, Jongmin Oh, Eunji Mun, Jung Eun Choi, Kyung Hee Kim, Ji Hyen Lee, Hae Soon Kim, Eunhee Ha The worldwide incidence of precocious puberty, which is associated with negative health outcomes, is increasing. Several studies have suggested that environmental factors contribute to the development of precocious puberty alongside genetic factors. Some epidemiological studies have provided limited evidence suggesting an association between exposure to air pollution and changes in pubertal development. This systematic review aimed to summarize existing evidence on the association between air pollution exposure and precocious puberty. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we searched two databases (PubMed and Web of Science) until August 2023. The included studies assessed the association between air pollutant exposure and the risk of precocious puberty, early menarche, or pubertal development. Two authors independently performed study selection and data extraction. A meta-analysis and analysis of the risk of bias were infeasible due to the limited number of studies and the heterogeneity among them. The literature search resulted in 184 studies, from which we included six studies with sample sizes ranging from 437 to 4,074 participants. The studies reported heterogeneous outcomes. Four studies found that increased exposure to air pollution was related to earlier pubertal onset. One study was inconclusive, and another suggested that air pollutant exposure may delay the onset of thelarche. Most studies suggest that exposure to air pollutants accelerates pubertal development; however, the results from the available studies are inconsistent. More extensive and well-designed longitudinal studies are required for a comprehensive understanding of the association between air pollution and precocious puberty.
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, Jongmin Oh, Eun Mee Kim, Ji Hyen Lee, Minah Kang, Miju Kim, Seok Hyang Kim, Jae Jin Han, Hae Soon Kim, Oran Kwon, Hunjoo Ha, Harris Hyun-soo Kim, Hye Won Chung, Eunshil Kim, Young Ju Kim, Yuri Kim, Younhee Kang, Eunhee Ha To conduct a comparative study of children’s health in South Korea versus North Korea focusing on air pollution.
We used annual mortality rate, prevalence, and environmental indicators data from the World Bank and World Health Organizations (WHO). Trend analysis of the two Koreas was conducted to evaluate changes in health status over time. Spearman’s correlation analysis was used to find out the correlation between environmental indicators and children’s health status.
We found a distinct gap in children’s health status between the two Koreas. While North Korea reported a higher death rate of children than South Korea, both showed a decreasing trend with the gap narrowing from 2000 to 2017. The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased and that of thinness decreased in both Koreas. Except PM2.5 exposure, South Korea reported higher figures in most indicators of air pollutant emissions (South Korea, mean (SD)=28.3 (2.0); North Korea, mean (SD)=36.5 (2.8), P-value=0.002).
This study empirically discovered the gaps and patterns of children’s health between South Korea and North Korea. North Korean children experienced more severe health outcomes than children in South Korea. These findings imply that epigenetic modification caused by environmental stressors affect children’s health in the two Koreas despite similar genetic characteristics. Considering the gaps in children’s health between the two Koreas, more attention and resources need to be directed towards North Korea because the necessary commodities and services to improve children’s health are lacking in North Korea.
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, Jung Eun Choi, Hae Soon Kim, Kyung Ha Ryu Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a rare, inherited bone marrow failure syndrome that manifests as anemia in early infancy. Blood transfusion is a critical factor for survival. However, blood transfusions can result in iron overload. Endocrinopathies, hepatic cirrhosis, and cardiomyopathy are the most common complications of iron overload. Here, we report the case of an 18-year-old boy with DBA with hyperglycemia, short stature, and absence of puberty. The patient showed endocrine dysfunction associated with iron overload caused by repeated transfusions. He was eventually diagnosed with acquired hypopituitarism and was placed on testosterone replacement therapy. Endocrine dysfunction is common in patient with DBA, with an early manifestation of symptoms, even in teenage years. Patients receiving corticosteroid treatment or those in remission may also exhibit endocrine dysfunction, although its prevalence is the highest among chronic transfusion patients. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of growth and pubertal development are needed for better management of these disorders.
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, Ji Hyen Lee, Hyun-Hae Cho, Hae Soon Kim To investigate brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in patients with central precocious puberty (CPP) by age at onset and sex.
We included 130 CPP patients with brain MRI findings of the pituitary gland treated at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital between February 2007 and October 2013 and divided them by age and sex: boys, girls aged ≤6 years, and girls aged >6 years. The control group comprised 224 patients who underwent brain MRIs, and we compared their incidental brain findings with those of the CPP group.
In the CPP subgroups who underwent pituitary MRIs, the frequency of incidental brain lesions was 31.6% in boys, 47.1% in girls ≤6 years and 29.8% in girls >6 years. The incidence of pituitary abnormalities was 42.1% in boys, 64.7% in girls ≤6 years and 47.9% in girls >6 years. Among pituitary abnormalities, pituitary hypoplasia had a significantly higher incidence rate in girls ≤6 years (41.2%) than in boys (15.8%) or girls >6 years (13.8%, P=0.027). Hypothalamic hamartomas were detected in one girl aged ≤6 years and in one boy, but not in girls aged 6 years (P=0.075). The incidence of pineal cysts was higher in the CPP groups and significantly higher in girls ≤6 years (47.1%) than in the control group (11.2%, P=0.001).
There was a higher incidence of brain abnormalities on pituitary MRIs and a higher incidence of pineal cysts, possibly associated with CPP pathogenesis, in younger CPP patients than in other patients.
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, Su Jin Cho, Hae Soon Kim Pseudohypoaldosteronism (PHA) in infants is manifested by presence of hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, and metabolic acidosis. At initial stages, PAH is generally suspected as congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Transient PHA has been reported in infants with urinary tract infection and urinary tract malformation. We report a case of 5-month-old infant with failure to thrive and finally diagnosed with transient PHA due to urinary tract infection with vesicoureteral reflux.
