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Studies on the impact of micronutrient levels during different pregnancy periods on child psychomotor functions are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between maternal plasma concentrations of selected micronutrients, such as: copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and child neuropsychological development. The study population consisted of 539 mother-child pairs from Polish Mother and Child Cohort (REPRO_PL). The micronutrient levels were measured in each trimester of pregnancy, at delivery and in the cord blood. Psychomotor development was assessed in children at the age of 1 and 2 years using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. The mean plasma Zn, Cu and Se concentrations in the 1st trimester of pregnancy were 0.91±0.27mg/l, 1.98±0.57mg/l and 48.35±10.54μg/l, respectively. There were no statistically significant associations between Cu levels and any of the analyzed domains of child development. A positive association was observed between Se level in the 1st trimester of pregnancy and child language and motor skills (β=0.18, p=0.03 and β=0.25, p=0.005, respectively) at one year of age. Motor score among one-year-old children decreased along with increasing Zn levels in the 1st trimester of pregnancy and in the cord blood (β=-12.07, p=0.003 and β=-6.51, p=0.03, respectively). A similar pattern was observed for the association between Zn level in the 1st trimester of pregnancy and language abilities at one year of age (β=-7.37, p=0.05). Prenatal Zn and Se status was associated with lower and higher child psychomotor abilities, respectively, within the first year of life. Further epidemiological and preclinical studies are necessary to confirm the associations between micronutrient levels and child development as well as to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of their effects.

The aim of the study was to examine involuntary smoking among young people, their awareness of its harmfulness and the factors associated with attitudes towards smoking in the presence of non-smokers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 3552 students from a socially disadvantaged rural area in central Poland. Almost 40% of the participants were exposed to involuntary smoking at home and 60% outside of home on a daily or almost daily basis. More than 80% of the students felt that smoking should be banned around children at home, 59% thought it should be banned in vehicles, and 41% in the presence of non-smokers. The majority of the students were aware of the health consequences of active smoking, and 69% understood the threats of passive smoking. Females, never-smokers and current non-smokers, as well as those without smoking parents were more likely to claim that smoking should be banned at home and in vehicles (p < 0.05). Those aware of the fact that smoking was harmful to health, who discussed those issues with their parents and teachers, and who saw school tobacco control policies, were more likely to maintain that passive smoking should be banned (p < 0.05). The study results highlight the need for programs and policies to eliminate involuntary smoking among young people.

Background Early-life respiratory tract infections could affect airway obstruction and increase the risk of asthma in later life. Objective We examined the associations of early-life respiratory tract infections with lung function and asthma in children. Methods We used individual participant data of 154,492 children from 37 birth cohorts to examine the associations of upper (URTI) and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) by the age of 6 months, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years with forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ), forced vital capacity (FVC) FEV 1 /FVC, forced expiratory flow at 75% of FVC (FEF 75 ) and asthma at a mean age of 7 (SD 2) years. We used multilevel mixed effect models, to take clustering of participants within cohorts into account, and adjusted for socio-economic, lifestyle and growth factors. Results URTI were not associated with lung function. URTI at all ages were associated with an increased risk of asthma (OR (95% CI): ranging from 1.25 (1.15, 1.34) to 1.56 (1.47, 1.66)). LRTI at all ages were associated with a lower FEV 1 , FEV 1 /FVC and FEF 75 (Z-score (95% CI): ranging from -0.07 (-0.14, -0.00) to -0.24 (-0.38, -0.10)), except for LRTI at age 6 months with FEF 75 , and an increased risk of asthma (OR (95% CI): ranging from 2.00 (1.85, 2.10) to 3.72 (3.19, 3.85)). Conclusion Early-life lower respiratory tract infections are associated with lower lung function and increased risk of asthma in later life, while upper respiratory tract infections are associated with asthma only. These findings support the hypothesis that early-life respiratory tract infections might affect long term respiratory morbidity.

The developing fetus is especially vulnerable to environmental toxicants, including tobacco constituents. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure during pregnancy on child neurodevelopment within the first two years of life. The study population consisted of 461 non-smoking pregnant women (saliva cotinine level

Background Tobacco-free school environment as well as non-smoking teachers and school personnel provide positive role models for children and young people. In Poland, smoking should be banned in colleges, schools, educational establishments and educational care facilities. However, for the existing law to be effective, awareness of all people in school curriculum and enforcement of the law are crucial. The aim of the study was to evaluate tobacco use patterns, knowledge and attitudes towards tobacco as well as availability of tobacco control training among school personnel in a rural area in Poland. Moreover, compliance with tobacco control policies and their enforcement were assessed. Methods The study was carried out in Piotrkowski district between November 2014 and May 2015 in accordance with the Global School Personnel Survey (GSPS) methodology. Sixty schools participated in the survey (92% of the schools from the region) with involvement of 1044 teachers and 500 non-teaching staff (the response rate – 83.1%). The multivariate linear regression analyses were applied to study factors linked to the need for anti-tobacco training dedicated to the youth and teachers’ knowledge as well as activities to educate the students about tobacco use and its prevention. Results About 24% of the school personnel were current and 9% were ex-smokers. Significantly more teachers than the non-teaching staff indicated that the schools had a policy prohibiting tobacco use among students. In addition, 6% of the study participants indicated everyday violations of the tobacco control policy by the school personnel. More than 80% of the teaching personnel indicated the need for training dedicated to the youth to prevent their tobacco use. In the multivariate linear regression model, longer duration of working experience predicted higher levels of knowledge and more activities performed to teach the youth about tobacco use and its prevention. The smokers comparing to the non–smokers perceived the need for anti- tobacco training among the youth less strongly. Conclusions In order to make it possible for the inhabitants of Piotrkowski district to work and learn in tobacco smoke free environment there is an urgent need for taking actions aiming at increasing effectiveness of enforcing applicable tobacco control regulations in educational units. The necessity for systematic training dedicated to the youth to prevent their tobacco use, including accurate preparation of teachers, also needs to be highlighted. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12971-016-0110-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A global assessment of allergic diseases and prenatal and postnatal exposure to various environmental risk factors is needed to enable early prevention of allergic diseases. This study was designed to evaluate an inner-city urban birth cohort to identify early environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis and food allergy, as well as the incidence of wheezing during the 1st year of life. We evaluated 501 children from the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study (2007-2011). The children's health, socioeconomic status, and housing conditions were assessed using a questionnaire. Exposure to tobacco was assessed based on questionnaire data and cotinine measurements. Multiple regression analysis showed that parental atopy, higher paternal education, and more frequent house cleaning significantly predicted atopic dermatitis in the 1st year of life; odds ratio (OR) for the variables was 2.7 (95% CI, 1.3-1.57), 2.8 (95% CI, 1.5-5.0), and 1.8 (95% CI, 1.1-2.9), respectively. Keeping a pet at home during pregnancy increased the risk of food allergy (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.02-2.16). Longer breast-feeding decreased the risk of both food allergy (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.82-0.95) and atopic dermatitis (OR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.8-0.95) in the 1st year of life. Positive association between maternal exposure to increased concentrations of particulate matter 10 and atopic dermatitis in univariate analyses was found. Atopic dermatitis/food allergy and wheezing/inhaled corticosteroid use had distinct risk factors. The risk factor profile of atopic dermatitis/food allergy in early childhood that is defined in this study support the following recommendations: (i) longer breast-feeding, (ii) avoid pets during gestation, (iii) avoid too frequent house cleaning, and (iv) living in an area with decreased traffic density. This study was a part of the clinical trial NCT01861548 registered in www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Background Widespread phthalate exposure has prompted investigations concerning their potential adverse health effects. Aim The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of pre and early postnatal phthalate exposure on child psychomotor development based on the data from the prospective Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study (REPRO PL). Study design, subjects and outcome measures Phthalate exposure was determined by measuring 11 phthalate metabolites (MEP, MiBP, MnBP, 3OH-MnBP, MBzP, MEHP, 5OH-MEHP, 5oxo-MEHP, OH-MiNP, oxo-MiNP, and MnOP) in the urine collected from mothers during the third trimester of pregnancy (prenatal exposure) and from their children at the 24th month of age (postnatal exposure). The analysis was performed by the HPLC–MS/MS method. Psychomotor development was assessed in children at the age of 2 years by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Results Child motor development was inversely associated with natural log concentrations (μg/g creatinine) of 3OH-MnBP (β = − 2.3; 95% CI − 4.0 to − 0.6), 5OH-MEHP (β = − 1.2; 95% CI − 2.2 to − 0.3), 5oxo-MEHP (β = − 1.8; 95% CI − 3.3 to − 0.2) and sum of DEHP metabolites (β = − 2.2; 95% CI − 3.6 to − 0.8), DnBP metabolites (β = − 1.9; 95% CI − 3.4 to − 0.4), and high molecular weight phthalates (β = − 2.5; 95% CI − 4.1 to − 0.9) in the urine collected from mothers during pregnancy after adjustment for a variety of potential confounders. Additional adjustment for postnatal phthalate exposure did not change the results. Postnatal child exposure to phthalates was not associated with any of the measured scores of child psychomotor development. Conclusions The study findings add further support to the possibility that prenatal phthalate exposure may be detrimental to child neurodevelopment and underscore the importance of policies and public health interventions aiming at reduction of such exposure.

