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To study the clinical and epidemiologic profile of childhood alopecia areata, we performed a survey in which a total of 226 childhood patients less than 16 years old were enrolled. Statistical analysis and heritability were performed using EPI INFO 6.0, SPSS10.0, and the Falconer method. The median age of onset was 10 years. The majority of patients (84.96%) presented with limited alopecia. The male : female ratio was 1.4:1. Boys appeared to have more severe involvement. The earlier the age of onset, the greater the severity of the disease. Sixty-seven patients (29.65%) had previous episodes of alopecia areata. Greater severity and longer duration were seen in the relapsing patients than in the primary patients. Six patients (2.65%) had an associated disease. A positive family history was reported in 25 patients (11.06%). The prevalence figures for alopecia areata in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of the probands were 2.87%, 0.40%, and 0.13%, respectively. The heritabilities of AA in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives were 51.20%, 46.25%, and 25.65%, respectively. It can be speculated that the effect of genetic factors is important in the occurrence of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that determines the prevalence of contact sensitization to textile dyes in a non-patient population and in eczema patients patch tested in a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China. The study shows lower total positivity rate for patch testing with the baseline series of allergens in volunteers than that for patients. It found no significant difference in the prevalence of contact sensitization to any allergens between volunters and patients.

The article presents a study to find the pervasiveness of contact sensitization in university students in Beijing and to find the link in the prevalence of delayed hypersensitivity between eczema patients and a non-patient population. Volunteers from Peking University were recruited by stating that healthy volunteers were needed to test for the frequency of allergic reactions to common environmental allergens. Two hundred and five volunteers were patch tested.

Background and Aim: To explore the relationship between fatty liver and the metabolic syndrome in the adults of Shanghai and evaluate the value of fatty liver as a marker for risk factor clustering. Methods: Questionnaires, physical examinations, laboratory tests (blood lipid and glucose) and real-time liver ultrasonographies were performed in Shanghai adults and analyzed using randomized, multistage, stratified cluster sampling. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program–Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATPIII) criteria with the exception of abdominal obesity (waist circumference > 90 cm in men and > 80 cm in women); fatty liver was diagnosed in accordance with the presence of an ultrasonographic pattern consistent with ‘bright’ liver (brightness and posterior attenuation of liver). Results: The study population consisted of 3175 subjects (1218 men) with a mean (± SD) age of 52.4 ± 15.1 years. Metabolic syndrome and fatty liver were found in 726 (22.87%) and 661 (20.82%) of sampled cases, respectively. After adjustment by age and sex, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and fatty liver in the general population of Shanghai were 15.30 and 17.29%, respectively. The risk for fatty liver in subjects with abdominal obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension increased 32.78-fold (95% confidence interval (CI) 14.85–72.35), 31.58-fold (95% CI 14.18–70.35), 22.64-fold (95% CI 10.26–49.99) and 23.25-fold (95% CI 10.54–51.30), respectively, compared with controls, whereas the risk for fatty liver in subjects with metabolic syndrome was increased by 39.33-fold (95% CI 17.77–87.05). After the 661 patients with fatty liver had been stratified by body mass index (BMI), the prevalence of abdominal obesity, hypertension and the metabolic syndrome were increased from 25.0, 47.2 and 36.1%, respectively, in people with normal BMI to 81.0, 73.8 and 55.4%, respectively, in obese persons. However, the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia, high fasting glucose and low high-density lipoprotein–cholesterol showed no significant changes with increased BMI. Moreover, among fatty liver patients with normal BMI, the detection rate for one or more features of metabolic disorders was as high as 83.3% and that for five features was 2.8%. Compared with obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and abdominal obesity, fatty liver had the highest clustering rate, specificity, positive predictive value and attributable risk percentage in detecting risk factor clustering in both sexes. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome and fatty liver among Shanghai adults. Metabolic disorders are closely related to fatty liver; moreover, fatty liver appears to be a good predictor for the clustering of risk factors for metabolic syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]