Background/Objectives: To investigate the association of antioxidant nutritional status with the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD) in young children in a case-control, population-based study. Subjects/Methods: Identified from preschools by using the Korean version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Final analysis included 180 AD (mean age 5.3 ± 0.9 years) and 242 non-AD (mean age 5.2 ± 1.0 years) children. Diet was assessed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Fasting blood samples were used for analyses of fat-soluble vitamins (retinol, a-tocopherol, and b-carotene) and vitamin C. . There was no relationship of AD risk with dietary and plasma vitamin C as well as nutrient supplement intake regardless of nutrient type. AD was predicted better by the intake measure than the corresponding blood biomarker regarding vitamin E and b-carotene. Conclusions: These findings suggest that higher antioxidant nutritional status reduces the risk of AD and that such risk-reduction effects depend on nutrient type.

ObjectivesChronic degenerative diseases are closely related to daily eating habits, nutritional status, and, in particular, energy intake. In clarifying these relationships it is very important for dietary surveys to report accurate information about energy intake. This study attempted to identify the prevalence of the under-reporting of energy intake and its related characteristics based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in the years 2007–2009.MethodsThe present study analyzed dietary intake data from 15,133 adults aged ≥19 years using 24-hour dietary recalls. Basal metabolic rates were calculated from the age- and gender-specific equations of Schofield and under-reporting was defined as an energy intake <0.9, represented by the ratio of energy intake to estimated basal metabolic rate.ResultsUnder-reporters (URs) accounted for 14.4% of men and 23.0% of women and the under-reporting rate was higher in the age group 30–49 years for both men and women. The results from an analysis of the age-specific socioeconomic characteristics of participants classified as URs showed that under-reporting was high in women living alone and in women with only elementary school education or no education. The results from an analysis of the health-specific characteristics of URs showed that a large proportion of URs had poor self-rated health or were obese, or both, compared with non-URs. The proportion of participants who consumed less than the estimated average requirements for nutrients was significantly higher in URs compared with non-URs.ConclusionThe under-reporting of energy intake was associated with age, gender, education level, income level, household status (single-person or multi-person), self-rated health, physical activity, and obesity.

Validation of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) utilising a short-term measurement method is challenging when the reference method does not accurately reflect the usual food intake. In addition, food group intake that is not consumed on daily basis is more critical when episodically consumed foods are related and compared. To overcome these challenges, several statistical approaches have been developed to determine usual food intake distributions. The Multiple Source Method (MSM) can calculate the usual food intake by combining the frequency questions of an FFQ with the short-term food intake amount data. In this study, we applied the MSM to estimate the usual food group intake and evaluate the validity of an FFQ with a group of 333 Korean children (aged 3-6 y) who completed two 24-hour recalls (24HR) and one FFQ in 2010. After adjusting the data using the MSM procedure, the true rate of non-consumption for all food groups was less than 1% except for the beans group. The median Spearman correlation coefficients against FFQ of the mean of 2-d 24HRs data and the MSM-adjusted data were 0.20 (range: 0.11 to 0.40) and 0.35 (range: 0.14 to 0.60), respectively. The weighted kappa values against FFQ ranged from 0.08 to 0.25 for the mean of 2-d 24HRs data and from 0.10 to 0.41 for the MSM-adjusted data. For most food groups, the MSM-adjusted data showed relatively stronger correlations against FFQ than raw 2-d 24HRs data, from 0.03 (beverages) to 0.34 (mushrooms). The results of this study indicated that the application of the MSM, which was a better estimate of the usual intake, could be worth considering in FFQ validation studies among Korean children.