The causes of the chromosome abnormalities have been studied for decades. It has been suggested that exposure to various environmental agents can induce chromosomal abnormalities in germ cells. This study was designed to address the hypothesis that exposure to specific air pollutants increases sperm disomy. The study population consisted of 212 men who were attending an infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes. They represented a subset of men in a multicenter parent study conducted in Poland to evaluate environmental factors and male fertility. Sperm aneuploidy for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, and Y was assessed using multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization. Air quality data were obtained from the AirBase database. After adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol consumption, temperature (90 days), season, past diseases, abstinence interval, distance from the monitoring station, concentration, motility and morphology, positive associations were observed between exposure to PM2.5 and disomy Y (P = 0.001), sex chromosome disomy (P = 0.05) and disomy 21 (P = 0.03). Exposure to PM10 was associated with disomy 21 (P = 0.02). Conversely, exposure to ozone, CO, SO2, and NOx did not affect sperm aneuploidy. A separate analysis conducted among men who were nonsmokers (n = 117) showed that the relationship between PM2.5 and disomy Y and disomy 21 remained significant (P = 0.01, P = 0.05, respectively). The present findings indicate that exposure to air pollution induces sperm aneuploidy.

The aim of this study was to characterize the PAH exposure level among the non-smoking Polish pregnant women and to identify the minimal set of PAH metabolites that specifically reflect environmental PAH exposure. The study population consisted of 210 non-smoking pregnant women. The urine sample was used for analysis of the following PAH metabolites: 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 9-hydroxyphenanthrene (1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 9-OH-PHE), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-PYR), 1,6 + 1,8-dihydroxypyrene (DI-OH-PYR), phenanthrene trans-1,2-dihydrodiol (PHE-1,2-diol) and phenanthrene trans-9,10-dihydrodiol (PHE-9,10-diol). The analysis of all the biomarkers was performed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry after their derivatization. The mean PAH metabolite concentrations were in the range of 0.15 (± 0.2) μg/g creatinine for 9-OH-PHE to 5.9 (± 10.6) μg/g creatinine for PHE-9,10-diol. Women living in the city center had higher concentrations of 1-OH-PHE (β = 0.6; p = 0.04), 3-OH-PHE (β = 0.8; p = 0.02), 9-OH-PHE (β = 0.9; p = 0.02), and DI-OH-PYR (β = 1.0; p = 0.006) than those living outside the city center. The usage of coal for residential heating was a significant predictor of all PAH metabolites except for 9-OH-PHE (p = 0.1) and PHE-9,10-diol (p = 0.08). With the increasing cotinine levels we observed a significant increase in the concentrations of the following PAH metabolites: 3-OH-PHE (β = 0.2; p = 0.007), 4-OH-PHE (β = 0.3; p = 0.002), PHE-1,2-diol (β = 0.3; p

It has been hypothesized that the increase in allergic disorders may, in part, be a consequence of changing diet. The primary aim of this study was to assess the associations between occurrence of atopic dermatitis; food allergy; the incidence of wheeze inhaled glucocorticosteroid use in children during the 1st year of life; and cord blood concentrations of copper, zinc, vitamins (A and E), and glutathione peroxidase activity. We evaluated 240 1-year-old children from the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study. Women were interviewed during pregnancy to collect demographic and socioeconomic data and medical and reproductive history. Exposure to tobacco constituents was assessed based on questionnaire data. At delivery, umbilical cord blood plasma was sampled. One year after the birth, the child's exposure and health status were examined. In the analyses a multivariable model was used. Higher zinc and copper concentrations in cord blood were associated with increased likelihood of wheezing in 1-year-old children. This effect was seen only among children exposed to tobacco smoke at home. We also showed significantly lower activity of glutathione peroxidase enzyme 3 in umbilical cord blood plasma of children with atopic dermatitis during the 1st year of life. There were no significant associations between vitamin A and E concentrations in plasma and children's health. We showed imbalance in the antioxidant defense system in cord blood, which may lead to development of atopic dermatitis or wheezing in infancy. The association between maternal nutrient status during pregnancy and child's health is complex and interacts with other environmental factors such as tobacco exposure. This study was a part of the clinical trial NCT01861548 registered at ClinicalTrials.gov.

