A study has suggested that increased concentrations of PM2.5 — fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or smaller — is associated with increased risk of adult atopic dermatitis.
A medical team from Taichung Veterans General Hospital’s Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology said it discovered that when PM2.5 concentration levels increase by 10 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m3), the risk of adult atopic dermatitis increases by 60 percent.
Researchers analyzed statistics from the National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database and the Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring Network for the study.
Attending physician Tang Kuo-tung (譚國棟) said they randomly sampled 1,023 people older than 20 years from the NHI database for every 1 million people in the population and linked it with air pollutant data collected in the same year from monitoring stations to identify the air quality to which they were exposed.
When the PM2.5 levels reached the Environmental Protection Administration’s “purple” level — more than 71mg/m3 — the risk of adult atopic dermatitis increased by three times, he said.
Previous epidemiology surveys have suggested that atopic dermatitis affects up to 20 percent of children, but about two-thirds of them would see the symptoms gradually diminish as they grow up, Tang said.
However, the medical team observed that more adults have been seeking treatment for atopic dermatitis, he added.
Atopic dermatitis is characterized by rashes that can be severe and persistent, and scaling or lichenification from scratching could also affect a person’s social life, he said.
The division said it has been tracking nearly 50 adults with the condition to understand how treatment has improved their quality of life.
Many of the people have shown significant improvement in quality of life after getting treatment, it said, so adults who have chronic itchy rashes should seek medical attention to relieve the symptoms.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it