Health-related quality of life varies in different respiratory disorders: a multi-case control population based study.

Background And Objective: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) in respiratory diseases has been generally investigated in clinical settings, focusing on a single disorder. In this study on a general population sample, we assessed the relationship between HRQL and several respiratory diseases studied simultaneously (COPD, current (CA) and past (PA) asthma, allergic (AR) and non-allergic (NAR) rhinitis and chronic bronchitis (CB).

Methods: Controls (n = 328) and cases of NAR (n = 95), AR (n = 163), CB (n = 48), CA (n = 224), PA (n = 126) and COPD (n = 28) were recruited in the centre of Verona in the frame of the Italian multi-case control GEIRD (Gene Environment Interactions in Respiratory Diseases) study; HRQL was measured through the SF-36 questionnaire.

Correction: Seventy Years of Asthma in Italy: Age, Period and Cohort Effects on Incidence and Remission of Self-Reported Asthma from 1940 to 2010.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Biomarkers related to respiratory symptoms and lung function in adults with asthma.

Background: There is a need for easily measurable biomarkers that are able to identify different levels of asthma severity.

Aim: To assess the association between peripheral blood cell counts, fractional nitric oxide in exhaled air (FeNO), urinary biomarkers of oxidative stress (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and 8-isoprostane), and asthma severity in adult patients from the general population.

Methods: In the Gene Environment Interactions in Respiratory Diseases study, 287 subjects with asthma (aged 20-64) were identified from the general population in Verona (Italy) (2008-2010).

Prevalence of asthma-like symptoms with ageing.

Background: Change in the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms in populations of ageing adults is likely to be influenced by smoking, asthma treatment and atopy.

Methods: The European Community Respiratory Health Survey collected information on prevalent asthma-like symptoms from representative samples of adults aged 20-44 years (29 centres in 13 European countries and Australia) at baseline and 10 and 20 years later (n=7844). Net changes in symptom prevalence were determined using generalised estimating equations (accounting for non-response through inverse probability weighting), followed by meta-analysis of centre level estimates.

Smoking and New-Onset Asthma in a Prospective Study on Italian Adults.

Background: The existence of a cause-effect relation between active smoking and new-onset asthma in adults, although supported by several studies, has not been proven yet.

Aims: We aimed to prospectively study asthma incidence as a function of smoking habits in the Italian adult population.

Methods: A population-based cohort of 5,241 non-asthmatics was enrolled in Verona and Sassari in 1998-2000.

Persistence with inhaled corticosteroids reduces the risk of exacerbation among adults with asthma: A real-world investigation.

Background And Objective: Real-world evidence suggests that persistence with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), the mainstay of asthma drug therapy, is generally poor. The effect of persistence with ICS on the risk of asthma exacerbation was addressed in a population-based study.

Methods: The cohort of 2335 beneficiaries of the National Health Service provided by the Italian Region of Lombardy, aged 18-40 years and newly treated with ICS during 2005-2008, was followed from their first ICS dispensation until 2010.

An Interleukin 13 Polymorphism Is Associated with Symptom Severity in Adult Subjects with Ever Asthma.

Different genes are associated with categorical classifications of asthma severity. However, continuous outcomes should be used to catch the heterogeneity of asthma phenotypes and to increase the power in association studies. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate gene regions and continuous measures of asthma severity, in adult patients from the general population.

Incidence, Predictors, and Clinical Implications of Discontinuing Therapy with Inhaled Long-Acting Bronchodilators among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Incidence, predictors and effect of discontinuation of long-acting bronchodilators on the risk of death or hospital admission among adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) were assessed in a large population-based prospective study carried out by linking Italian healthcare utilization databases. Specifically, the cohort of 17,490 beneficiaries of the National Health Service in the Italian Region of Lombardy, aged 40 years or older, who started long-acting bronchodilators therapy during 2005-2008 was followed from first dispensation until 2012. During this period, patients who experienced discontinuation of long-acting bronchodilators were identified.

The Heterogeneity Hidden in Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Co-Existing Asthma in Adults: A Population-Based Survey.

Background: It has been suggested that there is some overlap between allergic rhinitis (AR), sinusitis and polyposis, but this has not been fully documented. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of these co-existing diseases and their impact on bronchial asthma in the general population of Italy.

Methods: Within the frame of the multicentre Gene Environment Interactions in Respiratory Diseases (GEIRD) study, a postal screening questionnaire including questions about self-reported symptoms of asthma, AR, AR with sinusitis without nasal polyps (AR + SsNP) and AR with sinusitis with nasal polyps (AR + SwNP) was administered.

Early Life Origins of Lung Ageing: Early Life Exposures and Lung Function Decline in Adulthood in Two European Cohorts Aged 28-73 Years.

Objectives: Early life environment is essential for lung growth and maximally attained lung function. Whether early life exposures impact on lung function decline in adulthood, an indicator of lung ageing, has scarcely been studied.

Methods: Spirometry data from two time points (follow-up time 9-11 years) and information on early life exposures, health and life-style were available from 12862 persons aged 28-73 years participating in the European population-based cohorts SAPALDIA (n = 5705) and ECRHS (n = 7157).

The gender, age and risk factor distribution differs in self-reported allergic and non-allergic rhinitis: a cross-sectional population-based study.