Background: In Poland conditions related to or aggravated by the pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperium are one of the most common causes of sickness absence. The aim of the study was to analyze the occupational activity pattern during pregnancy and to evaluate the determinants of pregnancy-related temporary work disability confirmed by medical certificate. Materials and Methods: The presented analysis is based on data collected under the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study. The study population consisted of 954 women who reported occupational activity during pregnancy. All women participating in the study were interviewed 3 times during pregnancy. Detail information on occupational activity during pregnancy and occupational stress, based on the Subjective Work Characteristics Questionnaire, was collected from all women. Results: The pregnant women had been issued medical certificate of temporary work disability because of conditions related to or aggravated by the pregnancy, childbirth or by the puerperium at 16 week of gestation on average and did not continue their activities until the end of pregnancy. The statistically significant determinants of receiving such medical certificate in the first trimester of pregnancy (≤ 12 weeks of pregnancy) comprised poor health condition and complications during pregnancy (OR = 1.4; p = 0.01), lower education (OR = 2.4; p < 0.001), socio-economic status (OR = 9.6; p = 0.03), use of public transport to commute to work (OR = 2.7; p < 0.001), a longer work commute (OR = 1.4; p = 0.008) and a higher level of occupational stress (OR = 3.0; p < 0.01). Waitresses, nurses and saleswomen received medical certificate of temporary work disability in the first trimester of pregnancy more frequently than office workers (OR = 4.2; p = 0.005; OR = 3.3; p = 0.02; OR = 2.3; p < 0.001 respectively). Conclusions: It is crucial to develop the model of cooperation between occupational medicine physicians and gynecologists and a greater involvement of the former in the prophylactic care of occupationally active pregnant women. It is also important to increase the employers' awareness of potential risks and arduousness at work to assure working conditions safe for the pregnancy outcome and health of both women and their babies. Med Pr 2014;65(1):65–72

A reliable assessment of smoking status has significant public health implications and is essential for research purposes. The aim of this study was to determine optimal saliva cotinine cut-off values for smoking during pregnancy. The analyses were based on data from 1771 women from the Polish Mother and Child Cohort. Saliva cotinine concentrations were assessed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI + MS/MS). The saliva cotinine cut-off value for active smoking was established at 10 ng/mL (sensitivity 96%, specificity 95%) and for passive smoking at 1.5 ng/mL (sensitivity 63%, specificity 71%). About 5% of the self-reported non-smoking women were classified as smokers based on the cotinine cut-off value. Significantly more younger, single, and less educated self-reported non-smokers had a cotinine concentration higher than 10 ng/mL compared to those who were older, married, and who had a university degree. Close to 30% of the non-smokers who indicated that smoking was not allowed in their home could be classified as exposed to passive smoking based on the cut-off value. The study suggests that self-reported smoking status is a valid measure of active smoking, whereas in the case of passive smoking, a combination of questionnaire data and biomarker verification may be required.

Identification of the youth at risk of e-cigarette use is crucial for development of effective prevention strategies. The current study aims at evaluation of predictors of susceptibility to e-cigarette initiation and experimentation among adolescents. This cross-sectional study included 1693 students (non-current users of e-cigarettes) attending 21 schools in Piotrkowski district (a socially disadvantaged rural area in central Poland). The regression models were applied so as to study factors linked to susceptibility to e-cigarette use among never users (n = 1054) and ever users (n = 639) of e-cigarettes, with susceptibility defined as the absence of a firm decision not to use these products. A high proportion of the youth was susceptible to e-cigarette use (68% of never and 78% of ever e-cigarette users). The adjusted model confirmed the following risk factors: smoking parents and friends (never users: OR = 3.0, p &lt, 0.001, OR = 2.0, 0.05, ever users: OR = 2.2, OR = 2.2, 0.01), alcohol consumption (never users: moderate drinking OR = 2.9, binge drinking OR = 2.2, 0.01, ever users: moderate drinking OR = 4.2, 0.001), cigarette smoking (never users: OR = 14.1, ever users: OR = 11.3, 0.001), and perception that e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes (never users: OR = 1.8, 0.001). The youth whose mothers had a medium and high educational level (never users: OR = 2.7, OR = 2.7, ever users: OR = 5.4, OR = 4.4, 0.001), those who perceived girls who use e-cigarettes as more attractive (never users: OR = 4.1, ever users: OR = 2.9, 0.01), and secondary school students (ever users: OR = 5.6, 0.001) had higher odds of susceptibility to e-cigarette use. The youth who had more money per month were less susceptible to e-cigarette experimentation (OR = 0.4, 0.001). A multi-level intervention approach, considering vulnerable populations, is required to prevent the youth from e-cigarette initiation and experimentation.

BACKGROUND During the past 25 years, many pregnancy and birth cohorts have been established. Each cohort provides unique opportunities for examining associations of early-life exposures with child development and health. However, to fully exploit the large amount of available resources and to facilitate cross-cohort collaboration, it is necessary to have accessible information on each cohort and its individual characteristics. The aim of this work was to provide an overview of European pregnancy and birth cohorts registered in a freely accessible database located at http://www.birthcohorts.net. METHODS European pregnancy and birth cohorts initiated in 1980 or later with at least 300 mother-child pairs enrolled during pregnancy or at birth, and with postnatal data, were eligible for inclusion. Eligible cohorts were invited to provide information on the data and biological samples collected, as well as the timing of data collection. RESULTS In total, 70 cohorts were identified. Of these, 56 fulfilled the inclusion criteria encompassing a total of more than 500,000 live-born European children. The cohorts represented 19 countries with the majority of cohorts located in Northern and Western Europe. Some cohorts were general with multiple aims, whilst others focused on specific health or exposure-related research questions. CONCLUSION This work demonstrates a great potential for cross-cohort collaboration addressing important aspects of child health. The web site, http://www.birthcohorts.net, proved to be a useful tool for accessing information on European pregnancy and birth cohorts and their characteristics.

Nowadays a special attention is focused on prenatal and childhood exposures to a variety of contaminants in the environment, especially toxicants widely present in the environment and their impact on children’s health and neurodevelopment. This article aims at evaluating the impact of exposure to several widespread toxicants including: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, bisphenol A, brominated flame retardants and gas cooking on children’s cognitive development and behavioral problems by reviewing most recent published literature. Epidemiological studies focusing on exposure to widespread toxicants and children’s development for the last eleven years were identified by a search of the PubMed, Medline, Ebsco and Toxnet literature bases. The combination of following key words was used: 1) referring to the exposure: pregnancy, prenatal exposure, postnatal exposure, gas cooking, exposure to phthalates, bisphenol A, brominated flame retardants, PAHs and 2) referring to outcome: neurodevelopment, neurobehavior, psychomotor development, behavioral problems, cognitive development, mental health, school achievements, learning abilities. The results from the presented studies suggest that there are strong and rather consistent indications that the developing nervous system is particularly vulnerable to insult from low levels of exposure to widespread environmental contaminants such as: phthalates, bisphenol A, brominated flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, gas cooking. Considering the suggested health effects, more epidemiologic data is urgently needed and, in the meantime, precautionary policies must be implemented.

The aim of this review was to investigate the association between attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or ADHD-related symptoms and industrial chemicals, such as organophosphates and organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, mercury and manganese. Medline, PubMed and EBSCO searches were performed to identify the studies that analyzed the association of prenatal and postnatal child exposure to such toxicants and ADHD or ADHD-related symptoms. The review is restricted to human studies published in English in peer-reviewed journals since 2000. Most of the presented studies focused on pesticides, PCB and lead. The impact of mercury and manganese was investigated less frequently. The findings indicate that children’s exposure to organophosphate pesticides may cause symptoms consistent with pervasive developmental disorder, ADHD or attention problems. Exposures to organochlorine pesticides and PCBs were associated with ADHD-like behaviors such as alertness, quality of alert response, and cost of attention. The studies provided evidence that blood lead level below 10 μg/dl was associated with ADHD or ADHD-related symptoms. Information on the association between exposure to mercury and neurotoxicity is limited, and requires further confirmation in future research. Two studies indicated that exposure to manganese is related to ADHD; such exposure and its impact on children neurodevelopment need to be further investigated. Future studies should use a prospective design with multiple biological samples collected over time for better assessment of exposure and its critical windows. Additionally, inclusion of potential confounding factors and co-exposures is crucial.

