Association between ambient air pollution and perceived stress in pregnant women.

Air pollution may influence prenatal maternal stress, but research evidence is scarce. Using data from a prospective cohort study conducted on pregnant women (n = 2153), we explored the association between air pollution and perceived stress, which was assessed using the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), among pregnant women. Average exposures to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of < 2.

Prenatal PM affects atopic dermatitis depending on maternal anxiety and gender: COCOA study.

Background: The prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) is increasing worldwide. Prenatal particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM) and maternal anxiety during pregnancy has been suggested as a potential causes of AD.

Association of ambient air pollution with depressive and anxiety symptoms in pregnant women: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Air pollution is associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms in the general population. However, this relationship among pregnant women remains largely unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the association between pregnancy air pollution exposure and maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms during the third trimester assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scales, respectively.

Correlations Between Cognitive Functions and Clinical Symptoms in Adolescents With Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) is characterized by the typical symptoms of PTSD, in addition to affective dysregulation, negative self-concept, and disturbances in interpersonal relationships. Children and adolescents with C-PTSD have been reported to have deficits in emotional and cognitive functions. We hypothesized that the following are associated with the severity of C-PTSD symptoms: (1) adolescents with C-PTSD who show deficits in emotional perception and cognitive functions, including executive function and attention; and (2) deficits in neurocognitive functions.

Prenatal maternal anxiety promotes atopic dermatitis in offspring via placental DNA methylation changes.

Background: Maternal anxiety during pregnancy has been previously reported to be associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) in offspring. The potential mechanism is not yet proven but epigenetic change may be suggested.

Objective: We examined whether maternal anxiety during pregnancy may alter placental DNA methylation, then develop AD in the offspring.

Investigation of an emotion perception test using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Background And Objective: Patients with mood disorders are known to have an emotion recognition deficit in facial emotion processing. Emotion perception involves two systems of cognitive and affective processes associated with brain activation in the fusiform gyrus and prefrontal cortices. To overcome the limitations of existing emotion perception tests, we designed an emotion perception index to assess the individuals' mood status.

Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment.

Objective: This article examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (K-ITSEA).

Methods: Translation and back-translation of the K-ITSEA were conducted after obtaining a permission. Two thousand two hundred thirty six Korean community infants (1,199 boys and 1,037 girls) between the ages of 12 and 36 months (M=34.

Validation of the Child Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory in Korean survivors of sexual violence.

Background: Dysfunctional cognitions related to trauma is an important factor in the development and maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children and adolescents. The Child Post-traumatic Cognitions Inventory (CPTCI) assesses such cognitions about trauma. We investigated the psychometric properties of the Korean version of CPTCI and its short form by surveying child and adolescent survivors of sexual violence.

Vocalization of Emotional and Social Expressions in Korean-Speaking Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Those with Developmental Delay.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the development of socializing and emotional expressions through vocalizations and joint attention (JA) behaviors in Korean-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), compared to those with developmental delay (DD).

Materials And Methods: Video samples were collected from 28 toddlers with ASD and 18 age-matched toddlers with DD, and vocalizations were each coded in detail for the purpose of this retrospective research. In addition to some statistical analysis, Computerized Language Analysis was conducted to obtain the final results.

Post-Traumatic Cognition Mediates the Relationship between a History of Sexual Abuse and the Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Sexual Assault Victims.

More than half of all sexual assault victims report experiencing sexual victimization more than once. The aim of this paper was to determine the role post-traumatic cognition plays in the relationship between a history of sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress symptoms in sexual assault victims. The relationship between a history of sexual assault and the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms was investigated retrospectively using data from a sexual assault crisis center in Korea.

A prosocial online game for social cognition training in adolescents with high-functioning autism: an fMRI study.

To help patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improve their social skills, effective interventions and new treatment modalities are necessary. We hypothesized that a prosocial online game would improve social cognition in ASD adolescents, as assessed using metrics of social communication, facial recognition, and emotional words. Ten ASD adolescents underwent cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) using a prosocial online game (game-CBT), and ten ASD adolescents participated in an offline-CBT.

Prenatal maternal distress affects atopic dermatitis in offspring mediated by oxidative stress.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that prenatal maternal distress increases the risk of allergic diseases in offspring. However, the effect of prenatal maternal depression and anxiety on atopic dermatitis (AD) risk remains poorly understood.

Objective: We investigated whether prenatal maternal distress is associated with AD risk in offspring and whether the mechanism is mediated by reactive oxygen species.

Depression as a risk factor for overall and hormone-related cancer: the Korean cancer prevention study.

Depression has been hypothesized to be a risk factor of cancer, especially hormone-related cancers. However, few studies have been conducted with large enough sample size and sufficient follow-up period to rigorously estimate these associations. We aim to examine the relationship between depression and risk of registry-documented overall and hormone-related cancers.

The effect of perinatal anxiety on bronchiolitis is influenced by polymorphisms in ROS-related genes.