Background: Few population-based studies have assessed the prevalence and the risk factors of non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) in comparison to allergic rhinitis (AR). Moreover, epidemiologic data on rhinitis in the elderly subjects and in southern Europe are scarce.

Objective: This study aimed at estimating the prevalence and at comparing the risk factor distribution of AR and NAR in a general population sample aged 20-84 years in Italy.

Asthma, COPD and overlap syndrome: a longitudinal study in young European adults.

We compared risk factors and clinical characteristics, 9-year lung function change and hospitalisation risk across subjects with the asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap syndrome (ACOS), asthma or COPD alone, or none of these diseases.Participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey in 1991-1993 (aged 20-44 years) and 1999-2001 were included. Chronic airflow obstruction was defined as pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The impact of asthma, chronic bronchitis and allergic rhinitis on all-cause hospitalizations and limitations in daily activities: a population-based observational study.

Background: Chronic respiratory diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. We sought to evaluate the impact of asthma, chronic bronchitis and allergic rhinitis on all-cause hospitalizations and limitations in daily activities in adults.

Methods: In the Gene Environment Interactions in Respiratory Diseases study (2007/2010), a screening questionnaire was mailed to 9,739 subjects aged 20-44 (response rate: 53.

Ambient air pollution and adult asthma incidence in six European cohorts (ESCAPE).

Background: Short-term exposure to air pollution has adverse effects among patients with asthma, but whether long-term exposure to air pollution is a cause of adult-onset asthma is unclear.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and adult onset asthma.

Methods: Asthma incidence was prospectively assessed in six European cohorts.

Measurement of a urinary marker (8-hydroxydeoxy-guanosine, 8-OHdG) of DNA oxidative stress in epidemiological surveys: a pilot study.

Background: 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is a commonly used marker of DNA oxidative stress in epidemiological studies. The aim of this study was to establish whether the urinary concentration of 8-OHdG varies during the first part of the day, when clinical tests are usually performed, and whether it can therefore be measured without bias in spot urine samples.

Material And Methods: Spot urine samples were collected using a convenience sample.

Interaction between asthma and smoking increases the risk of adult airway obstruction.

The aim of the present study was to analyse the interaction between asthma and smoking in the risk of adult airway obstruction, accounting for atopy. In the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, 15 668 persons aged 20-56 years underwent spirometry in 1991-1993 and 9 years later (n=8916). Risk of airway obstruction and lung function decline associated with smoking and early-onset (<10 years of age) and late-onset (>10 years of age) asthma were analysed with generalised estimating equation models and random-effect linear models, adjusting for covariates.

Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking habits are still increasing in Italy.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking habits have stabilized in many Western countries. This study aimed at evaluating whether socioeconomic disparities in smoking habits are still enlarging in Italy and at comparing the impact of education and occupation.

Methods: In the frame of the GEIRD study (Gene Environment Interactions in Respiratory Diseases) 10,494 subjects, randomly selected from the general population aged 20-44 years in seven Italian centres, answered a screening questionnaire between 2007 and 2010 (response percentage = 57.

Longterm follow-up in European respiratory health studies - patterns and implications.

Background: Selection bias is a systematic error in epidemiologic studies that may seriously distort true measures of associations between exposure and disease. Observational studies are highly susceptible to selection bias, and researchers should therefore always examine to what extent selection bias may be present in their material and what characterizes the bias in their material. In the present study we examined long-term participation and consequences of loss to follow-up in the studies Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE), Italian centers of European Community Respiratory Health Survey (I-ECRHS), and the Italian Study on Asthma in Young Adults (ISAYA).

Outdoor formaldehyde and NO2 exposures and markers of genotoxicity in children living near chipboard industries.

Background: Industrial air pollution is a public health hazard. Previous evidence documented increased respiratory symptoms and hospitalizations in children who live near the factories in the largest chipboard manufacturing district in Italy (Viadana).

Objectives: We evaluated the association of outdoor exposure to formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with markers of early genotoxic damage in oral mucosa cells of randomly selected children (6-12 years of age) living in Viadana.

Association of ambient air pollution with the prevalence and incidence of COPD.

The role of air pollution in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains uncertain. The aim was to assess the impact of chronic exposure to air pollution on COPD in four cohorts using the standardised ESCAPE exposure estimates. Annual average particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and road traffic exposure were assigned to home addresses using land-use regression models.

Febrile and gynecological infections during pregnancy are associated with a greater risk of childhood eczema.

Background: Mounting evidence suggests that fetal exposures may exert long-term effects on the function of the skin and of the immune system. This study aimed at assessing whether maternal complications during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of eczema during childhood.

Methods: The associations between hypertension/preeclampsia, febrile infections, or gynecological infections during pregnancy and the occurrence of childhood eczema were studied in a population (n = 3907) of children, aged 3-14 yrs, living in Italy.

The level of control of mild asthma in general practice: an observational community-based study.

Objective: The aim of the present community-based study was to evaluate the level of asthma control in patients with mild asthma, regularly treated with inhaled steroids (ICS).

Method: This observational cross-sectional study included patients registered in the general practitioner (GP) database and with at least three prescriptions of ICS in the last 12 months. Patients were asked to refer to the doctor's office for a standardised interview.