Publications by authors named "Sunyer J"

Background: The association between exposure to air pollutants and mental disorders among adults has been suggested, although results are not consistent.

Objective: To analyze the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and history of anxiety and depression disorders and of medication use (benzodiazepines and antidepressants) in adults living in Barcelona.

Methods: A total of 958 adults (45-74 years old) residents in Barcelona, most of them having at least one of their parents diagnosed with dementia (86%), and participating in the ALFA (Alzheimer and Families) study, were included.

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Background: Prenatal and postnatal exposure to air pollution has been linked to cognitive impairment in children, but very few studies have assessed its association with attentional function.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between prenatal and postnatal exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO) and attentional function in children at 4-5years of age.

Methods: We used data from four regions of the Spanish INMA-Environment and Childhood-Project, a population-based birth cohort.

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Objective: To evaluate the role of extracurricular physical activity and sedentary behavior at preschool and primary school age on working memory at primary school age and adolescence, respectively.

Study Design: This prospective study was based on a birth cohort across 4 Spanish regions. In the 3 younger subcohorts (n = 1093), parents reported lifestyle habits of child at age 4 years of age on a questionnaire, and children performed a computerized working memory task at 7 years of age.

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We assessed the effect of three different indices of urban built environment on allergic and respiratory conditions.This study involved 2472 children participating in the ongoing INMA birth cohort located in two bio-geographic regions (Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean) in Spain. Residential surrounding built environment was characterised as 1) residential surrounding greenness based on satellite-derived normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), 2) residential proximity to green spaces and 3) residential surrounding greyness based on urban land use patterns.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the molecular mechanisms behind the co-existence of asthma, eczema, and rhinitis (allergic multimorbidity), focusing on shared proteins and cellular processes.
  • Utilizing computational analysis, the research identifies a significant overlap in proteins associated with these diseases and reveals 15 key pathways, such as IL4 signaling, that contribute to their multimorbidity.
  • The findings highlight a cluster of allergic multimorbidity and suggest that type 2 signaling pathways play an important role, while also identifying new potential protein targets for treatment.
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Prospective longitudinal studies are essential in characterizing cognitive trajectories, yet few of them have been reported on the development of attention processes in children. We aimed to explore attention development in normal children and children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in a repeated measures design using the attention network test (ANT). The population sample included 2,835 children (49.

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The restrictive spirometric pattern is associated with a substantial morbidity and mortality burden. We sought to determine to what extent spirometric restriction is associated with impaired quality of life.We used data from two large population-based European cohorts: 6698 European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) and 6069 Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) adult participants.

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Background: The association between prenatal air pollution exposure and postnatal growth has hardly been explored. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), as a marker of oxidative stress, and growth at birth can play an intermediate role in this association.

Objective: In a subset of the Spanish birth cohort INMA we assessed first whether prenatal nitrogen dioxide (NO) exposure is associated with infant growth.

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Background: Results on the association between prenatal exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) and child neuropsychological development are heterogeneous. Underlying genetic differences across study populations could contribute to this varied response to MeHg. Studies in Drosophila have identified the cytochrome p450 3A (CYP3A) family as candidate MeHg susceptibility genes.

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BackgroundMaternal pre-pregnancy obesity may impair infant neuropsychological development, but it is unclear whether intrauterine or confounding factors drive this association.MethodsWe assessed whether maternal pre-pregnancy obesity was associated with neuropsychological development in 1,827 Spanish children. At 5 years, cognitive and psychomotor development was assessed using McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms using the Criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and autism spectrum disorder symptoms using the Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test.

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Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been proposed as environmental risk factors for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The effects of these pollutants on brain structures potentially involved in the pathophysiology of ADHD are unknown.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PAHs on basal ganglia volumes and ADHD symptoms in school children.

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In this research the levels of organochlorine compounds (OCs) and mercury (Hg) in several food items from Menorca Island were presented. The dietary exposure assessment was performed in children population from the island. Finally, body burden of OCs and Hg in these infants were associated with their dietary intakes of the selected food items.