Background: Exposure to perinatal anxiety affects disease susceptibility in offspring but studies on the association between perinatal anxiety and gene polymorphisms are lacking. This study aimed to elucidate the interaction between perinatal anxiety and polymorphisms in antioxidant defense and innate immunity genes on the development of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) during early infancy.

Methods: Trait anxiety levels in 440 women were assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory during late gestation.

The Cohort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases (COCOA) study: design, rationale and methods.

Background: This paper describes the background, aim, and design of a prospective birth-cohort study in Korea called the COhort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases (COCOA). COCOA objectives are to investigate the individual and interactive effects of genetics, perinatal environment, maternal lifestyle, and psychosocial stress of mother and child on pediatric susceptibility to allergic diseases.

Methods/design: The participants in COCOA represents a Korean inner-city population.

Prenatal maternal depression is associated with low birth weight through shorter gestational age in term infants in Korea.

Background: Maternal prenatal depression is associated with lower offspring birth weight, yet the impact of gestational age on this association remains inadequately understood.

Aims: We aimed to investigate the effect of prenatal depression on low birth weight, gestational age, and weight for gestational age at term.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Allergic diseases in preschoolers are associated with psychological and behavioural problems.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between three major allergic diseases, asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), and atopic dermatitis (AD), and psychological and behavioural problems in preschoolers based on a community survey.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire to determine the prevalence of symptoms and diagnosed allergic diseases, and a Korean version of the Child Behaviour Checklist to assess internalizing, externalizing, and sleep problems among 780 preschoolers. Five-hundred and seventy-five preschoolers with valid data were included in this study.

Measuring depression in South Korea: validity and reliability of a brief questionnaire in the Korean Cancer Prevention Study.

Objective: To examine the validity and reliability of a new questionnaire for measuring depression in a South Korean population, and then to estimate the prevalence of depression in that country using this tool.

Methods: In total, 742,600 individuals (123,725 women), aged 30-64 years at entry into the Korean Cancer Prevention Study, completed a depression symptom in 1992 (baseline enrollment) and again in 1994. We examined the concurrent validity of the depression questionnaire by relating data from it to known socio-demographic and behavioral correlates of depression; its predictive capacity by relating scores from the questionnaire to the occurrence of future hospitalization for depression; and the test-retest reliability by comparing scores from its administration in 1992 to those in 1994.

Fraction of exhaled nitric oxide and wheezing phenotypes in preschool children.

Background: Asthma is a chronic lower airway inflammatory disease. Nitric oxide is an inflammatory mediator produced endogenously in the airway. Previous studies have demonstrated that the fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is increased in asthma.

Titrating Optimal Dose of Osmotic-Controlled Release Oral Delivery (OROS)-Methylphenidate and Its Efficacy and Safety in Korean Children with ADHD: A Multisite Open Labeled Study.

Objective: This study was aimed to determine effectiveness and tolerability of Osmotic-controlled Release Oral delivery (OROS) methylphenidate (MPH) and its optimal dose administered openly over a period of up to 12 weeks in drug naïve Korean children with ADHD.

Methods: Subjects (n=143), ages 6 to 18-years, with a clinical diagnosis of any subtype of ADHD were recruited from 7 medical centers in Korea. An individualized dose of OROS-MPH was determined for each subject depending on the response criteria.

Reference values of impulse oscillometry and its utility in the diagnosis of asthma in young Korean children.

Aims: The aims of this study were (1) to determine the reference values for impulse oscillometry (IOS) and (2) to apply them to the evaluation of asthma in the general population of young Korean children.

Methods: We performed a questionnaire survey and IOS measurements in 390 children aged 3-7 years in Seoul and Gyeonggi province, Korea, from July to August 2010. IOS measurements included respiratory resistance (Rrs) and respiratory reactance (Xrs) at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 35 Hz, respiratory impedance (Zrs), and resonance frequency (RF) before and 15 min after inhalation of 200 μg salbutamol.

Interaction between IL13 genotype and environmental factors in the risk for allergic rhinitis in Korean children.

Background: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) is increasing worldwide. Allergic diseases develop in susceptible subjects when they are exposed to specific environmental factors.

Objective: We analyzed changes in the prevalence of AR and identified genetic and environmental factors in early childhood that affect risk.

Exposure to gene-environment interactions before 1 year of age may favor the development of atopic dermatitis.

Background: The aims of this study were to determine (1) the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in Seoul, Korea, and (2) the influence of environmental and genetic factors on disease risk.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 5,036 primary school children and 4,607 middle school children in 2008. For each child, a modified version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire and a questionnaire assessing exposure to environmental variables were completed.

Parent-reported ISAAC written questionnaire may underestimate the prevalence of asthma in children aged 10-12 years.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to compare the validity of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) written (WQ) and audiovisual questionnaires (AVQ 3.0) in two age-groups (10-12 and 13-15 years, respectively).

Methods: The 13-15 year olds performed the self-completed the WQ and AVQ on the same day.