Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and improper nutritional status among adolescents.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components is a growing issue, including pediatric populations. However, because of many definitions used, it is difficult to assess the true frequency of these problems. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of MetS and its components as well as the frequency of problems with inadequate nutritional status among adolescents. One hundred ninety-six teenagers aged 15-18 years, living in Krakow and its vicinity were examined including measurement of blood pressure, anthropometric parameters and blood levels of cholesterol and glucose. The prevalence of MetS was low and varied from 0.5% to 2.0% depending on the definition. Based on Cook's definition of MetS, the most common components were hypertension (12.8%) and hypertriglyceridemia (12.8%). Improper body weight (based on BMI) was found in 23.5% of adolescents, including 5.1% underweight, and 18.4% overweight or obese. According to the body fat percentage (BF%), 45.8% of the boys were underfat and 6.3% had too much body fat, while only 4% of the girls were below the BF% reference values and 15% above. All girls and 86.5% of boys had too low total body water. In conclusion, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in population of Krakow adolescents was relatively low, but more than 12% of the adolescents had a hypertension or hypertriglyceridemia. Based on BMI most of adolescents were found to have adequate body weight, but examination of fat content in the body high prevalence of underfat was observed, especially among boys.

Biomarkers for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human excreta: recent advances in analytical techniques-a review.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants that are generated by the incomplete combustion of organic materials. The main anthropogenic sources of PAHs are the combustion of solid fuels for heating purposes, illegal waste incineration, road transport and industries based on fossil fuels. PAHs can easily enter the body because they are present in all elements of the environment, including water, soil, air, and food. Due to their ubiquitous presence, PAHs, may exert a harmful effect on human health. Assessing PAH exposure through biomonitoring mostly involve techniques to measure the concentration of 1-hydroxypyrene in human urine. Nevertheless, through recent progress in analytical techniques, other common metabolites of PAHs in human biospecimens can be detected. A scientific literature search was conducted to determine which hydroxy derivatives of PAHs are markers of PAHs exposure and to reveal the leading sources of these compounds. Techniques for analyzing biological samples to identify OH-PAHs are also discussed. The most frequently determined OH-PAH in human urine is 1-hydroxypyrene, the concentration of which reaches up to a dozen ng/L in urine. Apart from this compound, the most frequently determined biomarkers were naphthalene and fluorene metabolites. The highest concentrations of 1- and 2-hydroxynaphthalene, as well as 2-hydroxyfluorene, are associated with occupational exposure and reach approximately 30 ng/L in urine. High molecular weight PAH metabolites have been identified in only a few studies. To date, PAH metabolites in feces have been analyzed only in animal models for PAH exposure. The most frequently used analytical method is HPLC-FLD. However, compared to liquid chromatography, the LOD for gas chromatography methods is at least one order of magnitude lower. The hydroxy derivatives naphthalene and fluorene may also serve as indicators of PAH exposure.

Corrigendum: SARS-CoV-2 antibody response after mRNA vaccination in healthcare workers with and without previous COVID-19, a follow-up study from the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1071204.].

SARS-CoV-2 antibody response after mRNA vaccination in healthcare workers with and without previous COVID-19, a follow-up study from a university hospital in Poland during 6 months 2021.

Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCWs) from the beginning of the pandemic have been at risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, so they were vaccinated as first. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to determine the level of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in HCWs before and after vaccination with mRNA preparations according to previous COVID- 19. Patients and methods: The HCWs from the University Hospital in Krakow completed two surveys: the baseline survey before receiving the first dose of vaccine (in January 2021) and the follow-up survey in June 2021. In parallel, two blood samples were collected from each participant at baseline and at follow-up. Total anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were measured using the ECLIA technique. Results: At baseline, 41.1% of HCWs had positive antibody test results, and at follow-up, the vaccinated HCWs had almost 100 times higher antibody levels than the unvaccinated HCWs. Participants under 30 years of age had significantly higher antibody levels in June than older HCWs. Among participants with positive antibody test results in January, HCWs who had experienced asymptomatic COVID-19 had more than five times higher antibody levels in June than HCWs self-reported severe COVID-19. In total, 86.9% of HCWs received Comirnaty or Spikevax. The incidence rate of COVID-19 in the unvaccinated vs. vaccinated group was 13 times higher, 20.5% and 1.9% respectively. Conclusions: These results confirm the effectiveness of vaccination in the prevention of COVID-19 in HCWs. It is worth getting vaccinated regardless of previous infection. Furthermore, vaccination among HCWs under 30 years of age induced more effective antibody production compared to older individuals.

