title: 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.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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 ≥25 kg/m², WC ≥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 ≥25 kg/m² and WC ≥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 (≥30 kg/m²) (OR=4.08, 95% CI: 1.53-10.93), high WC (≥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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Do
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Han Mi
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Youn
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jun Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Gyu
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. hwanx2@catholic.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Seung Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. yymmpark6301@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Young Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Park
keywords: Atopic dermatitis; body fat; body mass index; obesity; prevalence; waist circumference