This paper estimates the effects of exposure to environmental factors, including lead, mercury, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), on child psychomotor development. The study population consists of mother-child pairs in the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study. Prenatal and postnatal exposure to environmental factors was determined from biomarker measurements as follows: for lead exposure—cord blood lead level, for mercury—maternal hair mercury level, for ETS—cotinine level in saliva and urine, and for PAH—1-hydroxypyrene (1-HP) in urine. At the age of 12 (406 subjects) and 24 months (198 subjects) children were assessed using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. There were no statistically significant effects of prenatal exposure to mercury or 1-HP on child psychomotor development. After adjusting for potential confounders, adverse effects of prenatal exposure to ETS on motor development (β= −2.6;P=0.02) and postnatal exposure to ETS on cognitive (β= −0.2;P=0.05) and motor functions (β= −0.5;P=0.01) were found. The adverse effect of prenatal lead exposure on cognitive score was of borderline significance (β= −6.2;P=0.06). The study underscores the importance of policies and public health interventions that aim to reduce prenatal and postnatal exposure to lead and ETS.

Introduction: A growing body of literature documents associations between maternal stress in pregnancy and child development, but findings across studies are often inconsistent. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between exposure to different kinds of prenatal stress and child psychomotor development. Methods: The study population consisted of 372 mother-child pairs from Polish Mother and Child Cohort. The analysis was restricted to the women who worked at least one month during pregnancy period. Maternal psychological stress during pregnancy was assessed based on: the Subjective Work Characteristics Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale and Social Readjustment Rating Scale. The level of satisfaction with family functioning and support was evaluated by APGAR Family Scale. Child psychomotor development was assessed at the 12th and 24th months of age by Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Results: Negative impact on child cognitive development at the age of two was observed f...

Introduction: The studies on the impact of selenium levels (Se) in different pregnancy periods on child psychomotor functions are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of prenat...

Background To prevent adolescents from becoming smokers, it is essential to understand factors that cause them to become susceptible to smoking (SS). The aim of this study was to examine association between individual and school characteristics and susceptibility to smoking initiation and experimentation in the youth. Methods We collected cross-sectional survey data from students aged 13–19 years attending 21 schools from Piotrkowski district. Of 4050 students, 3552 respondents, including 2508 non-smokers, filled in an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire adapted from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to the study factors linked to SS among the never and ever smoking youth. Results About 22 % of the never smoking and 57 % of the ever smoking students were found to be vulnerable to smoking. The youth who were males (OR = 1.4; p = 0.001), who were older (OR = 1.1; p = 0.002) and those, whose mothers had medium (OR = 1.8; p

Background Studies indicate that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is associated with adverse respiratory and allergy outcomes. Exposure to PAH may impair the immune function of the foetus and, subsequently, be responsible for an increased susceptibility of children to allergic diseases. Objectives The aim of the present study was to assess the association between mother's exposure to PAH during pregnancy and allergy diseases in their infants. We also assessed the above associations using measured PAH exposure in children's urine during the first two years of life. Methods The current analysis was restricted to 455 mothers and their children from Lodz district. The women were interviewed three times during the pregnancy in order to collect demographic, socio-economic and medical history data. Children's health status was assessed at the age of 10–18 months and repeated at two years of age. The associations between dependent dichotomous variables and urine concentrations of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HP) were analysed using logistic regression. Results We showed that higher urine concentrations of 1-HP in mothers at 20–24 weeks of pregnancy increased the risk of more frequent respiratory infections ( p = 0.02) in children during their first year of life. Higher 1-HP concentrations in children's urine increased the risk of food allergy ( p = 0.002) in children during their first two years of life. Conclusions This study suggests awareness of environmental factors, which may affect children's health since PAH showed to be a risk factor for airway infections and food allergy in children after adjustment for other risk factors.

Effects of environmental exposures in utero and in the first years of life on early life health and development is a growing research area with major public health implications. The main aim of this work has been to provide an overview of the next step of the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study (REPRO_PL) covering exposure, health and neurodevelopment assessments of children at 7 years of age. Details regarding methodology of the follow-up of the children are crucial for cross-cohort collaboration and a full understanding of the future research questions. Phase III of the REPRO_PL cohort covers a follow-up of 900 children at the age of 7 years old. The questionnaire filled in by the mothers is composed of: socio- demographic, child exposure and home environment information, nutritional status and health data. In the case of 400 children, environmental (including collection of urine, saliva and buccal cells), health status and psychomotor assessments are performed. Health and development check consists of physical measurements, child health status assessment (including lung function tests, skin prick testing, an interview/examination by an allergist) and psychomotor development tests (the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Intelligence and Development Scales). The results of the study will become available within the next few years. Extension of the REPRO_PL cohort with examinations of children at the age of 7 years old may provide a better understanding of the relationship between environmental and lifestyle-related factors and children’s health and neurodevelopment; and may further strengthen scientific base for policies and interventions promoting healthy lifestyle. National Science Centre under grant agreement “Role of maternal lifestyle-related factors during pregnancy and exposure after birth in children’s health and neurodevelopment at age of 7 years” No. DEC-2014/15/B/NZ7/00998

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of phthalate exposure on pregnancy duration and birth outcomes based on the Polish Mother and Child Cohort (REPRO_PL). Material and Methods: Phthalate exposure was determined by measuring 11 phthalate metabolites (mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-iso-butyl phthalate (MiBP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), 3OH-mono-n-butyl phthalate (OH-MnBP), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono‑(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono-hydroxy-iso-nonyl phthalate (MHiNP), mono-oxo-iso-nonyl phthalate (MOiNP), and mono-n-octyl phthalate (MOP)) in the urine collected from 165 mothers during the third trimester of pregnancy by high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The following measures at birth were considered: gestational age, birth weight, length as well as head and chest circumference. Results: Pregnancy duration was inversely associated with natural log concentrations (μg/g creatinine) of MEP (standardized regression coefficient (β) = –0.2, p = 0.04) after adjustment for a variety of confounders. Significant impact of MOiNP on head circumference (β = –0.1, p = 0.05) was also observed. Conclusions: The study findings add further support to the hypothesis that phthalate exposure may be associated with shorter pregnancy duration and a decreased head circumference, and underscore importance of public health interventions to reduce that exposure. project No. DEC-2011/01/B/ NZ7/06462

