Supplementary Material for: Infants with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Exhibit Thalamic Discrepancies in Early Brain Structure

Introduction: Patients with classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) have prenatal and postnatal hormonal imbalances. To characterize the ontogeny of reported brain and behavior changes in older children with CAH, we aimed to study brain structure in infants with CAH compared to healthy controls. Methods: We performed neuroimaging in 16 infants with classical CAH due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency [8 males, gestational age 38.2 ± 1.7 weeks, post-conceptional age (PCA) 42.2 ± 3.0 weeks] and 14 control infants (9 males, gestational age 38.5 ± 1.8 weeks, PCA 42.5 ± 2.4 weeks) utilizing 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Regional brain volumes were adjusted for PCA and sex, along with an additional adjustment for total brain volume (TBV), for group comparisons by regression analyses [mean, 95% confidence interval (CI)]. The degree to which each brain region was differentiated between CAH and control infants was examined by relaimpo analyses, adjusting for all other brain regions, PCA, and sex. Results: Infants with CAH had significantly smaller thalamic volumes [8606 mm3, 95% CI (8209, 9002)] compared to age-matched control infants [9215 mm3, 95% CI (8783, 9647); β = -609; p = 0.02], which remained smaller after further adjustment for TBV. Upon further adjustment for TBV, the temporal lobe was larger in infants with CAH [66817 mm3, CI (65957, 67677)] compared to controls [65616 mm3, CI (64680, 66551); β = 1202, p = 0.03]. The brain regions most differentiated between CAH vs controls were the thalamus (22%) and parietal lobe (10%). Conclusions: Infants with CAH exhibit smaller thalamic regions from early life, suggesting a prenatal influence on brain development in CAH. Thalamic emergence at 8-14 weeks makes the region particularly vulnerable to changes in the intrauterine environment, with potential implications for later maturing brain regions. These changes may take time to manifest, meriting longitudinal study through adolescence in CAH

Supplementary Material for: National trends and prevalence of atopic dermatitis and pandemic-related factors among Korean adults, 2007-2021

Purpose: Previous studies have variably reported inconclusive trends in the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) among adults, and there is limited data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to investigate the national trends and age-stratified prevalence of AD among adults from 2007 to 2021 in South Korea, focusing mainly on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-related factors. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data from 2007 to 2021. Overall and age-stratified prevalence for AD were assessed using weighted beta coefficients or odds ratios. Results: A total of 83,566 adults over 20 years (male, 49.40%) were included. During the observation period, the prevalence of AD was stable in the overall population from 2.61% (95% CI, 2.29-2.93) in 2007-2009 to 2.15% (1.68-2.63) in 2020 and 2.38% (1.81-2.95) in 2021. However, the weighted prevalence of AD in adults aged 40 to 59 years old decreased during the pre-pandemic era, and the prevalence of AD in adults aged above 60 years significantly decreased during the pandemic, with a significant decline observed after the initial outbreak. From age-stratification analysis, the adults aged 40 to 59 years showed a significant increase after the pandemic outbreak was evident in specific variables: individuals with rural residence, lower education, and lower household income quartiles. Adults aged above 60 years old showed a significant decrease in the slope after the outbreak, evident in specific variables: individuals of female, rural residence, lower education, and lower household income quartiles. Conclusion: We observed a stable overall prevalence of AD throughout the 15-year observation period. However, the age-stratified analysis suggested significantly different trends according to age-stratified groups and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of AD