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, Han Wool Kim, Soyoung Lee, Kyung Ha Ryu, Hae Soon Kim, Eun Sun Yoo, Hee Jung Choi, Kyung-Hyo Kim Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) is characterized by lymphadenopathy and fever, and is usually self-limited. This study analyzed the clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with KFD.
This retrospective, observational, single-center study was conducted in South Korea from March 2008 to October 2015. KFD was diagnosed based on clinical, radiological or histological findings and excluded when there were any other causes of lymphadenopathy. Medical records were reviewed for clinical and laboratory manifestations.
A total of 35 cases were included. The mean patient age was 12.1±2.9 years (range, 5 to 17 years); the male-to-female ratio was 1:0.8. The main clinical manifestations were cervical lymphadenopathy and fever in 34 cases (97%). The mean duration of fever was 12.2±8.3 days (range, 2 to 37 days). We noted enlargement of lymph nodes in the cervical, mesenteric (n=5, 14%), axillary (n=2, 6%), and inguinal (n=1, 3%) regions. Hepatosplenomegaly, loss of appetite, and rash were observed. On laboratory examinations, elevation of ferritin, leukopenia, and positivity for anti-nuclear antibodies were frequently observed. Twelve patients underwent biopsy and 23 cases were diagnosed by radiological findings. The mean duration of hospitalization for all cases was 7.9±2.9 days (range, 3 to 13 days) and steroids were administered in 10 cases. KFD recurrence was observed in 2 cases (5.7%) with the time to relapse of 7 months and 4 years. There were no cases with systemic lupus erythematous or other autoimmune disease.
KFD should be considered in pediatric patients with lymphadenopathy and prolonged fever. Patients with KFD should be monitored for recurrence and the development of autoimmune disease.
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, Ji Hyen Lee, Young Mi Hong, Hae Soon Kim This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hypertension in adolescents and to find the relationship between an increase of body mass index and waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP).
Four hundred twenty-nine adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 at high school in Seoul were enrolled and their anthropometric data and body composition were measured. BP was measured by oscillometric devices at least twice. Hypertension was defined according to the normative BP reference for Korean children and adolescents.
The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was 14.0%, 9.2% in boys and 9.0%, 10.2% in girls. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was 9.0%, 6.0% in the normal body mass index group, 14.6 %, 16.7% in the overweight group, 21.7%, 29.8% in the obese group. The prevalence of systolic hypertension was 3.6% in the normal group, 12.5% in the overweight group and 29.8% in the obese group. However, the prevalence of diastolic hypertension had significant differences between the groups, which were 3.3% in the normal group, 6.3% in the overweight group and 4.3% in the obese group. According to WC, the prevalence of hypertension was 6.2% in the below 75th percentile WC group, 22.2% in the75th to 90th percentile WC group and 25.6% in ≥90th percentile WC group. The risk of hypertension was 5.55 times higher in the obese group and 2.04 times higher in the overweight group, 3.93 times higher in ≥90th percentile of WC group.
The risk of hypertension is markedly increased with obesity in high school students.
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, Jung Hyun Kwon, Hae Soon Kim, Sejung Sohn, Young Mi Hong The etiology for Kawasaki disease (KD) remains unknown, but several studies have suggested the involvement of immune dysregulation and genetic factors. The purpose of this study is to compare gene expressions before and after an infusion of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in KD patients.
Blood was obtained from both acute and sub-acute phases of 4 patients with KD and febrile control children. Blood was collected in PAXgene blood RNA tubes and RNA was extracted using a PAXgene blood RNA isolation kit. Labeled RNAs were analyzed using Roche NimbleGen human whole genome 12-plex array.
KD patients prior to IVIG injection showed more than a two-fold increase in the expression of 88 genes and more than a two-fold decrease in the expression of 98 genes compared to the control group. They also showed more than two-fold increase in the expression of 226 genes and more than a two-fold decrease in 117 genes in KD patients after IVIG treatment compared to the patients before IVIG injection. Through microarray evaluation, the expressions of genes involved in proliferation, translation, inflammatory response, immune response, cell adhesion, cell migration, cell differentiation, apoptosis, cell growth, transport, cell cycle, transcription, signal transduction and metastasis were observed.
Changes in gene expressions in pediatric patients with KD before and after IVIG were observed via microarray evaluation.
, Eun Ae Park, Eun Sun Yoo, Hae Soon Kim, Se Jung Sohn, Jeong Wan Seo, Seung Joo Lee, Hoo Jae Han Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis(ADEM) is an acute demyelinating autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system which develops after infection of vaccination. It may be fatal, and produce a permanent residual static disability or fully recover. We retrospectively studied 14 cases to investigate the clinical findings and outcome of ADEM.
14cases of ADEM diagnosed at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital from 1998 to 2003 were retrospectively reviewed.
The age of onset was 5 years±7.8 months and no seasonal clustering was found. The time of onset of symptoms was between 3 to 30 days. The preceding events were nonspecific upper respiratory infections in 9 cases, aseptic meningitis in 4 cases, and gastroenteritis in one case. The initial symptoms were seizure, altered consciousness, hemiparesis, fever, headache, and vomiting. Brain MRI showed multifocal high signal intensity lesions on T2 weighted image mainly in the cerebral whith matter, basal ganglia and periventricular white matter. EEG was performed in some cases and showed generalized or focal slow waves and only one case showed focal spikes. Patients were treated with IV globulin and methylprednisolone and the symptoms improved within 3-7 days after treatment. All patients were followed up for more than 2 months and most of them fully recovered except two.
ADEM presents in various clinical manifestations depending on its involvement of the brain lesions. Most cases recovered fully but in some cases, residual permanent neurologic sequelae remained.
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