Introduction: HEALS (online access: www.heals- eu.eu) aims to refine an integrated approach to perform environment-wide association studies (EWAS) to explain the exposome for an improved understanding of the links between the genome, and disease. HEALS is at present the largest EU project on this issue. Guidelines for biomarkers of exposure (BoE) were developed to characterize internal exposures in EWAS. Methods: Fact sheets about the human biomonitoring (HBM) of selected environmental stressors were provided using >800 references in an expert-driven, distributed, narrative review process. Information regarding chemistry, effects on biological systems, exposure routes, absorption, elimination, reference values and specimens for analysis were collected. Chemical, physical, biological, social and psychological stressors were included to fulfil the requirements of EWAS. Results: Fact sheets for 56 stressors were created. While BoE are available for stressor groups like chemicals (metals, organic contaminants, mixtures, etc.), others, including electromagnetic fields, noise or UV light, do not leave any measurable substance in accessible body specimens. Some stressors cannot be measured directly but their metabolites can be analysed. The relative importance of the considered stressors was determined by a list of priorities based on science based evidence. Conclusions: In an extensive review considering various kinds of environmental stressors, strength and limitations regarding the identification of internal exposures using HBM were identified. Identifying research gaps about BoE and summarizing evidence about the importance of these stressors improves the basis for policy- making to safe human health. This work has received funding from the European Union?s Seventh Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No 603946 (Health and Environment-wide Associations based on Large population Surveys, HEALS).

BACKGROUND: Women of reproductive age can be exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at work, and exposure to EDCs in pregnancy may affect fetal growth. OBJECTIVES: We assessed whether maternal occupational exposure to EDCs during pregnancy as classified by application of a job exposure matrix was associated with birth weight, term low birth weight (LBW), length of gestation, and preterm delivery. METHODS: Using individual participant data from 133,957 mother-child pairs in 13 European cohorts spanning births from 1994 through 2011, we linked maternal job titles with exposure to 10 EDC groups as assessed through a job exposure matrix. For each group, we combined the two levels of exposure categories (possible and probable) and compared birth outcomes with the unexposed group (exposure unlikely). We performed meta-analyses of cohort-specific estimates. RESULTS: Eleven percent of pregnant women were classified as exposed to EDCs at work during pregnancy, based on job title. Classification of exposure to one or more EDC group was associated with an increased risk of term LBW [odds ratio (OR) = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.49], as were most specific EDC groups; this association was consistent across cohorts. Further, the risk increased with increasing number of EDC groups (OR = 2.11; 95% CI: 1.10, 4.06 for exposure to four or more EDC groups). There were few associations (p < 0.05) with the other outcomes; women holding job titles classified as exposed to bisphenol A or brominated flame retardants were at higher risk for longer length of gestation. CONCLUSION: Results from our large population-based birth cohort design indicate that employment during pregnancy in occupations classified as possibly or probably exposed to EDCs was associated with an increased risk of term LBW. This work was supported by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (grants FP7/2007-2013, 226285, 241604) as part of the Environmental Health Risks in European Birth Cohorts project (http://www.enrieco.org) and the Developing a Child Cohort Research Strategy for Europe project (http://www.chicosproject.eu); and by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant CD12/00563). Funding per cohort: ABCD: This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (grant 2100.0076). BAMSE: This work was supported by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation; Stockholm County Council; Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare; and the European Commission’s Seventh Framework 29 Program: the Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy (grant 261357). DNBC: This work was supported by the Danish Epidemiology of Science Centre; Pharmacy Foundation; Egmont Foundation; March of Dimes Birth Defect Foundation; Agustinus Foundation; and the Health Foundation. Generation R: This work was supported by the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development; European Commission Seventh Framework Programme; and the Contaminant Mixtures and Human Reproductive Health Project (grant 212502); V.J. received an additional grant from the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (grant VIDI 016.136.361) and Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (grant ERC-2014-CoG-648916). Generation XXI: This work was supported by the Programa Operacional de Saúde – Saúde XXI; Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III; Administração Regional de Saúde Norte (Regional Department of Ministry of Health); Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology; Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. INMA_Granada: This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grants G03/176, CB06/02/0041); Spanish Ministry of Health (grant FIS-07/0252); European Union Commission (grants QLK4-1999-01422, QLK4-2002-00603, FP7-ENV-212502); and the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (grant 183/07; 0675-2010). INMA_New: This work was supported by the European Union (grants FP7-ENV-2011, 282957, HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1); Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grants G03/176, CB06/02/0041, FIS-FEDER 03/1615, 04/1509, 04/1112, 04/1931, 05/1079, 05/1052, 06/1213, 07/0314, 09/02647, 11/01007, 11/02591, CP11/00178, FIS-PI06/0867, FIS-PS09/00090); Conselleria de Sanitat Generalitat Valenciana; Spanish Ministry of Health (grants FIS-PI041436, FIS- PI081151, FIS-PI042018, FIS-PI09/02311); Generalitat de Catalunya (grants CIRIT1999SGR, 00241); Obre Social Cajastur; Universidad de Oviedo; Department of Health of the Basque Government (grants 2005111093, 2009111069); and the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (grants DFG06/004, DFG08/001). KANC: This work was supported by the European Commission (grant FP6-036224). MoBa: This work was supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health; National Institutes of Health; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (grant N01-ES–85433); National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grant 1 UO1 NS 047537); Norwegian Research Council; Functional Genomics (grant 151918/S10); and Environmental Exposures and Health Outcomes (grant 213148). NINFEA: This work was supported by the Compagnia San Paolo Foundation, and by the Piedmont Region. Pélagie: This work was supported by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research; the French Ministry of Health; the French Ministry of Labor; French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety; French National Research Agency; and the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance. REPRO_PL: This work was supported by the National Centre for Research and Development, Poland (grants PBZ-MEiN-/8/2/2006, K140/P01/2007/1.3.1.1); the Norwegian Financial Mechanism within the PolishNorwegian Research Fund (grant PNRF-218-AI-1/07); and European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (grant FP7/2007-2013, 603946). Rhea: This work was supported by the European Union Integrated Project NewGeneris, 6th Framework Programme, (grant FOOD-CT-2005-016320); and the Health Impacts of Long-term Exposure to Disinfection By-products in Drinking Water project (grant Food-CT-2006-036224).

A case-control study was conducted to analyze the possible associations between the head and neck cancer (HNC) risk and fourteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes in Xrcc3 and Rad51 genes. This study involved 81 HNC cases and 111 healthy control subjects. A significant risk-increasing effect of rs3212057 (p.Arg94His) SNP in Xrcc3 (OR=6.6; p0.01) was observed. On the other hand, risk-decreasing effect was found for rs5030789 (g.3997AG) and rs1801321 (c.-60GT) in 5' near gene and 5'UTR regions of Rad51, respectively (OR=0.3 and OR=0.2, p0.05, respectively). Moreover, these effects were shown to be modulated by tobacco-smoking status and gene-gene interactions. Concluding, the genetic variability of Xrcc3 and/or Rad51 genes might be of relevance with respect to HNC risk.

