A systematic review of maternal smoking during pregnancy and fetal measurements with meta-analysis.

Background: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is linked to reduced birth weight but the gestation at onset of this relationship is not certain. We present a systematic review of the literature describing associations between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ultrasound measurements of fetal size, together with an accompanying meta-analysis.

Methods: Studies were selected from electronic databases (OVID, EMBASE and Google Scholar) that examined associations between maternal smoking or smoke exposure and antenatal fetal ultrasound measurements.

Effect of environmental phthalate exposure on pregnancy duration and birth outcomes.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of phthalate exposure on pregnancy duration and birth outcomes based on the Polish Mother and Child Cohort (REPRO_PL).

Material And Methods: Phthalate exposure was determined by measuring 11 phthalate metabolites (mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-iso-butyl phthalate (MiBP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), 3OH-mono-n-butyl phthalate (OH-MnBP), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono‑ (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono-hydroxy-iso-nonyl phthalate (MHiNP), mono-oxo-iso-nonyl phthalate (MOiNP), and mono-n-octyl phthalate (MOP)) in the urine collected from 165 mothers during the third trimester of pregnancy by high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The following measures at birth were considered: gestational age, birth weight, length as well as head and chest circumference.

Predictors of short- and long-term sickness absence in female post office workers in Poland.

Background: The aim of this study was to highlight major predictors of the frequency of sickness absence in a group of workers directly involved in customer service.

Material And Methods: The study was carried out on a random sample of 229 women employed as assistants and clerks in post offices. The survey was based on the Subjective Work, Health Status and Life Style Characteristics Questionnaire, and sickness absence data for the years 2004-2006.

Exposure to widespread environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals and human sperm sex ratio.

In recent years, a trend toward a declining proportion of male births has been noted in several, but not all, industrialized countries. The underlying reason for the drop in the sex ratio is unclear, but one theory states that widespread environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals affecting the male reproductive system in a negative manner could be part of the explanation. The present study was designed to investigate whether the urinary phthalate, pyrethroids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites concentrations were associated with sperm Y:X ratio.

Dietary Patterns and the Frequency of Disomy in Human Sperm.

Objectives: To determine whether dietary patterns are associated with the frequency of sperm aneuploidy in a human sperm. It was shown that the role of nutrition, especially dietary pattern, remains unexamined as a risk factor in sperm aneuploidy. In contrast to the traditional analytical approach used in nutritional epidemiology, dietary pattern analysis considers overall diet rather than individual nutrients or foods.

Selenium status during pregnancy and child psychomotor development-Polish Mother and Child Cohort study.

Background: The studies on the impact of selenium (Se) levels in different pregnancy periods on child psychomotor functions are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of prenatal Se on child neurodevelopment.

Methods: The study population consisted of 410 mother-child pairs from Polish Mother and Child Cohort.

Dietary Patterns and Their Relationship With Semen Quality.

Diet is a complex exposure variable, which calls for multiple approaches to examine the relationship between diet and disease risk. To address these issues, several authors have recently proposed studying overall dietary patterns by considering how foods and nutrients are consumed in combinations. The aim of the study was to investigate the associations between dietary patterns, semen quality parameters, and the level of reproductive hormones.

Endotoxin exposure and changes in short-term pulmonary function among sewage workers.

Objectives: The inhaled endotoxin is considered as a causative factor in the process of acute bronchial obstruction, which can be measured by a decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). The aim of this study was to assess endotoxin exposure among sewage treatment plant workers (STPW) and its effect on across-shift changes in respiratory airflow.

Material And Methods: A group of 78 STPW from a large sewage treatment plant was studied.

Exposure to ambient air pollution--does it affect semen quality and the level of reproductive hormones?

Background: Ambient air pollution has been associated with a variety of reproductive disorders. However, a limited amount of research has been conducted to examine the association between air pollution and male reproductive outcomes, specifically semen quality.

Aim: The present study was designed to address the hypothesis that exposure to fluctuating levels of specific air pollutants adversely affects sperm parameters and the level of reproductive hormones.

Association of Rotating Night Shift Work with BMI and Abdominal Obesity among Nurses and Midwives.

Background: Mounting epidemiological evidence suggests that night shift work may contribute to the etiology of increased body weight. The present study aimed to examine association between rotating night shift work and body mass index (BMI), and abdominal adiposity respectively among nurses and midwives.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 724 female nurses and midwives, aged 40-60 years (354 rotating night shift and 370 daytime workers) in Łódź, Poland, between 2008 and 2011.

Visible fungi growth and dampness assessed using a questionnaire versus airborne fungi, (1→3)-β-D-glucan and fungal spore concentrations in flats.

Introduction: The study aimed at determination of the usefulness of the subjective assessment of selected signs of fungi growth in flats and microclimate parameters to indicate the actual air contamination with culturable fungi, (1→3)-β-D-glucans and fungal spores.

Material And Methods: This analysis covered 22 flats, the inhabitants of which declared in a questionnaire interview the presence of the developed mycelium on solid surfaces in the flat. Air samples for determination of the culturable fungi, (1→3)-β-D-glucans and (viable and non-viable) fungal spores concentrations indoor and outdoor the flats during the heating period were collected.

Predictors of lung cancer among former asbestos-exposed workers.

Objectives: Despite extensive literature concerning the risk of lung cancer incidence among asbestos workers there is still lack of data specifying the association between the level of exposure and the frequency of cancer occurrence. The aim of the analysis was to assess the influence of smoking and selected factors related to occupational exposure on the risk of the incidence of lung cancer among the workers who were exposed to asbestos dust in the past.

