Maternal diet and the risk of hypospadias and cryptorchidism in the offspring.

Male genital tract birth defects have been associated in previous studies with several prenatal exposures to environmental and dietary risk factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between hypospadias and cryptorchidism, and the dietary habits of an agricultural population in Italy. A population-based case-control study was conducted in the Sicilian Province of Ragusa. Cases (n = 90) and controls (n = 202) included births for the period 1998-2002. Data on dietary habits of the mothers, as well as health-related social, occupational and environmental exposures prior to and during the index birth, were collected through interviews. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated by logistic regression after adjustment for confounding variables. Increased ORs were observed for mothers of children with hypospadias who, during pregnancy, frequently consumed fish (OR = 2.33 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03, 5.31]) and market-purchased fruit (OR = 5.10 [95% CI 1.31, 19.82]). For cryptorchidism, increased risk was observed in mothers consuming liver (OR = 5.21 [95% CI 1.26, 21.50]), and smoked products (OR = 2.46 [95% CI 1.15, 5.29]). For the two malformations pooled together, increased risk was associated with maternal consumption of liver (OR = 4.38 [95% CI 1.34, 14.26]) and with frequent consumption of wine (OR = 1.98 [95% CI 1.01, 3.86]). This study suggests that some maternal dietary factors may play a role in the development of congenital defects of the male reproductive tract. In particular, our data indicate that further research may be warranted on the endocrine-disrupting effects resulting from the bioaccumulation of contaminants (fish, liver), pesticides (marketed fruit, wine) and/or potentially toxic food components (smoked products, wine, liver).

[Testicular tumors in Italy: historical trends, geographic differences, and etiological hypotheses]. / Il tumore testicolare in Italia: andamento storico, differenze territoriali e ipotesi eziologiche.

Testicular cancer is a rare tumour. Its incidence has been increasing in many parts of the world during the last decades. This cancer has an unusual age distribution with one peak in incidence in young adults (aged 20-39) and a second peak in over 60. On the basis of the Italian Bureau of Statistics, mortality rate was higher in northern regions of the country compared to southern ones, up to the beginning of the 1980's. However, the progressive decline in mortality in all regions eliminated the geographical differences in recent years. Incidence rates obtained from the existing cancer Registries, confirm a strong geographical gradient, with higher rates in the North (ex. 5.1/100,000 in Parma in 1988-92) than in the South (ex. 1.1/100,000 in Ragusa in 1988-92). The comparison between incidence rates of two recent periods (1983-87 and 1988-92), showed an increase in most of the provinces for which data were available. The age distribution curve showed that testicular cancer occurs after puberty, with a peak in incidence among 30-34 year olds, and after the age of 60. These observations suggest the possible causative role of some environmental exposures. Epidemiological studies have found an association between some occupational exposures in industrial and agricultural settings and testicular cancer. Moreover some studies have found an association between parental occupation and testicular cancer in the offspring. However, the aetiology of testicular cancer is still poorly understood.