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Background: In recent decades, the prevalence of food allergy (FA) in children has increased in Western countries; however, there have been only limited studies on FA, especially among young children, in Asian countries, including Taiwan. In this study, we identified prenatal and perinatal risk factors associated with FA in young children in Taiwan. Methods: For this prospective birth cohort study, we adopted the Southern Taiwan Allergy Research Alliance (STARA)-FA questionnaire to collect data related to prenatal and perinatal risk factors and self-reported allergic symptoms in children aged 1-3 years in the well-baby clinics of 4 medical centers located in 3 cities, Chia-Yi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The STARA-FA questionnaire consisted of 99 questions to investigate the association of prenatal and perinatal risk factors with FA. Results: We recruited 903 young children aged 1-3 years in Taiwan. Among those, 95 (14.7%) children had allergic reactions to foods. The most common food allergens were eggs (26/95, 27.3%), milk (22/95, 23.2%), fruits (13/95, 13.7%), and seafood (12/95, 12.6%). We also found that there were 134 (14.8%) children with eczema, 86 (9.5%) with wheezing, and 240 (26.6%) with rhinitis. Children with a personal history of eczema (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38-4.45) and a family allergy history (AOR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.18-3.57) had a significantly increased risk of FA. Maternal peanut consumption during pregnancy was associated with a decreased risk of FA in children (AOR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.33-0.98). Conclusions: In this study, the prevalence of FA in a cohort of Taiwanese young children was 14.7%. Risk factors associated with FA were a personal eczema history and a family allergy history, which might serve as predictive or prevention factors for the development of FA in young children in Taiwan.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE@#We intended to analyze the credibility judgment in written forensic psychiatric reports of child sexual abuse registered in Southern Taiwan.@*METHODS@#Ninety-six cases of child sexual abuse between August 2010 and October 2017 encountered in two hospitals were analyzed. The results in these reports were categorized into credible and non-credible. We identified the factors that distinguished between the two groups in bivariate analyses using chi-square test. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine whether the factors that significantly correlated in the bivariate analyses were independent predictors of credible judgments.@*RESULTS@#Among 96 cases, 70 (73%) were judged as credible. Consistent testimonies of children (odds ratio=40.82) and multiple abuse events (odds ratio=6.05) were positive variables independently related to the sexual abuse allegations judged as credible.@*CONCLUSION@#The number of allegations judged as credible in this study was slightly higher than that reported in other studies. Our findings about predictors for credible cases are not in line with those reported previously. Due to the differences in resources of the cases and backgrounds of the evaluators among multiple studies, direct comparisons with previous studies must be treated with caution.
