Jongwook Oh

Deny Budiman, Chong Woo Chu, Jongwook Oh, Jeong Hee Kang. Clin Transplant Res -0001;0:. https://doi.org/10.4285/ctr.25.0070

Oh J, et al. Ann Dermatol. 2026 Jun;38(3):159-166. https://doi.org/10.5021/ad.25.250

Jung JW, et al. Ann Dermatol. 2025 Nov;38:e11. https://doi.org/10.5021/ad.25.051

Kim W, et al. Ann Dermatol. 2024 Jun;36:e50. https://doi.org/10.5021/ad.24.004

Lee DK, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2024 May;39(19):e156. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2024.39.e156

Background: Evidence for an association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and cancer is still insufficient. In particular, the association between the risk of renal malignancy and the severity of AD has not been thoroughly investigated. Objective: To investigate the risk of renal malignancy and determine the association between AD severity and cancer risk using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service (KNHIS) database. Methods: We performed a population-based cohort study using the National Health Claims database from the NHIS in Korea. Results: We found a statistically significant association between AD and overall malignancy (for mild AD, hazard ratio (HR): 1.061, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.006–1.118; for moderate to severe AD, HR: 1.061, 95% CI: 1.014–1.11) compared with the no AD group. The moderate to severe AD group showed a significantly increased risk for renal malignancy (adjusted HR: 1.533, 95% CI: 1.209–1.944) compared with the no AD group. Limitations: Patient inclusion is solely based on diagnostic codes. We had no data about drug use, genetic factors, or other medical history that could affect the cancer risk. Conclusion: In our large population-based cohort study, moderate to severe AD was associated with increased risk of renal malignancy. Regular check-ups for renal malignancy are recommended in this population.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disorder which is associated with impaired skin barrier function. In this context, it was shown that serum IgE level was elevated in significant proportion of psoriasis patients. However, whether serum IgE levels are associated with treatment outcomes of psoriasis has not been understood. We retrospectively analyzed psoriasis patients who visited our clinics through electromedical records. Patients with history of atopic dermatitis were excluded. Total of 483 patients clinically or pathologically diagnosed with psoriasis vulgaris were included for analyses. Initial mean serum IgE level was 226 +/- 490.3 KU/L and patients with IgE higher than upper limit normal value were 42.0% (n = 203). Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 75 achievement rate according to IgE elevation was analyzed and no statistically meaningful difference was shown. In addition, logistic regression analysis to find out relationship between PASI 75 achievement and IgE titer also failed to show statistically significant relationship. In conclusion, serum IgE level was elevated in significant proportion in the patients with psoriasis, but its elevated level was not associated with treatment outcome.

Oh J, et al. Ann Dermatol. 2022 Feb;34(1):22-27. https://doi.org/10.5021/ad.2022.34.1.22

The association between psoriasis and risk of psychiatric diseases has not been thoroughly evaluated in a large longitudinal cohort of the Asian population. We conducted a nationwide cohort study encompassing more than 1.6 million Koreans with a 12‐year follow‐up period. Patients were considered to be in the psoriasis cohort if they had an incident diagnostic code for psoriasis and included patients were followed up until they developed any psychiatric disease. In adjusted models, psoriasis patients (n = 10 868) were at an 18% increased risk for depression (hazard ratio [HR], 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09–1.26), 16% for anxiety disorders (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08–1.26), and 21% for somatoform disorders (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.08–1.34) compared with the referent cohort (n = 1 620 055). Patients with moderate‐to‐severe psoriasis had a higher risk of developing depression and somatoform disorders than patient with mild disease (depression, HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.07–1.54 vs HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.07–1.27; somatoform disorders, HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.26–2.03 vs HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.00–1.28). Our results highlight the burden of psychiatric diseases in patients with psoriasis in Korea and suggest that appropriate medical support for possible mental illness is warranted in Asian psoriatic patients.

Dear Editor, segmental vitiligo (SV) is a distinct subtype of vitiligo, characterized by unilateral distribution, early age of onset, and stabilization after rapid progression.^1‐3. A classification according to distributions could provide valuable clues to the etiology of SV. Although several studies have proposed classification of SV, we attempted to integrate the classification across the entire body using a large number of patients.