Metabolomics analysis of maternal serum exposed to high air pollution during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring.

Background: Previously, numerous epidemiologic studies reported an association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and exposure to air pollution during pregnancy. However, there have been no metabolomics studies investigating the impact of pregnancy pollution exposure to ASD risk in offspring.

Objectives: To identify differences in maternal metabolism that may reflect a biological response to exposure to high air pollution in pregnancies of offspring who later did or did not develop ASD.

Vegetable dietary pattern may protect mild and persistent allergic rhinitis phenotype depending on genetic risk in school children.

Background: The effect of diet on allergic rhinitis (AR), its severity in children, and whether it modifies AR depending on genetic susceptibility are unknown. We investigated the association between dietary patterns and AR in school children and the influence of diet on AR according to a genetic risk score (GRS).

Methods: Totally, 435 7-year-old school children were recruited from the Panel Study on Korean Children.

Risk Factors and Comorbidities Associated With the Allergic Rhinitis Phenotype in Children According to the ARIA Classification.

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.

Association between sensitization and allergic diseases in 7-years-old Korean children.

Background: Sensitization is associated with the exacerbation, severity, and prognosis of allergic diseases in children.

Objective: We characterized the association between sensitization patterns and allergic diseases.

Methods: A cohort of 548 children was enrolled from Panel Study of Korean Children (PSKC) study.

Prevalence, Risk Factors and Cutoff Values for Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness to Provocholine in 7-Year-Old Children.

Background: A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug methacholine chloride (Provocholine®) was recently introduced to Korea where it is now widely used in clinical practice. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence, risk factors and cutoff value of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) to Provocholine in 7-year-old children.

Methods: Six hundred and thirty-three children from the Panel Study on Korean Children who visited 16 regional hospitals were evaluated.

Stability of cognitive development during the first five years of life in relation to heavy metal concentrations in umbilical cord blood: Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) birth cohort study.

The objective of this study was to investigate stability of cognitive development during the first five years of life in relation to heavy metal concentrations in umbilical cord blood in Korean children. This research is part of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a multi-center prospective birth cohort study of pregnant women in Korea who were recruited from 2006 to 2010. We analyzed the complete follow-up data of children who were 5years-old in 2016.

Blood heavy metal concentrations in pregnant Korean women and their children up to age 5years: Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) birth cohort study.

The present study assessed the associations of heavy metal concentrations in pregnant women with the concentrations in their children during early childhood. This study is a part of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a Korean multi-center prospective birth cohort study of 1751 pregnant women who were recruited from 2006 to 2010. We completed the follow-up of children who were 5years-old in 2016.

High Maternal Blood Mercury Level Is Associated with Low Verbal IQ in Children.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship of IQ in children with maternal blood mercury concentration during late pregnancy. The present study is a component of the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a multi-center birth cohort project in Korea that began in 2006. The study cohort consisted of 553 children whose mothers underwent testing for blood mercury during late pregnancy.

Maternal Stress and Depressive Symptoms and Infant Development at Six Months: the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) Prospective Study.

Our objective is to evaluate the relationships between prenatal maternal stress and depressive symptoms, respectively, and infant neurodevelopment at 6 months, adjusted for heavy metals and oxidative stress. This research is a part of a multi-center birth cohort study in South Korea. Information on stress and depressive symptoms was collected during the first trimester using Psychosocial Well-Being Index Short Form (PWI-SF) and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).

Effect of Breastfeeding Duration on Cognitive Development in Infants: 3-Year Follow-up Study.

We investigated the association between breastfeeding and cognitive development in infants during their first 3 years. The present study was a part of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, which was a multi-center birth cohort project in Korea that began in 2006. A total of 697 infants were tested at age 12, 24, and 36 months using the Korean version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (K-BSID-II).

Performance IQ in children is associated with blood cadmium concentration in early pregnancy.

Objective: To investigate whether performance IQ in children is associated with maternal blood cadmium concentration in early pregnancy.

Method: The present study is a component of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a multi-center birth cohort project in Korea that began in 2006. The study cohort consisted of 119 children whose mothers underwent testing of blood cadmium during early pregnancy.

Evidence that cognitive deficit in children is associated not only with iron deficiency, but also with blood lead concentration: a preliminary study.

Objective: To investigate whether blood lead concentrations are elevated in iron-deficient children, and to examine the association between iron deficiency and/or elevated blood lead concentration and cognitive deficits in children.

Method: The present study is a component of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a multi-center birth cohort project in Korea that began in 2006. The study cohort consisted of 194 children who underwent testing of blood lead and serum C-reactive proteins (CRPs) and ferritin concentrations, and the Korean version of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, revised edition (WPPSI-R), at 60 months of age.

Relationship between prenatal and postnatal exposures to folate and risks of allergic and respiratory diseases in early childhood.

Background: It is uncertain whether folate is risk or preventive factor for allergic and respiratory diseases.

Objective: To determine the relationship between maternal or offspring folate status and subsequent development of allergic and respiratory diseases in early childhood.

Methods: In total, 917 mother-child pairs from a prospective birth cohort in South Korea were studied.

Association between prenatal exposure to cadmium and atopic dermatitis in infancy.

Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between intrauterine exposure to cadmium and the presence of atopic dermatitis in infants 6 months of age, adjusted for covariates including exposure to other heavy metals. The present research is a component of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a multi-center birth cohort project conducted in Korea. Study subjects were restricted to pregnant women in whom cadmium and lead levels were measured at delivery and whose infants were assessed for the presence of atopic disease at 6 months of age.

Prenatal exposure to phthalates and infant development at 6 months: prospective Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study.

Background: There are increasing concerns over adverse effects of prenatal phthalate exposure on the neurodevelopment of infants.

Objectives: Our goal was to explore the association between prenatal di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and dibutyl phthalate exposure and the Mental and Psychomotor Developmental Indices (MDI and PDI, respectively) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 6 months, as part of the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health Study.

Methods: Between 2006 and 2009, 460 mother-infant pairs from Seoul, Cheonan, and Ulsan, Korea, participated.

Secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy and infantile neurodevelopment.

During prenatal development, the nervous system may be more susceptible to environmental toxicants, such as secondhand smoke. The authors assessed the effects of prenatal and postnatal secondhand smoke exposure on the neurodevelopment of 6-month infants. The subjects were 414 mother and infant pairs with no medical problems, taken from the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health study.

Blood cadmium concentrations of male cigarette smokers are inversely associated with fruit consumption.

Decreased fruit and vegetable consumption, along with elevated blood cadmium concentrations, are frequently observed among cigarette smokers. Few studies have investigated whether the blood cadmium concentrations of cigarette smokers are associated with the consumption of antioxidative nutrients, as well as foods containing high concentrations of antioxidative nutrients and phytochemicals, such as fruits and vegetables. In this study, we aimed to determine where there is any relationship between blood cadmium concentration and the consumption of certain foods and nutrients in adult male smokers.

The effect of rush immunotherapy with house dust mite in the production of IL-5 and IFN-gamma from the peripheral blood T cells of asthmatic children.

Although the mechanisms are unclear, rush immunotherapy (RIT) may be effective to treat allergic diseases. We investigated the long-term modifications of cellular immunity as a mechanism of RIT. The RIT group, included 15 house dust mite (HDM)-sensitized asthmatic children, received RIT only with Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f) and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p), whereas the control group, consisted of 10 HDM-sensitized asthmatic children, did not receive RIT.