It has been always believed that men smoke more than women, but the trend of smoking in women is increasing nowadays. In some countries there are even more female smokers than male smokers. This is a major health risk because women are present and future mothers, and increasing number of smoking women will enlarge the number of exposed children. Relatively few women are aware of gender-specific health risks, including cervical cancer, osteoporosis, poor pregnancy outcome and early menopause. Tobacco related diseases are on the rise in women, considering the fact that more women now die of lung cancer than breast cancer. Tobacco companies have invented various ways to target women through tobacco advertising despite the various bans. This inevitably leads to the increase in female smoking rates. There are various recommendations from the World Health Organization which include the need for governments to pay particular attention to protect women from the tobacco companies' attempts to lure them into lifetimes of nicotine dependence and to take up counter advertisements against the tobacco companies.

Ambient air pollution has been associated with a variety of reproductive disorders. However, a limited amount of research has been conducted to examine the association between air pollution and male reproductive outcomes, specifically semen quality.The present study was designed to address the hypothesis that exposure to fluctuating levels of specific air pollutants adversely affects sperm parameters and the level of reproductive hormones.The study population consisted of 327 men who were attending an infertility clinic in Łodź, Poland for diagnostic purposes and who had normal semen concentration of 15-300 mln/ml. All participants were interviewed and provided a semen sample. Air quality data were obtained from AirBase database.The statistically significant association was observed between abnormalities in sperm morphology and exposure to all examined air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NOX, CO). Exposure to air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, CO, NOx) was also negatively associated with the level of testosterone. Additional exposure to PM2.5, PM10 increase the percentage of cells with immature chromatin (HDS).The present study provides suggestive evidence of an association between ambient air pollution and sperm quality. Further research is needed to explore this association in more detail. Individual precise exposure assessment would be needed for more detailed risk characterization.

International audience; Objectives - We assessed whether maternal employment during pregnancy - overall and in selected occupational sectors - is associated with birth weight, small for gestational age (SGA), term low birth weight (LBW), length of gestation, and preterm delivery in a population-based birth cohort design. Methods - We used data from >200 000 mother-child pairs enrolled in 13 European birth cohorts and compared employed versus non-employed women. Among employees, we defined groups of occupations representing the main sectors of employment for women where potential reproductive hazards are considered to be present. The comparison group comprised all other employed women not included in the occupational sector being assessed. We performed meta-analyses of cohort-specific estimates and explored heterogeneity. Results - Employees had a lower risk of preterm delivery than non-employees [adjusted odds ratio (OR adj) 0.86, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.81-0.91]. Working in most of the occupational sectors studied was not associated with adverse birth outcomes. Being employed as a nurse was associated with lower risk SGA infants (OR adj0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.99) whereas food industry workers had an increased risk of preterm delivery (OR adj1.50, 95% CI 1.12-2.02). There was little evidence for heterogeneity between cohorts. Conclusions - This study suggests that, overall, employment during pregnancy is associated with a reduction in the risk of preterm birth and that work in certain occupations may affect pregnancy outcomes. This exploratory study provides an important platform on which to base further prospective studies focused on the potential consequences of maternal occupational exposures during pregnancy on child development.

Tobacco smoke contains thousands of xenobiotics harmful to human health. Their irritant, toxic and carcinogenic potential has been well documented. Passive smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) in public places, including workplace, poses major medical problems. Owing to this fact there is a strong need to raise workers' awareness of smoking-related hazards through educational programs and to develop and implement legislation aimed at eliminating SHS exposure. This paper presents a review of reports on passive exposure to tobacco smoke and its impact on human health and also a review of binding legal regulations regarding smoking at workplace in Poland. It has been proved that exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy may lead to, e.g., preterm delivery and low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, lung function impairment, asthma and acute respiratory illnesses in the future. Exposure to tobacco smoke, only in the adult age, is also considered as an independent risk factor of cardiovascular diseases, acute and chronic respiratory diseases and cancer. Raising public awareness of tobacco smoke harmfulness should be a top priority in the field of workers' health prevention. Occupational medicine physicians have regular contacts with occupationally active people who smoke. Thus, occupational health services have a unique opportunity to increase employees and employers' awareness of adverse health effects of smoking and their prevention.Dym tytoniowy zawiera tysiące czynników chemicznych szkodliwych dla zdrowia człowieka. Mają one działanie drażniące, toksyczne i rakotwórcze. Bierne palenie tytoniu w miejscach publicznych i narażenie na środowiskowy dym tytoniowy także w miejscu pracy stanowią ogromny problem medyczny. Wynika z niego potrzeba uświadamiania pracowników w zakresie szkodliwości nałogu palenia tytoniu oraz stworzenia aktów prawnych mających na celu wyeliminowanie narażenia na dym tytoniowy. W niniejszej pracy przedstawiono wyniki przeglądu piśmiennictwa na temat biernej ekspozycji na dym tytoniowy i jej wpływu na zdrowie człowieka oraz dokonano przeglądu obowiązujących w Polsce aktów prawnych dotyczących palenia papierosów w miejscu pracy. Dotychczas opublikowane dane wskazują, że ekspozycja na dym tytoniowy w okresie życia płodowego zwiększa ryzyko m.in. porodu przedwczesnego i małej masy urodzeniowej noworodka, nagłej śmierci niemowląt oraz w przyszłości – upośledzenia funkcji płuc, astmy i ostrych schorzeń dróg oddechowych. Narażenie na dym tytoniowy, także wyłącznie w wieku dorosłym, jest natomiast niezależnym czynnikiem ryzyka rozwoju schorzeń układu krążenia i układu oddechowego oraz nowotworów złośliwych. Podniesienie świadomości społecznej na temat szkodliwości ekspozycji na dym tytoniowy powinno być priorytetem w ochronie zdrowia pracujących. Lekarz sprawujący opiekę profilaktyczną nad pracownikami jest przedstawicielem służby zdrowia, który ma najczęstszy kontakt z aktywnymi zawodowo dorosłymi palaczami tytoniu. Wynika z tego niezwykle istotna rola służby medycyny pracy w zwiększaniu świadomości pracowników i pracodawców w zakresie profilaktyki negatywnych skutków zdrowotnych nałogu palenia tytoniu. Med. Pr. 2015;66(6):827–836.

The aim of the study was to examine how social care beneficiaries rate the relative harmfulness of tobacco/nicotine-containing products compared to traditional cigarettes. This information is crucial for the development of effective tobacco control strategies targeting disadvantaged populations. The cross-sectional study covered 1817 respondents who were taking advantage of social aid services offered by the local social care institutions in the Piotrkowski district, via face-to-face interviews. The linear regression analysis indicated that relative to women, men consider slim cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes to be more harmful than traditional cigarettes (p < 0.05). The smokers of traditional cigarettes reported menthol cigarettes to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes, relative to the non-smokers (p = 0.05). The current results demonstrate that social care beneficiaries are not aware of the fact that some products are less harmful than others. Education concerning tobacco/nicotine products should include advice on how to reduce the adverse health effects of smoking (e.g., avoiding inhalation of combusted products), while driving the awareness that no nicotine-containing products are safe.