Material And Methods: The assessment was performed based on the case-control studies carried out within a cohort including 7,374 former workers of asbestos processing plants, examined over the years 2000-2013.

Asbestos related diseases among workers of asbestos processing plants in relation to type of production and asbestos use.

Background: Asbestos dust is one of the most dangerous pneumoconiotic and carcinogenic agents. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of asbestosis and pleural mesothelioma, depending on asbestos consumption and the type of manufactured products, among former asbestos workers in Poland.

Material And Methods: The study subjects included employees of 18 large state-owned asbestos processing enterprises operating in the Polish market in 1945-1998.

Maternal lifestyle during pregnancy and child psychomotor development - Polish Mother and Child Cohort study.

Background: Nowadays special attention is paid to prenatal exposures to maternal lifestyle factors and their impact on a child development.

Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of modifiable maternal lifestyle factors on child neurodevelopment based on the Polish Mother and Child Cohort study.

Material And Methods: The current analysis included 538 mother-child pairs.

Human sperm aneuploidy after exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was associated with sperm aneuploidy. A sample of 181 men who attended an infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes and who had a normal semen concentration of 20-300×106 spermatozoa mL-1 or slight oligozoospermia (semen concentration of 15-20×106 spermatozoa mL-1; View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The association between environmental exposure to pyrethroids and sperm aneuploidy.

The aim of the present study is to determine whether the environmental exposure to pyrethroids was associated with males sperm chromosome disomy. The study population consisted of 195 men who attended the infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes and who had normal semen concentration of 20-300×10(6) mL(-1) or slight oligozoospermia (semen concentration of 15-20×10(6) mL(-1)) (WHO, 1999). Participants were interviewed and provided a semen sample.

[Occupational diseases in Poland in 2013 and their causative agents].

Background: The paper presents the incidence of occupational diseases in Poland (2013).

Material And Methods: Occupational disease reporting forms, supplied to the Central Register of Occupational Diseases, were used as the study material. The incidence was specified in terms of rates per 100 000 employed people.

Semen quality and the level of reproductive hormones after environmental exposure to pyrethroids.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether the environmental exposure to pyrethroids affects semen quality and the level of reproductive hormones in men.

Methods: The study population consisted of 334 men who attended the infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes and who had normal semen concentration of 15 to 300 mln/mL. Participants were interviewed and provided a semen sample.

The effect of environmental exposure to pyrethroids and DNA damage in human sperm.

The present study was designed to investigate whether environmental exposure to pyrethroids was associated with sperm DNA damage. Between January 2008 and April 2011 286 men under 45 years of age with a normal sperm concentration of 15-300 10(6)/ml [WHO 2010] were recruited from an infertility clinic in Lodz, Poland. Participants were interviewed and provided urine, saliva, and semen samples.

Rotating night shift work, sleep quality, selected lifestyle factors and prolactin concentration in nurses and midwives.

The pattern of secretion of many hormones, including prolactin, is dependent on the circadian rhythm. Night shift work involves exposure to artificial light at night and sleep deficiency, which in turn can affect prolactin synthesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible association between night shift work characteristics, sleep quality, lifestyle factors and prolactin concentration, using data from a cross-sectional study of nurses and midwives.

Risk factors for the development of atopic dermatitis and early wheeze.

A global assessment of allergic diseases and prenatal and postnatal exposure to various environmental risk factors is needed to enable early prevention of allergic diseases. This study was designed to evaluate an inner-city urban birth cohort to identify early environmental factors associated with atopic dermatitis and food allergy, as well as the incidence of wheezing during the 1st year of life. We evaluated 501 children from the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study (2007-2011).

Night shift work and modifiable lifestyle factors.

Objectives: Night shift work has been linked to some chronic diseases. Modification of lifestyle by night work may partially contribute to the development of these diseases, nevertheless, so far epidemiological evidence is limited. The aim of the study was to explore association between night shift work and lifestyle factors using data from a cross-sectional study among blue-collar workers employed in industrial plants in Łódź, Poland.

Rotating night shift work and physical activity of nurses and midwives in the cross-sectional study in Łódź, Poland.

Shift work have been thought to restrict participation in leisure time activities, but the knowledge about physical activity in rotating night shift nurses has been limited so far. We investigated the associations between the rotating night shift work and physical activity using data from a cross-sectional study among nurses and midwives. This study included 354 nurses and midwives (aged 40-60) currently working rotating night shifts and 371 ones working days only.

Lifestyle factors and sperm aneuploidy.

Different environmental and lifestyle factors may interfere with the normal disjunction of sister chromatids/chromosomes during meiosis and may cause aneuploidy. The aim of the study was to examine the association between lifestyle factors and sperm aneuploidy. The study population consisted of 212 healthy men under 45 years of age attending an infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes and who had a normal semen concentration of 20-300×10⁶mL or slight oligozoospermia (semen concentration of 15-20×10⁶/mL).

Effect of prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure on birth outcomes: the Polish mother and child cohort study.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of PAH exposure on various anthropometric measures of birth outcomes. The study population consisted of 210 nonsmoking pregnant women. Urine samples collected between 20th and 24th week of pregnancy were used for analysis of the following PAH metabolites: 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 9-hydroxyphenanthrene (1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 9-OH-PHE), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-PYR), 1,6 + 1,8-dihydroxypyrene (DI-OH-PYR), phenanthrene trans-1,2-dihydrodiol (PHE-1,2-diol), and phenanthrene trans-9,10-dihydrodiol (PHE-9,10-diol) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.