Iodine sources and iodine levels in pregnant women from an area without known iodine deficiency.

Objective: An adequate iodine intake during pregnancy is essential for normal development of the foetus. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in a population of pregnant women should range between 150 and 249 microg/l. The aim of this study was to evaluate iodine status and to examine the main sources of iodine in pregnant women from an apparently iodine-sufficient area.

Association of early-life exposure to household gas appliances and indoor nitrogen dioxide with cognition and attention behavior in preschoolers.

The authors investigated the association of early-life exposure to indoor air pollution with neuropsychological development in preschoolers and assessed whether this association differs by glutathione-S-transferase gene (GSTP1) polymorphisms. A prospective, population-based birth cohort was set up in Menorca, Spain, in 1997-1999 (n = 482). Children were assessed for cognitive functioning (McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities) and attention-hyperactivity behaviors (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition) at age 4 years.

Estimating the health and economic benefits associated with reducing air pollution in the Barcelona metropolitan area (Spain).

Objectives: To estimate the health and economic benefits that would result from two scenarios of improved air quality in 57 municipalities of the metropolitan area of Barcelona.

Methods: We used attributable fractions and life tables to quantify the benefits for selected health outcomes, based on published concentration-response functions and economic unit values. The mean weighted concentration of PM(10) for the study population was estimated through concentration surface maps developed by the local government.

GSTM1 polymorphisms modify the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on cognitive functioning in preschoolers.

Background: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with cognitive deficits in children. Parental factors are proposed as an explanatory. We studied the influence of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms on the cognition effects induced by active maternal smoking during pregnancy.

[Social determinants of dietary patterns during pregnancy].

Objectives: To identify dietary patterns in pregnancy and describe their relationship with sociodemographic factors, smoking, and body mass index. As a secondary objective, intakes were evaluated relative to current dietary recommendations for pregnant women.

Methods: Cross-sectional assessment of dietary intakes in 473 pregnant women from the Island of Menorca (Spain) was performed.

Determinants of plasma interleukin-6 levels among survivors of myocardial infarction.

Background: We identify determinants of plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in a multicenter panel study of myocardial infarction (MI) survivors, using repeated measurements to evaluate both baseline and time-varying factors.

Design And Methods: Survivors of MI (N= 1003) recruited in six European cities had repeated measurements (median: 6/patient) of IL-6. At baseline, participants' behaviour and medical histories were determined by interview, and blood pressure, anthropometry, cholesterol and N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured.

Fibrinogen genes modify the fibrinogen response to ambient particulate matter.

Rationale: Ambient particulate matter has been associated with systemic inflammation indicated by blood markers such as fibrinogen, implicated in promoting atherothrombosis.

Objectives: This study evaluated whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the fibrinogen genes modified the relationship between ambient particles and plasma fibrinogen.

Methods: In 854 myocardial infarction survivors from five European cities plasma fibrinogen levels were determined repeatedly (n = 5,082).

Determinants of the acute-phase protein C-reactive protein in myocardial infarction survivors: the role of comorbidities and environmental factors.

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP), a sensitive marker of the acute-phase response, has been associated with future cardiovascular endpoints independently of other risk factors. A joint analysis of the role of risk factors in predicting mean concentrations and variation of high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) in serum has not been carried out previously.

Methods: We used data from 1003 myocardial infarction (MI) survivors who had hsCRP measured monthly up to 8 times and multivariate mixed effects statistical models to study the role of time-variant and -invariant factors on the geometric mean of and the intraindividual variation in hsCRP concentrations.

High temperature and hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory causes in 12 European cities.

Rationale: Episode analyses of heat waves have documented a comparatively higher impact on mortality than on morbidity (hospital admissions) in European cities. The evidence from daily time series studies is scarce and inconsistent.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of high environmental temperatures on hospital admissions during April to September in 12 European cities participating in the Assessment and Prevention of Acute Health Effects of Weather Conditions in Europe (PHEWE) project.

Influence of glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms on cognitive functioning effects induced by p,p'-DDT among preschoolers.

Background: Early-life exposure to p,p'-DDT [2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane] is associated with a decrease in cognitive skills among preschoolers at 4 years of age. We hypothesized that genetic variability in glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes (GSTP1, GSTM1, and GSTT1) could influence the effects of prenatal exposure to p,p'-DDT.

Methods: We used data from 326 children assessed in a prospective population-based birth cohort at the age of 4 years.

Maternal fish and other seafood intakes during pregnancy and child neurodevelopment at age 4 years.

Objective: To analyse the relationship between maternal intakes of fish and other seafood during pregnancy and child neurodevelopment at age 4 years. Although pregnant women are advised to limit seafood intakes because of possible neurotoxin contamination, several studies suggest that overall maternal seafood intakes are associated with improved child neurodevelopment, perhaps because of higher DHA intakes.

Design: The study uses data from a prospective birth cohort study.

Urinary porphyrin excretion in children is associated with exposure to organochlorine compounds.

