Allergy Asthma Immunol Res.  2016 Mar;8(2):107-114. 10.4168/aair.2016.8.2.107.

Association Between Obesity, Abdominal Obesity, and Adiposity and the Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis in Young Korean Adults: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2010

• Lee JH
• Han KD
• Jung HM
• Youn YH
• Lee JY
• Park YG
• Lee SH
• Park YM

• KMID: 2165926
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4168/aair.2016.8.2.107

Abstract

PURPOSE
Whether obesity is a risk factor for atopic dermatitis (AD) remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between obesity and AD in Korean young adults.
METHODS
We included nationally representative data of 5,202 Korean adults aged 19-40 years, obtained from the cross-sectional Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2010.
RESULTS
Single (unmarried) status was more frequently observed in AD patients (male, [P=0.0002] and female, [P<0.0001]). AD prevalence exhibited a U-shape trend in relation to body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and total body fat (BF) percentage, especially in young adult women. Women with BMI > or =25 kg/m2, WC > or =80 cm, and highest quartile (Q4) of total BF percentage had the highest prevalence of AD. The odds ratio (OR) for participants with both BMI > or =25 kg/m2 and WC > or =80 cm was 3.29 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.71-3.55); therefore, having both general and abdominal obesity was considered a prominent risk factor for AD in young women. After adjustment for confounding factors, including age, smoking, alcohol drinking, exercise, vitamin D, income level, and single status, high BMI (> or =30 kg/m2) (OR=4.08, 95% CI: 1.53-10.93), high WC (> or =80 cm) (OR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.07-3.94), and high BF percentage (Q4) (OR=2.10, 95% CI: 1.24-3.57) were shown to be significantly associated with AD in young adult women.
CONCLUSIONS
In this large-scale nation-wide study of Korean adults, obesity was positively related to the presence of AD in women. Our findings suggest that weight management may help prevent AD.

Keyword

Atopic dermatitis; obesity; body mass index; waist circumference; body fat; prevalence

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue
Adiposity*
Adult*
Alcohol Drinking
Body Mass Index
Dermatitis, Atopic*
Female
Humans
Korea*
Nutrition Surveys*
Obesity*
Obesity, Abdominal*
Odds Ratio
Prevalence*
Risk Factors
Smoke
Smoking
Vitamin D
Waist Circumference
Young Adult
Smoke
Vitamin D

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Trends of atopic dermatitis (AD) prevalence and obesity with age.

• 

  Fig. 2 A comparison of the correlation between atopic dermatitis (AD) prevalence and body compositions (body mass Index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and total body fat (BF) percentage) according to gender and age (*P for trend <0.05).

• 

  Fig. 3 Odds ratio for atopic dermatitis (AD) in subgroups based on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). The error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥25 kg/m2. Abdominal obesity was defined as WC ≥90 in men, and ≥80 in women, respectively.

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