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Background: Air pollution is a major risk factor for public health worldwide, but evidence linking this environmental problem with the mortality of children in Central Europe is limited. Objective: To investigate the relationship between air pollution due to the emission of industry-related particulate matter and mortality due to respiratory diseases under one year of age. Methods: A retrospective birth cohort analysis of the dataset including 2,277,585 children from all Polish counties was conducted, and the dataset was matched with 248 deaths from respiratory diseases under one year of age. Time to death during the first 365 days of life was used as a dependent variable. Harmful emission was described as total particle pollution (TPP) from industries. The survival analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazards model for the emission of TPP at the place of residence of the mother and child, adjusted individual characteristics, demographic factors, and socioeconomic status related to the contextual level. Results: Infants born in areas with extremely high emission of TPP had a significantly higher risk of mortality due to respiratory diseases: hazard ratio (HR) = 1.781 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.175, 2.697], p = 0.006, compared with those born in areas with the lowest emission levels. This effect was persistent when significant factors were adjusted at individual and contextual levels (HR = 1.959 [95% CI: 1.058, 3.628], p = 0.032). The increased risk of mortality was marked between the 50th and 150th days of life, coinciding with the highest exposure to TPP. Conclusions: The emission of TPP from industries is associated with mortality due to respiratory diseases under one year of age. A considerable proportion of children’s deaths could be prevented in Poland, especially in urban areas, if air pollution due to the emission of particle pollution is reduced.

Background: Despite numerous studies of women having children later in life, evidence of the relationship between maternal factors and newborn outcomes in Central and Eastern European countries is limited. This study aimed to examine the association between maternal age, biological determinants, including parity and sex of the newborn, demographic and social background, and birth weight in 3.8 million singleton live births in Poland. Methods: The effect of maternal age on birth weight (in grams and Z-scores) adjusted for confounders was assessed using Generalized Linear Models. Results: The mean (±SD) birth weights of neonates born to primiparous women and multiparous women were 3356.3 ± 524.9 g and 3422.7 ± 538.6 g, respectively, which corresponded to a Z-score of −0.07 ± 0.96 and 0.14 ± 1.00, respectively (p ≤ 0.001). After controlling for biological, demographic, and social factors, a significant decrease in birth weight was found for primiparous women of the age group ≥30 years and multiparous women aged ≥35 years compared to the age group of 25–29 years. The lowest neonatal birth weight was observed in the case of women aged ≥45 years. Confounders did not affect birth weight Z-scores among primiparous women, whereas among multiparous women, together with educational factors, they reversed Z-scores from positive to negative values. The lower birth weight of neonates was overall associated with lower maternal education. Conclusions: Regardless of parity, advanced maternal age is strongly associated with a decreased neonatal birth weight, implying complications in early pregnancy and the antenatal period as well as obstetric complications. Counseling to support women’s family planning decisions and improving women’s education during their reproductive age may help to alleviate unfavorable newborn outcomes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of osteocalcin (OC), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and total soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-&kappa, B ligand (RANKL), and bone mineral density (BMD) in patients on long-term acenocoumarol (AC) treatment. The cross-sectional study was carried out in 42 patients treated long-term with AC and 28 control subjects. Serum concentrations of OC, OPG, and sRANKL were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, and BMD at the femoral neck and lumbar spine were assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. A significantly decreased concentration of OC was found in AC users compared to control subjects (4.94 &plusmn, 2.22 vs. 10.68 &plusmn, 4.5, p &lt, 0.001). Levels of OPG, sRANKL logarithm (log), sRANKL/OPG log ratio, and BMD were comparable between. In female AC users, positive correlations between OC and RANKL log, and between OC and RANKL/OPG log ratio (p = 0.017, p = 0.005, respectively), and a negative correlation between OC and OPG (p = 0.027) were found. Long-term AC anticoagulation significantly decreases OC concentration, but does not affect other bone metabolism markers or BMD. Our results also suggest the possibility that long-term treatment with AC may alleviate bone resorption in postmenopausal women.

Recently, SarQoL&reg, (Sarcopenia and Quality of Life), a quality of life (QoL) questionnaire specific to sarcopenia, was successfully developed. For practical reasons, there is a great interest in validating this questionnaire in other populations. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to translate and adjust the SarQoL&reg, into Polish and to standardize the validity of this method for the assessment of sarcopenic individuals in Poland with regard to psychometric properties. The English version was used for the translation process. A total of 106 community-dwelling Caucasian subjects aged 73.3 &plusmn, 5.94 years (65.1% females) were studied, with 60 participants being diagnosed sarcopenic. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation was carried out in five phases according to specific standard guidelines. There were no major linguistic issues in the translation process. The data confirmed a good discriminant validity, i.e., significantly lower scores for all domains (reduced global QoL in sarcopenic subjects compared to non-sarcopenic ones, 54.9 &plusmn, 16.5 vs. 63.3 &plusmn, 17.1, p = 0.013), and high internal consistency (Cronbach&rsquo, s alpha coefficient was 0.92). The significant correlation of the SarQoL&reg, scores with those of other questionnaires (SF-36v2&reg, Health Survey and EuroQoL-5-Dimension) that are supposed to have similar dimensions indicated the consistent construct validity of the SarQoL&reg, PL questionnaire. No floor/ceiling effects were found. An excellent agreement was found between the test and the re-test (intraclass coefficient correlation (ICC): 0.99). The first Polish version of the SarQoL&reg, questionnaire is valid and consistent and therefore may be used with reliability for clinical and research purposes regarding QoL assessment of sarcopenic individuals. However, further research, in particular prospective studies, is needed to determine potential limitations and the suitability of the new tool for the Polish scenario and specificity.