Background: Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and other organochlorines induce porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) in animal studies. Evidence in humans, however, is contradictory. In neonates and adults from a population historically highly exposed to HCB (Flix, Catalonia, Spain), no relation with PCT or with porphyrin excretion was found.

Home outdoor NO2 and new onset of self-reported asthma in adults.

Background: Few studies have investigated new onset of asthma in adults in relation to air pollution. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between modeled background levels of traffic-related air pollution at the subjects' home addresses and self-reported asthma incidence in a European adult population.

Methods: Adults from the European Respiratory Health Survey were included (n = 4185 from 17 cities).

Prenatal and early childhood exposure to mercury and methylmercury in Spain, a high-fish-consumer country.

Exposure to mercury, a risk factor for neurodevelopmental toxicity, was assessed in Spanish children (preschool children and newborns, n = 218) in a four-locations survey by performing mercury determination in hair. To assess the prenatal and children's exposure and its potential risk, total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) were analyzed and examined for associations with maternal sociodemographic characteristics and dietary intake through interviews and food frequency questionnaires. The mean THg in hair was 0.

Rhinitis and onset of asthma: a longitudinal population-based study.

Background: A close relation between asthma and allergic rhinitis has been reported by several epidemiological and clinical studies. However, the nature of this relation remains unclear. We used the follow-up data from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey to investigate the onset of asthma in patients with allergic and non-allergic rhinitis during an 8.

The effect of supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on markers of oxidative stress in elderly exposed to PM(2.5).

Background: The mechanisms of particulate matter (PM)-induced health effects are believed to involve inflammation and oxidative stress. Increased intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) appears to have anti-inflammatory effects.

Objective: As part of a trial to evaluate whether n-3 PUFA supplementation could protect against the cardiac alterations linked to PM exposure, we measured biomarkers of response to oxidative stimuli [copper/zinc (Cu/Zn) superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, lipoperoxidation (LPO) products, and reduced glutathione (GSH)] and evaluated the impact of supplementation on plasma levels.

Common genetic polymorphisms and haplotypes of fibrinogen alpha, beta, and gamma chains affect fibrinogen levels and the response to proinflammatory stimulation in myocardial infarction survivors: the AIRGENE study.

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of the fibrinogen gene-cluster (fibrinogen chains alpha [FGA], beta [FGB], and gamma [FGG]) could explain the inter- and intraindividual variability of fibrinogen levels in patients with atherosclerosis. We also searched for genetic determinants affecting the responses of fibrinogen genes to proinflammatory stimulation.

Background: The mechanisms regulating fibrinogen levels are not fully understood, and they are likely to be regulated by complex gene-environment interactions.

Long-term effects of ambient air pollution on lung function: a review.

Lung function is an important measure of respiratory health and a predictor of cardiorespiratory morbidity and mortality. Over the past 2 decades, more than 50 publications have investigated long-term effects of ambient air pollution on lung function with most finding adverse effects. Several studies have also suggested effects from traffic-related air pollution.

Exposure to hexachlorobenzene during pregnancy increases the risk of overweight in children aged 6 years.

Aim: To determine whether prenatal exposure to hexachlorobenzene (HCB) has potential adverse effects on child's weight and body mass index (BMI) in a general population with no local pollution sources.

Methods: Starting from mid 1997, all mothers presenting for antenatal exposure in Menorca were recruited. Subsequently, 482 children were enrolled.

Incidence and risk factors of lower respiratory tract illnesses during infancy in a Mediterranean birth cohort.

Aim: To investigate the incidence rate, viral respiratory agents and determinants of lower respiratory tract illnesses (LRTIs) in infants younger than 1 year.

Methods: A total of 487 infants were recruited at birth for the Asthma Multicenter Infant Cohort Study in Barcelona (Spain). Cases of LRTIs were ascertained through an active register including a home visit and viral test in nasal lavage specimens during the first year of life.

Air pollution and lung function in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Background: The association of long-term air pollution and lung function has not been studied across adult European multi-national populations before. The aim of this study was to determine the association between long-term urban background air pollution and lung function levels, as well as change in lung function among European adults.

Methods: Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and the ratio thereof (FEV1/FVC) were assessed at baseline and after 9 years of follow-up in adults from 21 European centres (followed-up sample 5610).

Air pollution, airway inflammation, and lung function in a cohort study of Mexico City schoolchildren.

Background: The biological mechanisms involved in inflammatory response to air pollution are not clearly understood.

Objective: In this study we assessed the association of short-term air pollutant exposure with inflammatory markers and lung function.

Methods: We studied a cohort of 158 asthmatic and 50 nonasthmatic school-age children, followed an average of 22 weeks.

Maternal smoking very early in pregnancy is related to child overweight at age 5-7 y.

Background: Despite being associated with lower birth weight, maternal smoking in the last 2 trimesters of pregnancy has been associated with increased risk of offspring overweight in several studies. To date, only one study has examined whether smoking in the first trimester only, which is not associated with birth weight, is also associated with childhood overweight.

Objective: This study uses prospective data to examine associations between maternal smoking in the first compared with later trimesters of pregnancy and child overweight at age 5-7 y.