Basic Study on Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL) in Preschool ChildrenResiding a Large City and an Outside Urban Area

Research Project

Project/Area Number	22659418
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Lifelong developmental nursing
Research Institution	St. Luke's College of Nursing
Principal Investigator	ONO Satomi 聖路加看護大学, 看護学部, 准教授 (70304110)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	MANABE Yukiko 聖路加看護大学, 看護学部, 助教 (90407627)
Project Period (FY)	2010 – 2012
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2012)
Budget Amount *help	¥2,620,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000) Fiscal Year 2011: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000) Fiscal Year 2010: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
Keywords	小児看護学 / 幼児 / 経表皮水分喪失量 / 角質水分量 / 看護 / 基礎的調査
Research Abstract	The aim of this study is to document transepidermal water loss (TEWL) in infants residing in a region located outside a large city or urban area as well as individual and environmental factors, and to search for any distinguishing features and correlations. A significant difference was observed in transepidermal water loss in children residing in a region located outside a large city (Fukui Prefecture) or urban area(Tokyo Metropolis), and a significant difference was observed also in cuticle water content measured at the same time. It was clear that infants living in an administrative district outside of an urban area (Fukui Prefecture) retained more water in their cuticles than infants residing in a large city (Tokyo Metropolis), and transpired more water through the epidermis. It was suggested that TEWL in infants may differ according to age and gender, and is influenced by outdoor humidity, outdoor temperature, surface temperature, and cuticle water content. Also, TEWL is influenced by the status of a child’ s development of self-controlling behavior and stress behavior.