Case-control study on beneficial effect of regular consumption of apples on colorectal cancer risk in a population with relatively low intake of fruits and vegetables.

Laboratory in-vitro studies and animal experiments showing the potential health benefits from apples raises the question to what extent the regular consumption of apples in humans may have a beneficial effect on colorectal cancer risk. A total of 592 incident cases of colorectal cancer have been enrolled in a hospital-based case-control study. The comparison group included 765 controls chosen from the patients of the same hospital without history of cancer and admitted for treatment of nonneoplastic conditions.

Early wheezing phenotypes and severity of respiratory illness in very early childhood: study on intrauterine exposure to fine particle matter.

The main goal of the paper was to assess the pattern of risk factors having an impact on the onset of early wheezing phenotypes in the birth cohort of 468 two-year olds and to investigate the severity of respiratory illness in the two-year olds in relation to both wheezing phenotypes, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and personal PM(2.5) exposure over pregnancy period (fine particulate matter). The secondary goal of the paper was to assess possible association of early persistent wheezing with the length of the baby at birth.

Length at birth and effect of prenatal and postnatal factors on early wheezing phenotypes. Kraków epidemiologic cohort study.

The main goal of the study was to assess the pattern of risk factors having an impact on the onset of early wheezing phenotypes in the birth cohort of 468 two-year-olds. A secondary objective was to investigate a possible association between early persistent wheezing and infant's length at birth. Approximately one third of the children in the study sample experienced wheezing in the first two years of life, and in about two third of cases (67%), the symptom developed within the first year of life.

Fetal exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke assessed by maternal self-reports and cord blood cotinine: prospective cohort study in Krakow.

Objectives: While the validity of self-reported smoking habits is generally judged as satisfactory, objective markers of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure may be more useful in validating the causal links between prenatal SHS and health effects. The cohort study in Krakow provided an opportunity for comparative assessment of fetal exposure to SHS based upon questionnaires and cord blood cotinine measurements.

Methods: The study sample included 467 newborns born to women recruited in the first and second trimester of pregnancy.

Prenatal exposure to passive smoking and duration of breastfeeding in nonsmoking women: Krakow inner city prospective cohort study.

Introduction: The relationship between tobacco smoking in pregnancy and breastfeeding is of public health importance. The present birth cohort study provided the opportunity to investigate whether the negative relationship between passive smoking measured by the cotinine concentrations in maternal blood at delivery and breastfeeding in postpartum could also be confirmed in nonsmoking mothers.

Materials And Methods: The study sample included 441 healthy pregnant women who were recruited in the first and second trimester of pregnancy.