[Intelligence and neurocognitive tests among students living in a industrialized region of Sardinia with relatively low blood levels of lead].

In several recent epidemiological studies blood lead levels (BLLs) even below the current CDC intervention level of 10 microg/dl have been associated with reduced neurocognitive capacities of children, with no clear evidence of a "safe" threshold. We analyzed the relationship between the BLLs and the neurocognitive capacities of 205 Sardinian students aged 11 to 15 years, using 2 tests of the Swedish Performance Evaluating System (SPES) and the full-scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ) derived from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). The studied population included 104 children (61 males and 43 females) living in Portoscuso, a town 2 Km far from a lead smelter (mean BLLs: 5.

Nitrate in community water supplies and risk of childhood type 1 diabetes in Sardinia, Italy.

We tested the hypothesis of an association between childhood type 1 diabetes (T1D) risk and nitrate concentration in drinking water in Sardinia, Italy, using Poisson regression analysis. Childhood T1D risk showed an inverse trend with increasing quartile of nitrate level in the total population and among men. A nitrate concentration in drinking water below 10 mg/l is unlikely to account for the spatial variation in childhood T1D incidence.

Sub-clinical neurobehavioral abnormalities associated with low level of mercury exposure through fish consumption.

In order to assess early neurotoxic effects associated with relatively low levels of mercury absorbed through fish eating, two groups of 22 adult male subjects, habitual consumers of tuna fish, and 22 controls were examined using a cross-sectional field study. The assessment included neurobehavioral tests of vigilance and psychomotor function, hand tremor measurements and serum prolactin assessment. Mercury in urine (U-Hg) and serum prolactin (sPRL) were measured in all exposed subjects and controls, whereas measurements of the organic component of mercury in blood (O-Hg) were available for only 10 exposed and six controls.

Biomonitoring of primary aluminium industry workers: detection of micronuclei and repairable DNA lesions by alkaline SCGE.

The genetic effects of occupational exposure to low polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were investigated in primary aluminium industry workers. The study subjects were employed in a plant that uses pre-baked anode cells, and has relatively low PAH contamination. Forty-two male workers belonging to different job categories (anode fabrication, baking, rodding, electrolysis, maintenance), together with 16 male local residents with no occupational exposure to PAHs were selected for the analysis of micronuclei and DNA lesions in peripheral lymphocytes.