Summary Background There are investigations concluding that reduced vitamin D status in pregnancy, may be a risk factor for the development of allergic outcomes in offspring. However, studies on the relationship between cord levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) and risk of early childhood wheezing and early-onset atopic dermatitis/food allergy are very limited. Objective To assess the associations between cord blood concentration of 25[OH]D and occurrence of the incidence of wheezing, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, during the first two years of life. Methods We evaluated 240 children by the age of 2 years from the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study. Women were interviewed during pregnancy to collect demographic and socioeconomic data, the medical and reproductive history. At delivery, umbilical cord blood plasma was sampled. The child's health status were examined at approximately 2 years. In the analyses multivariable model was used. Results Data from 190 participants were included into the analysis. The median value and quartile range of 25[OH]D in cord blood [ng/ml] were as follows: 6.33, 4.16–8.53. 25[OH]D in cord blood below lower quartile increases the risk of multi-triggered wheezing (MTW) in children during first 2 years of life (OR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.13–7.00). Higher cord serum level of 25[OH]D reduces the risk of viral induced wheezing (VIW). The cord serum level of 25[OH]D below median value (OR: 6.06; 95% CI: 1.3–28.3) or below lower quartile (OR: 5.43; 95% CI: 1.66–17.7) increases the risk of VIW. All above effects of vitamin D level in cord blood were corrected for the effects other independent risk factors of wheezing and VIW in this cohort. Conclusions Cord serum 25[OH]D levels were inversely associated with the risk of multi-triggered wheezing, and especially viral-induced wheezing by the age of 2 years, but no association was found with food allergy, atopic dermatitis and frequencies of infections.

Background There is a substantial amount of research in child health published each year in the European Union. Much of this work is paid for from public funds, or from charitable donations. This work covers many areas, but it is fragmented, and a great deal of it, especially the material not published in the indexed scientific literature, is hard to find, and harder to access. Response The EU, as one of the major funders of child health research, has funded a project, the Research Inventory of Child Health in Europe (RICHE), to prepare a roadmap for the future of child health research in Europe. Using a life course perspective, the project sought to identify the research done, define the gaps in the research, and make recommendations for future research funding priorities. Content RICHE is an FP7 funded project (contract no. 242181) tasked with preparing roadmaps for the future of child health research across Europe. Using a life-course perspective, the project has designed, and carried out, an open, transparent, and justifiable process to make recommendations for future research funding. We acknowledge that such recommendations are value judgements, and our aim was to present carefully justified value judgements. The project, which had 25 partners, in 19 countries, was organised into six workpackages – WP1 an inventory of child health research, including funded projects, reports, funders, and people; WP2 on ways of measuring child health, and indicators for child health; WP3 on gaps in child health research; WP4 on the roadmaps for future research; WP5 maintains a platform at http://childhealthresearch.eu/ ; WP6 was responsible for project management. Results The project has finished, and launched a report on 'Roadmaps for the Future of Child Health Research in Europe'. A key recommendation is the establishment of a European Child Health Observatory, with a focus on participation by children and young people. The work of implementing these proposals to improve the health of European children can begin.

The causes of the chromosome abnormalities have been studied for decades. It has been suggested that exposure to various environmental agents can induce chromosomal abnormalities in germ cells. This study was designed to address the hypothesis that exposure to specific air pollutants increases sperm disomy. The study population consisted of 212 men who were attending an infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes. They represented a subset of men in a multicenter parent study conducted in Poland to evaluate environmental factors and male fertility. Sperm aneuploidy for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, and Y was assessed using multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization. Air quality data were obtained from the AirBase database. After adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol consumption, temperature (90 days), season, past diseases, abstinence interval, distance from the monitoring station, concentration, motility and morphology, positive associations were observed between exposure to PM2.5 and disomy Y (P = 0.001), sex chromosome disomy (P = 0.05) and disomy 21 (P = 0.03). Exposure to PM10 was associated with disomy 21 (P = 0.02). Conversely, exposure to ozone, CO, SO2, and NOx did not affect sperm aneuploidy. A separate analysis conducted among men who were nonsmokers (n = 117) showed that the relationship between PM2.5 and disomy Y and disomy 21 remained significant (P = 0.01, P = 0.05, respectively). The present findings indicate that exposure to air pollution induces sperm aneuploidy.

Objectives: To estimate the burden of disease attributable to second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in Polish children in terms of the number of deaths and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) due to lower respiratory infections (LRI), otitis media (OM), asthma, low birth weight (LBW) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Materials and Methods: Estimates of SHS exposure in children and in pregnant women as well as information concerning maternal smoking were derived from a national survey, the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, and the Global Adult Tobacco Survey in Poland. Mortality data (LRI, OM, asthma, and SIDS), the number of cases (LBW), and population data were obtained from national statistics (year 2010), and DALYs came from the WHO (year 2004). The burden of disease due to SHS was calculated by multiplying the total burden of a specific health outcome (deaths or DALYs) by a population attributable fraction. Results: Using two estimates of SHS exposure in children: 48% and 60%, at least 12 and 14 deaths from LRI in children aged up to 2 years were attributed to SHS, for the two exposure scenarios, respectively. The highest burden of DALYs was for asthma in children aged up to 15 years: 2412, and 2970 DALYs, for the two exposure scenarios, respectively. For LRI, 419 and 500 DALYs, and for OM, 61 and 77 DALYs were attributed to SHS, for the two exposure scenarios, respectively. Between 13% and 27% of SIDS cases and between 3% and 16% of the cases of LBW at term were attributed to SHS exposure. Conclusions: This study provides a conservative estimate of the public health impact of SHS exposure on Polish children. Lack of comprehensive, up to date health data concerning children, as well as lack of measures that would best reflect actual SHS exposure are major limitations of the study, likely to underestimate the burden of disease.

Setting appropriate cutoff values and the use of a highly sensitive analytical method allow for correct classification of the smoking status. Urine-saliva pairs samples of pregnant women in the second and third trimester, and saliva only in the first trimester were collected. Offline SPE and LC-ESI-MS/MS method was developed in the broad concentration range (saliva 0.4–1000 ng/mL, urine 0.8–4000 ng/mL). The mean recoveries were3.7±7.6% for urine and99.1±2.6% for saliva. LOD for saliva was 0.12 ng/mL and for urine 0.05 ng/mL; LOQ was 0.4 ng/mL and 0.8 ng/mL, respectively. Intraday and interday precision equaled, respectively, 1.2% and 3.4% for urine, and 2.3% and 6.4% for saliva. There was a strong correlation between salivary cotinine and the uncorrected cotinine concentration in urine in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The cutoff values were established for saliva 12.9 ng/mL and urine 42.3 ng/mL or 53.1 μg/g creatinine with the ROC curve analysis. The developed analytical method was successfully applied to quantify cotinine, and a significant correlation between the urinary and salivary cotinine levels was found. The presented cut-off values for salivary and urinary cotinine ensure a categorization of the smoking status among pregnant women that is more accurate than self-reporting.

Background: Phthalates are a family of industrial chemicals that have been used for a variety of purposes. As the potential consequences of human exposure to phthalates have raised concerns in the ...

