| Soo Jong Hong | 2 Articles |
Background
The worldwide prevalence of obesity and allergic diseases has increased. We aimed to explore the relation of overweight to asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis in a sample of Korean adolescents.Methods: We investigated the prevalence of symptoms of asthma and other allergic diseases by using a modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The survey was conducted among 1,499 high school students in 3 regions of Korea.Results: The lifetime prevalence of wheezing (21.2% vs. 15.7%, P = 0.04), the 12 months-prevalence of wheezing (4.5% vs. 2.0%, P = 0.04), exercise induced wheezing (13.8% vs. 9.3%, P = 0.04), treatment of asthma (3.3% vs. 1.1%, P = 0.01) and the prevalence of symptoms of allergic rhinitis (11.0% vs. 5.1%, P = 0.001) were signifi cantly higher in overweight boys than normal weight boys, but not in girls. However, there were no signifi cant differences of the prevalence of symptoms and past history of atopic dermatitis and allergic conjunctivitis between overweight and normal weight groups. In boys, overweight increased the risk of the lifetime prevalence of wheezing (OR 1.54, 95% CI: 1.05-2.24) and 12 months- prevalence of exercise induced wheezing (OR 1.64, 95% CI: 1.05-2.55) after adjusting for confounding variables.Conclusion: Overweight could be a risk factor for the development of symptoms of asthma and allergic rhinitis in adolescent boys, whereas it was not a signifi cant risk factor for allergic diseases in girls. Citations Citations to this article as recorded by
Background
The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and the urine cotinine concentrations in Korean adolescents. Methods: Study population was 1st grade adolescents (N=1467, girls 22.2%) recruited from four high schools, two from Seoul, one from Kangleung and one from Woolsan. We obtained information for active smoking and ETS exposure through self-reported questionnaire and urine cotinine concentrations. Results: The prevalence of active smoking was 6.9% in boys and 0.9% in girls. Median urine cotinine concentrations were 19.5 Ռg/L (range, 0-2341 Ռg/L) among smokers, and 0 Ռg/L (range, 0-1359 Ռg/L) among nonsmokers. The positive rate of urine cotinine among nonsmokers exposed to ETS was 2.9%. Boys were exposed to ETS at PC room (79.6%), home (39.4%), school (11.5%), and public places (5.9%); girls were exposed at home (40.9%), PC room (33.2%), public places (28.0%), and school (15.2%). The frequency and duration of ETS exposure were significantly larger and longer in boys than in girls. Boys contacted friends who smoked more than girls did (32.6% vs. 17.1%). Parents'smoking status was similar both in boys and girls. Any information about ETS exposure did not differ according to the detectable urine cotinine among nonsmoking adolescents. Conclusions: Low positive rateof urine cotinine and no association of urine cotinine with various ETS exposure history reflectthat urine cotinine may not a good marker for ETS exposure in Korean adolescents. Citations Citations to this article as recorded by
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