020) was a potential independent parameter for recurrent 3 + AR. ROC for the linear regression model showed that the AUC for both ARO and ASR(area) was 0.73 (95% confidence interval, 0.64–0.81, p < 0.001).CONCLUSION: ARO and ASR(area) detected on preoperative cardiac CT would be potentially helpful for identifying AR patients who may benefit from the David operation.]]>
Aortic Valve Insufficiency ; Aortic Valve ; Area Under Curve ; Echocardiography ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

40 years or new hires with less than 1 year of service.]]>
Brain ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cohort Studies ; Firefighters ; Follow-Up Studies ; Health Surveys ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mental Disorders ; Mental Health ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic ; Prospective Studies ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors

Adenosine Triphosphate ; Dialysis ; Humans ; Luciferases ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Prospective Studies ; Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon ; Renal Dialysis ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Risk Factors ; Uremia

Alopecia ; Classification ; Diarrhea ; Female ; Functional Food ; Hair ; Hair Follicle ; Humans ; Leuconostoc ; Male ; Pilot Projects ; Probiotics ; Scalp ; Soybeans