Korean J Fam Pract 2020; 10(3): 223-230  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2020.10.3.223
Association between Vitamin D and Allergic Disease and Cataract in Korean Adults
Youngho Jeon, Youngmin Song*
Department of Familial Medicine, Gunsan Medical Center, Gunsan, Korea
Youngmin Song
Tel: +82-63-472-5151, Fax: +82-63-472-5884
E-mail: leo-songym@hanmail.net
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3498-7494
Received: June 13, 2019; Revised: May 11, 2020; Accepted: May 19, 2020; Published online: June 20, 2020.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: “Vitamin D hypothesis” is a recently suggested theory that the allergic diseases caused by immunodeficiency develop due to Vitamin D deficiency. Moreover, vitamin D is reportedly associated with cataracts, a complication of atopic dermatitis. Despite this association of vitamin D with allergic diseases and cataracts, there is little research on the association between these two diseases. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationship between allergic diseases and cataracts.
Methods: We used data from the 2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey and measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels by performing blood test. Data on individual characteristics were obtained using self-reported questionnaires, interviews, and physical examination. Those with insufficient data pertaining to blood tests and questionnaires, medical history, and physical examination were excluded. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the correlation between allergic diseases (and related factors) and cataracts.
Results: We found that allergic rhinitis, IgE, and vitamin D were associated with cataracts. However, atopic dermatitis, asthma, and Zn were not associated with cataracts.
Conclusion: The prevalence of cataract in was greater among Korean adults with no allergic rhinitis and those with higher serum IgE and vitamin D levels.
Keywords: Allergy; Cataract; Vitamin D; Adults
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