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We studied cortical morphology in relation to sports participation and type of sport using a large sample of healthy children (n = 911). Sports participation data was collected through a parent-reported questionnaire. Magnetic resonance scans were acquired, and different morphological brain features were quantified.

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Evidence on the association between mode of delivery and asthma at school age is inconclusive. We assessed the associations between specific modes of delivery and asthma in children from 9 European birth cohorts that enrolled participants between 1996 and 2006. Cohort-specific crude and adjusted risk ratios for asthma at ages 5-9 years were calculated using Poisson regression models and pooled.

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Few consistent data are available in relation to the cognitive and neuropsychological processes involved in sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms. The objective of this study was to determine the association of working memory and attentional networks with SCT symptoms in primary schoolchildren. The participants were schoolchildren aged 7 to 10 years ( = 183) from primary schools in Catalonia (Spain).

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Purpose: To investigate the association between exposure to traffic-related air pollution and use of spectacles (as a surrogate measure for myopia) in schoolchildren.

Methods: We analyzed the impact of exposure to NO2 and PM2.5 light absorbance at home (predicted by land-use regression models) and exposure to NO2 and black carbon (BC) at school (measured by monitoring campaigns) on the use of spectacles in a cohort of 2727 schoolchildren (7-10 years old) in Barcelona (2012-2015).

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Background: It has been suggested that prenatal exposure to n-3 long-chain fatty acids protects against asthma and other allergy-related diseases later in childhood. The extent to which fish intake in pregnancy protects against child asthma and rhinitis symptoms remains unclear. We aimed to assess whether fish and seafood consumption in pregnancy is associated with childhood wheeze, asthma and allergic rhinitis.

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Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) exposure during childhood is associated with asthma; however, the contribution of the different TRAP pollutants in each microenvironment (home, school, transportation, others) in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children is unknown. Daily (24-h) personal black carbon (BC), ultrafine particle (UFP), and alveolar lung-deposited surface area (LDSA) individual exposure measurements were obtained from 100 children (29 past and 21 current asthmatics, 50 non-asthmatics) aged 9±0.7 years from the INMA-Sabadell cohort (Catalonia, Spain).

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Background: In 2003 the INMA-INfancia y Medio Ambiente (Environment and Childhood) project, a Spanish national network of birth cohorts including more than 3500 participants, was set up with the aim to assess the health impacts of pre- and postnatal environmental exposures on children. The project has published more than 60 papers on maternal and environmental factors related to neuropsychological development in children, one of the main research interests within the project. With the present review, we evaluate the evidence provided by the INMA project on this topic and discuss how the data can contribute to cover the challenges that children's environmental health research will face in the coming years.

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We studied dampness and mold in homes in relation to climate, building characteristics and socio-economic status (SES) across Europe, for 7127 homes in 22 centers. A subsample of 3118 homes was inspected. Multilevel analysis was applied, including age, gender, center, SES, climate, and building factors.

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Asthma, rhinitis, and eczema are complex diseases with multiple genetic and environmental factors interlinked through IgE-associated and non-IgE-associated mechanisms. Mechanisms of the Development of ALLergy (MeDALL; EU FP7-CP-IP; project no: 261357; 2010-2015) studied the complex links of allergic diseases at the clinical and mechanistic levels by linking epidemiologic, clinical, and mechanistic research, including in vivo and in vitro models. MeDALL integrated 14 European birth cohorts, including 44,010 participants and 160 cohort follow-ups between pregnancy and age 20 years.

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Background: Inconsistent associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) and outdoor air pollution have been reported in Europe, but methodological differences prevent any direct between-study comparison.

Objectives: Assess and compare the association between SEP and outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO) exposure as a marker of traffic exhaust, in 16 cities from eight Western European countries.

Methods: Three SEP indicators, two defined at individual-level (education and occupation) and one at neighborhood-level (unemployment rate) were assessed in three European multicenter cohorts.

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Commensal bacteria co-exist on the mucosal surfaces of all vertebrates. The host's mucosal immune system must tolerate commensals while fighting pathogens. One of the mechanisms used by the mucosal immune system to maintain homeostasis is the secretion of immunoglobulins (Igs) across epithelial barriers, which is achieved via the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR).

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