Epidemiological data indicate that-globally 250 million women and 1 billion men smoke every day. Unfortunately the prevalence of smoking among women is continuing to increase and it is expected to rise from 12% noted in the first decade of this century to 20% in 2025. Women are as vulnerable as men to the dangers of tobacco and additionally the tobacco smoking can cause also female-specific cancer, respiratory diseases and can increase the risk poor pregnancy outcome. There are various recommendations from the World Health Organization which include the need for governments to introduce tobacco control strategies which are sensitive to gender. Efforts should be taken not only to sustain the downward trend in male smoking but also on reversing the levels of smoking in girls and women. The aim of this paper is to analyze the existing recommendations developed by WHO with more specific focus on promotion of gender specific action which can lead to decreasing in the prevalence of female smoking.

Comprehensive monitoring informs the stakeholders about the level of tobacco epidemic and helps to allocate tobacco control resources where they are most needed and will be most effective. The aim of the paper was to evaluate the prevalence of daily cigarette smoking and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure among adult citizens of Łódz area in Poland between year 2001 and 2010 by selected characteristics.For the purpose of the presented analysis, data were used from 3 cross-sectional studies on randomly-selected 3,874 adults from the Łódź area, conducted in 2001, 2005 and 2010. Changes in the rates between the surveys were assessed by odds ratio.Smoking prevalence remained stable but high between 2001-2010. There was an inverse relationship between smoking prevalence and educational level for both genders (p for trend ≤0.01) in each survey. For men in all surveys, the prevalence of current daily tobacco smoking decreased with increased income (p for trend ≤0.01), and also for women in the 2009-2010 survey (p for trend =0.03). The statistically significant changes for the comparison of 2001 and 2005 surveys were observed for exposure to ETS (p0.001). Percentages of men and women who declared exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at least one hour per day decreased significantly. Furthermore, the proportion of people who declared exposure to ETS decreased with the increasing age of participants (p for trend ≤0.005), level of education for men in both surveys, and for women in the 2001 survey (p for trend ≤0.003), and income for both men and women in the 2001 survey (p for trend0.001).Established, long-term tobacco surveillance systems of smoking and ETS exposure, based on nationally and locally representative samples, are necessary in Poland.

Objectives: The study was aimed at assessment of exposure to endotoxins, (1→3)-β-D-glucans and mite, cockroach, cat, dog allergens present in settled dust in premises of children as agents which may be significantly correlated with the occurrence of allergic symptoms and diseases in children. Materials and Methods: The study covered 50 homes of one- or two-year-old children in Poland. Samples of settled dust were taken from the floor and the child's bed. The levels of (1→3)-β-D-glucans (floor), endotoxins (floor) and allergens of mite, cat, dog and cockroach (floor and bed) were analyzed. Results: Average geometric concentrations (geometric standard deviation) of endotoxins, (1→3)-β-D-glucans, Der p1, Fel d1, Can f1 and Bla g1 in children homes were on the floor 42 166.0 EU/g (3.2), 20 478.4 ng/g (2.38), 93.9 ng/g (6.58), 119.8 ng/g (13.0), 288.9 ng/g (3.4), 0.72 U/g (4.4) and in their beds (only allergens) 597.8 ng/g (14.2), 54.1 ng/g (4.4), 158.6 ng/g (3.1) 0.6 U/g (2.9), respectively. When the floor was covered with the carpet, higher concentrations of endotoxins, (1→3)-β-D-glucans and allergens (each type) were found in the settled dust (p < 0.05). The trend was opposite in case of allergens (except dog) analyzed from bed dust and significantly higher concentrations were found in the rooms with smooth floor (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Among the analyzed factors only the type of floor significantly modified both the level of biological indicators and allergens. The results of this study could be the base for verifying a hypothesis that carpeting may have a protective role against high levels of cockroach, dog and cat allergens.

The perceived health risk of recently introduced nicotine and tobacco products may influence both their uptake and continued use. The aim of the study was to assess how adolescents rate relative harmfulness of slim and menthol cigarettes, water pipes, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco compared to regular cigarettes. Cross-sectional survey data from students aged 13–19 years from Piotrkowski district, Poland were analyzed. Among the sample of 4050 students, 3552 respondents completed anonymous, confidential, self-administered questionnaire adapted from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). The study results indicate that the students perceived slim cigarettes and menthol cigarettes as less harmful, which is in line with the message created by tobacco companies. On the other hand, less popular products such as water pipes and smokeless tobacco were considered as more harmful. The current study indicates insufficient and misleading perception of harmfulness of different tobacco/nicotine products available on the Polish market. Simultaneously, there is insufficient countrywide public health education in this matter. Preventive measures are necessary to discourage young people from smoking uptake and to ensure that potential consumers can, based on objective data, make informed decisions about cigarettes and non-cigarette tobacco products.

SUMMARY According to the World Health Organization, there are more than one billion smokers in the world, and tobacco is said to kill half of its users. The European Region of WHO, with only 15% of the world’s population, faces nearly one third of the worldwide burden of tobacco related diseases. Millions of lives could be saved with effective and comprehensive tobacco control strategy. In response to this, the World Health Organization has offered a wide range of information and recommendations to governments, organizations, health-care professionals, and tobacco users and non-users worldwide. This paper is focusing on various activities that governments, organizations or even individuals can undertake to help smokers to quit and decrease percentages of tobacco users and save millions of lives.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Although the mechanisms that lead to the development of ADHD remain unclear, genetic and environmental factors have been implicated. These include heavy metals and chemical exposures, nutritional and lifestyle/psychosocial factors. The aim of this review was to investigate the association between ADHD or ADHD-related symptoms and widespread environmental factors such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), tobacco smoke, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs) and alcohol. Medline, PubMed and Ebsco search was performed to identify the studies which analyze the association of prenatal and postnatal child exposure to environmental toxicants and lifestyle factors and ADHD or ADHD-related symptoms. The review is restricted to human studies published since 2000 in English in peer reviewed journals. Despite much research has been done on the association between environmental risk factors and ADHD or ADHD symptoms, results are not consistent. Most studies in this field, focused on exposure to tobacco smoke, found an association between that exposure and ADHD and ADHD symptoms. On the other hand, the impact of phthalates, BPA, PFCs, PAHs and alcohol is less frequently investigated and does not allow a firm conclusion regarding the association with the outcomes of interest.

Amendment to the Act on health protection against consequences of using tobacco and tobacco products, in force since 15 November 2010, has introduced a number of changes by extending the range of population protection against tobacco smoke exposure, of which the most controversial one for public was placing more restrictive ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. The changes in question caused that current legal bans, although more restrictive than earlier, are still not completely sufficient as far as the protection of all groups of workers against environmental tobacco smoke exposure is concerned. The text of WHO Framework Convention on Tobbacco Control, ratified by Poland, was discussed in the article together with the detailed WHO guidelines on the convention implementation in the field of workers' protection against tobacco smoke. In this paper the most important acts of EU, one of the convention parties, and current legislative situation in Poland were presented. Particular attention was paid to occupational groups, not yet fully protected against environmental tobacco smoke exposure and need to be the subject of future legislation.

Background and Aim: Environmental tobacco smoke exposure (ETS) is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes including increases risk of spontaneous abortion, stilbirth, preterm delivery, low birth we...