Considering that 6 to 10 percent of children have atopic dermatitis and that up to one-third of those individuals may have documented food allergy, the number of these children affected by food allergies may be significant,” Dr. Jon M. Hanifin, a dermatologist and professor at Oregon Health & Science University, said in a news release from the American Academy of Dermatology.

However, firstborn children were more likely to have hay fever, pink eye due to allergy and food allergy. In fact, the investigators found that the prevalence of food allergy was 4 percent in firstborn children, 3.5 percent in second-born children and 2.6 percent for children born later.

The investigators looked at two popular Web sites that use predicted pollen forecasts and compared the results with pollen counts from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s National Allergy Bureau (NAB). The NAB features a network of pollen counting stations staffed by volunteers who use air sampling equipment and microscopes to determine daily pollen levels.

Treatment based on sensitization alone — exposing children to small but progressively greater amounts of the food substance to which they’re allergic — is often successful. But it’s usually a slow process that runs the risk of provoking allergic reactions.

In spring, high levels of tree and grass pollens cause sneezing and other cold-like symptoms for the estimated 60 million Americans with allergic rhinitis, more commonly known as hay fever.

A study team led by Dr. Lara J. Akinbami, from the Office of Analysis and Epidemiology at the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the CDC, composed their current asthma snapshot with data obtained from the National Health Interview Survey, the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, the National Hospital Discharge Survey, and the National Vital Statistics System.

While children with asthma generally take medicine before exercise or in a particular season, children with persistent asthma need medication more often, need to avoid different allergens, and usually maintain regular schedules to control the disease.

Researchers led by Dr. Young J. Juhn, of the department of pediatric and adolescent medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, found that people with asthma were not at greater risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis, but Juhn said that was likely due to the small sample size.

Researchers analyzed data from a large, epidemiological survey of American adults (the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication) and found that people who were diagnosed with asthma were 1.26 times more likely to have been a smoker and about twice as likely to have been nicotine dependent at some point in their lives, compared to those without asthma.

Researchers looked at a group of 302 men who sought professional help after experiencing what the researchers called “intimate terrorism,” which refers to high levels of violence and controlling behavior by female partners.

Researchers looked at 52 pregnant women who took either a placebo or a fish oil capsule containing 300 milligrams of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) five days a week each week from weeks 24 to 40 of pregnancy. DHA is a prominent omega-3 fatty acid.

The mappings of the biochemistry of two normal adult human brains revealed a 94 percent similarity between human brains, and also showed that at least 82 percent of all human genes are expressed in the brain.