Previous research suggests the association of glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene polymorphisms or diet, but no interactions between these factors in atopic dermatitis (AD). We conducted a community-based case-control study including 194 AD and 244 matched non-AD preschoolers. Glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) and T1 (GSTT1) present/null genotypes were evaluated uisng a multiplex PCR method. We measured dietary intakes by a validated food frequency questionnaire and constructed three dietary patterns such as “traditional healthy”, “animal foods”, and “sweets” diets. In stratified analyses by GST genotypes, the “traditional healthy” diet and reduced AD showed association only in the GSTM1-present group (odd ratio (OR) 0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13–0.75). A similar pattern of the association existed in the combined GSTM1/T1 genotype that indicated the inverse association between the “traditional healthy” diet and AD in the double GSTM1/T1-present genotype group (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.06–0.93). Results from the multiplicative test analyses showed that the “traditional healthy” diet on reduced AD was significant or borderline significant in the GSTM1-present group (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.54–0.92 vs. GSTM1-null group) or the GSTM1/T1 double present group (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.39–1.03 vs. GSTM1/T1 double null group). These findings demonstrate that the present type of GSTM1 may increase susceptibility to the potential effect of the “traditional healthy” diet on AD.

Recent amendment on the Food Sanitation Act in Korea mandated the Minister of Food & Drug Safety to secure the scientific basis for management and reevaluation of standards and specifications of foods. Especially because the current food safety control is limited within the scope of ‘Farm to Market’ covering from production to retail in Korea, safety control at the plane of true ‘Farm to Fork’ scope is urgently needed and should include ‘total diet’ of population instead of individual food items. Therefore, ‘Total Diet Study (TDS)’ which provides ‘closer-to-real’ estimates of exposure to hazardous materials through analysis on table-ready (cooked) samples of foods would be the solution to more comprehensive food safety management, as suggested by World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Although the protection of diets from hazards must be considered as one of the most essential public health functions of any country, we may need to revisit the value of foods which has been too much underrated by the meaningless amount of some hazardous materials in Korea. Considering the primary value of foods lies on sustaining life, growth, development, and health promotion of human being, food safety control should be handled not only by the presence or absence of hazardous materials but also by maximizing the value of foods via balancing with the preservation of beneficial components in foods embracing total diet. In this regard, this article aims to provide an overview on TDS by describing procedures involved except chemical analysis which is beyond our scope. Also, details on the ongoing TDS in Korea are provided as an example. Although TDS itself might not be of keen interest for most readers, it is the main user of the safety reference values resulted from toxicological research in the public health perspective.

Background Although the optimal duration of breastfeeding remains unclear, breastfeeding is generally recommended exclusively for the first 6 months of life, which continues into late infancy. However, the awareness regarding the effects of long-term breastfeeding is relatively low compared with that of breastfeeding in early infancy. We aimed to investigate the growth and nutritional characteristics of the children with prolonged breastfeeding (PBF) over 1 year. Methods This cross-sectional study was based on the data of children aged 12 to 23 months from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010–2020) conducted by the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Data on anthropometric measurements, dietary behavior, and food and nutrient intake were extracted, and the association between PBF and growth, nutritional status, and dietary patterns were analyzed. Results Of the 872 children with a birth weight of ≥ 2.5 kg in the final analysis, 34.2% continued breastfeeding over 12 months of age, and their median breastfeeding duration was 14.2 months. Children with PBF were more likely to have lower current body weight ( P < 0.001) and weight gain ( P < 0.001), lower daily protein ( P = 0.012), calcium ( P < 0.001), and iron ( P < 0.001) intake per calorie compared with children weaned by 12 months of age or those who were never breastfed. Furthermore, they were started on complementary food at 6 months or later rather than 4–5 months ( P < 0.001), consumed cow’s milk earlier ( P = 0.012), and consumed probiotics as dietary supplements ( P < 0.001) significantly less commonly. When comparing the intake of food groups, children with PBF had a significantly higher intake of cereals and grains ( P = 0.023) and fruits ( P = 0.020) and a significantly lower intake of bean products ( P = 0.020) and milk and dairy products ( P = 0.003). Conclusion Korean children who continued breastfeeding over 12 months of age showed distinct characteristics in terms of growth, nutritional status, and dietary patterns in the second year of life compared to children who did not. Long-term additional research on their growth and nutritional status may be needed; however, these findings are significant as important fundamental data for nutritional counseling to establish healthy PBF.

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