IL-1β and iNOS can drive the asthmatic comorbidities and decrease of lung function in perennial allergic rhinitis children.

Background: Allergic asthma and rhinitis (AR) are closely linked, with a significant proportion of AR patients developing asthma. Identification of the early signs of comorbidity of AR and asthma can enable prompt treatment and prevent asthma progression.

Objectives And Methods: This study investigated the role of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the comorbidity of AR and asthma and lung function in Korean children with perennial AR (PAR).

A Prospective Study on the Association between Oxidative Stress and Duration of Symptoms in Allergic Rhinitis.

Oxidative stress has been known to play an important role in inflammatory responses of allergic rhinitis. We investigated the association between degree of oxidative stress and severity of allergic rhinitis. A total 226 allergic rhinitis students were classified by a history of allergic rhinitis into groups according to number and duration of symptoms within the previous year.

Allergic rhinitis is associated with atmospheric SO2: Follow-up study of children from elementary schools in Ulsan, Korea.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of allergic rhinitis with air pollutant concentrations using the follow-up data of elementary school children in Ulsan, Korea.

Methods: All students of four elementary schools in Ulsan, South Korea were surveyed at two-year intervals. The survey used data collected five times, over a nine-year period from June 2009 to April 2018.

Obesity Can Contribute to Severe Persistent Allergic Rhinitis in Children through Leptin and Interleukin-1β.

Background: Obesity/overweight is associated with a higher risk of allergic rhinitis (AR) in children.

Objective: This study aimed at exploring the mechanisms by which obesity affects the severity of AR through leptin and interleukin (IL)-1β were investigated.

Methods: In all, 210 subjects with AR and 82 subjects without AR were included in this study.

Comprehensive study of a long-lasting severe haze in Seoul megacity and its impacts on fine particulate matter and health.

A long-lasting severe haze event was observed over the Seoul metropolitan region (SMR: Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do), South Korea, in the winter of 2013 (January 12-16). We comprehensively investigated the atmospheric processes affecting particulate matter (PM) distributions during the haze event, as well as its impact on human health in the study area. These analyses were performed based on meteorological and PM observations and numerical modeling, which included the WRF-CMAQ modeling system and the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program-Community Edition (BenMAP-CE).

Impact of Environmental Factors on the Prevalence Changes of Allergic Diseases in Elementary School Students in Ulsan, Korea: A Longitudinal Study.

We examined the effect of long-term changes in environmental factors on the prevalence of allergic diseases in elementary school students in Ulsan, Korea. This longitudinal study was conducted among 390 students who were enrolled from three elementary schools in Ulsan in both the first (2009-2010) and second survey (2013-2014). The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of allergic diseases and hazardous environmental factors.

Astigmatism Associated with Allergic Conjunctivitis in Urban School Children.

Introduction: We first examined the association of an ocular refractive error with allergic conjunctivitis in school children and then examined this association in children attending a suburban school and an urban school.

Methods: We enrolled 426 children attending a primary school in a suburban area and 550 children attending a primary school in an urban area which had a higher level of air pollution. Allergic conjunctivitis was defined as the diagnosis of this condition at any time during a child's life.

Serum IL-1β can be a biomarker in children with severe persistent allergic rhinitis.

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is one of the most common diseases globally and usually persists throughout life. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether the expression of inflammatory biomarkers has a relationship with the severity of allergic rhinitis and with comorbid asthma or other allergic diseases in children.

Methods: For diagnosis of AR, the skin prick test was performed to measure the responses to 18 allergens.

Changes of Atmospheric and Blood Concentrations of Lead and Cadmium in the General Population of South Korea from 2008 to 2017.

We measured changes in atmospheric and blood levels of lead and cadmium in the South Korean general population during the past decade. Blood data of 16,873 adults were taken from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2008-2017). Atmospheric data were taken from 66 air quality monitoring sites in 16 different regions in South Korea.

Source apportionment of VOCs and their impact on air quality and health in the megacity of Seoul.

The source apportionment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was examined using receptor models (positive matrix factorization and chemical mass balance) and a chemical transport model (CTM). The receptor model-based analysis was performed using the datasets collected from four different sites from the megacity of Seoul during the years 2013-2015. The contributions of VOC emission sources to ozone (O) and PM concentrations and the subsequent health effects in the study area were also assessed during a photochemically active period (June 2015) using a three-dimensional CTM, Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ), and the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP).

Comparison of a 10-Year Cumulative Age-Standardized Incidence Rate of Lung Cancer among Metropolitan Cities in Korea (During the 2000⁻2009 Period): Review of Occupational and Environmental Hazards Associated with Lung Cancer.

In Korea, lung cancer is a common cancer, and has the highest mortality rate in both males and females. Approximately 80% of lung cancer is due to smoking, and the remaining cases are known to be due to genetic factors, history of respiratory disease, infection, diet, and occupational and environmental factors. Since the occupational and environmental hazards may differ from region to region, the lung cancer risk may differ too.

Correction to: Perceptions regarding utilization of meteorological information in healthcare in Korea: a qualitative study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40557-018-0214-3.].

Perinatal factors and the development of childhood asthma.

Background: Perinatal factors are suspected to have a significant impact on the development of asthma; however, sufficiently powered studies have not been performed to investigate this issue.

Objective: To evaluate whether perinatal factors and other risk factors have an independent or combined effect on the development of asthma.

Methods: This study involved 3,770 children (mean age 9.

Perceptions regarding utilization of meteorological information in healthcare in Korea: a qualitative study.

Background: Health forecasting has been used in an attempt to provide timely and tailored meteorological information to patients and healthcare providers so that they might take appropriate actions to mitigate health risks and manage healthcare-related needs. This study examined the in-depth perceptions of healthcare providers and the general public regarding the utilization of meteorological information in the healthcare system in Korea.

Methods: The COREQ (Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research) checklist was applied to this study.

Environmental and Body Concentrations of Heavy Metals at Sites Near and Distant from Industrial Complexes in Ulsan, Korea.

Background: Industrial pollution may affect the heavy metal body burden of people living near industrial complexes. We determined the average concentrations of atmospheric heavy metals in areas close to and distant from industrial complexes in Korea, and the body concentrations of these heavy metals in residents living near and distant from these facilities.

Methods: The atmospheric data of heavy metals (lead and cadmium) were from the Regional Air Monitoring Network in Ulsan.

Modeling the effects of pollutant emissions from large industrial complexes on benzene, toluene, and xylene concentrations in urban areas.

This study utilized the Community Multiscale Air Quality model to simulate the spatial distribution of benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) concentrations from large national industrial complexes (IC) located in the Ulsan metropolitan region (UMR). Through controlling pollutant emissions from major IC, this study performed a quantitative analysis of the influence of pollutant emissions on BTX concentrations in surrounding urban areas. The results showed that approximately 40% of the annual average BTX concentrations in nearby urban grids were directly influenced by pollutant emissions from the IC.

Association between particulate matter concentration and symptoms of atopic dermatitis in children living in an industrial urban area of South Korea.

Introduction: Increased exposure to particulate matter (PM) appears to increase the development of atopic diseases and allergic sensitization. This study evaluated the association between daily levels of PM with diameters less than 10µm (PM10) and PM2.5 and symptoms of atopic dermatitis (AD) in children living in an industrial urban area.

Factors affecting heat-related diseases in outdoor workers exposed to extreme heat.

Background: The objectives of the present study are to: ( evaluate the effect of environmental and metabolic heat on heat-related illnesses in outdoor workers; and evaluate the effect of personal factors, including heat acclimation, on the risk of heat-related illnesses in outdoor workers.

Methods: We identified 47 cases of illnesses from exposure to environmental heat in outdoor workers in Korea from 2010 to 2014, based on review of workers' compensation data. We also obtained the information on location, time, and work environment of each heat-related illness.

Diversification of Orientia tsutsugamushi genotypes by intragenic recombination and their potential expansion in endemic areas.

Background: Scrub typhus is a mite-borne febrile disease caused by O. tsutsugamushi infection. Recently, emergence of scrub typhus has attracted considerable attention in several endemic countries in Asia and the western Pacific.

Comparison of diverse estimation methods for personal exposure to air pollutants and associations with allergic symptoms: The Allergy & Gene-Environment Link (ANGEL) study.

We estimated the exposure to ambient air pollutants and analyzed the associations with allergic diseases. We enrolled 177 children with atopic dermatitis (AD) and 70 asthmatic adults living in Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea, and followed for 17months between August 2013 and December 2014. Parents or patients recorded symptom scores on a daily basis.

Association of carbon monoxide levels with allergic diseases in children.

Background: Air pollution is regarded as a potential reason for the development or aggravation of allergic diseases.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between exposure to outdoor air pollution during the first year of life and the development of allergic diseases, and to determine the association between outdoor air pollution near the residence and recent symptoms of allergic diseases in children.

Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted in 6- to 7-year-old children.

Oxidative stress in schoolchildren with allergic rhinitis: propensity score matching case-control study.

Background: Oxidative stress is defined as an imbalance between the level of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant mechanisms. Compared with asthma, the role of oxidative stress in allergic rhinitis (AR) has received little attention.

Objective: To investigate the association between overall systemic oxidative stress and AR.

Identification and interpretation of representative ozone distributions in association with the sea breeze from different synoptic winds over the coastal urban area in Korea.

To aid the studies of long-term impact assessment of cumulative ozone (O3) exposures, the representative 8-hr O3 pollution patterns have been identified over the Greater Seoul Area (GSA) in Korea. Principal component analysis and two-stage clustering techniques were used to identify the representative O3 patterns, and numerical and observational analyses were also used to interpret the identified horizontal distribution patterns. The results yielded three major O3 distribution patterns, and each of the three patterns was found to have strong correlations with local and synoptic meteorological conditions over the GSA.

Characteristics of Asian dust transport based on synoptic meteorological analysis over Korea.

Classification of synoptic patterns and their correlation with dust events over East Asia were performed by means of cluster analysis. The average linkage and K-means clustering techniques were used to identify two major weather types during Asian dust events (ADEs; total 26 ADEs with 47 dusty days) of six spring seasons from 1996 to 2001. The first weather type mainly influenced neighboring Asian countries and frequently occurred with ADEs (approximately 23% of ADE cases).