Preferring fried dishes increases risk of benign breast disease, but not breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy diet and cooking method used may influence the risk of breast cancer (BC), but there is only limited evidence with regard to benign breast disease (BBD). The aim of this study was to assess a relationship between cooking technique, especially fried to boiled meals ratio in the diet, and the risk of BC and BBD in a group of Polish women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A case-control study involving 34 BC cases, 81 BBD cases and 122 healthy controls was conducted between July 2007 and November 2011. All the women were asked about their nutritional habits, especially the way of preparing meat and fish dishes. Then the ratio of fried to boiled meals was calculated. RESULTS: High fried to boiled ratio was associated with increasing risk of BBD, but not BC. Women consuming fried dishes more often than boiled dishes had elevated risk of BBD: OR = 3.04 and OR = 3.65 for the second and the third tertile, respectively. Adjustment for the other confounders only slightly altered this relationship. CONCLUSION: Women who preferred frying as a cooking technique had increased risk of benign breast disease, but not breast cancer. There is a need of more precise investigation to confirm this association.

Body weight and quality of life among adolescents in Krakow.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between body weight and the quality of life among adolescents in Krakow, Poland. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study comprised 1291 pupils - 632 girls and 659 boys from 17 Krakow middle schools. Their quality of life (QoL) was assessed by means of the Polish version of the KIDSCREEN-27 questionnaire. Five dimensions of QoL were analyzed as low, average and high QoL according to Polish cut-off points. The body mass index (BMI) of the adolescents was classified as underweight, normal weight, or excessive weight according to Polish growth charts. RESULTS: Low QoL was observed significantly more often in girls than in boys. Excessive weight among both girls and boys was found to be a risk factor for low QoL in the "Physical Well-being" dimension as compared to normal weight adolescents. Additionally, boys with excessive weight had a two-fold higher risk of low QoL in the "Social Support % Peers" dimension (OR=2.00; 95%CI:1.14-3.50). Underweight was associated with higher risk of low QoL in the "Physical Well-being", "Autonomy & Parents", and "Social Support % Peers" dimensions, but only among boys. CONCLUSIONS: Both, underweight and excessive weight were associated with low QoL. Excessive weight in youth was linked mainly with lower physical well-being. Underweight was a predictor of low QoL only among boys in the dimensions related to physical health, as well as relations with family and peers.

Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites among 3-year-old children from Krakow, Poland.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread in the environment and can adversely affect human health. The aim of the present study is to describe the level of PAHs exposure in children living in Kraków, one of the most polluted cities in Poland, and to determine the relationship of urinary biomarkers with environmental PAHsexposure. Urinary monohydroxy metabolites (OH-PAHs) of 20 PAHs were assessed in 218 three-year old children, of which only 10 were present in nearly all the samples: monohydroxy metabolites of naphthalene, fluorene, phenantrene and pyrene. Of the metabolites analyzed, hydroxynaphthalenes were predominant and constituted almost 73% of total excreted OH-PAHs, while 1-OH-PYRene was the least abundant (2.3% of total OH-PAHs). All measured urinary OH-PAHs were statistically significantly correlated with each other (R = 0.165-0.880) but the highest correlation coefficients with other individual OH-PAHs and with total OH-PAHs were observed for 2-OH-FLUOR. Children exposed at home to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) had higher concentrations of fluorene and pyrene urinary metabolites compared to those without ETS exposure; and those exposed to gas-based appliances used for cooking or heating water had higher levels of fluorene and phenanthrene metabolites than children not exposed. The use of coal, wood or oil for heating was associated with elevated levels of 1-OH-PYRene. Urinary PAHs metabolites only modestly reflect high molecular weight carcinogenic PAHs exposures such as those monitored in air in the present study. None of the measured PAHs metabolites was correlated with airborne PM2.5 and only two were slightly correlated with measured higher molecular mass airborne PAHs. The average concentrations of these specific metabolites in Polish children were much higher than observed in other pediatric populations living in developed countries. Our findings suggest that to capture various sources of PAHs, in addition to 1-OH-PYRene, biomonitoring of PAHs exposure should include 2-OH-NAP and 2-OH-FLUOR.

Relative validity of a semi-quantitative FFQ in 3-year-old Polish children.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the relative validity of a semi-quantitative FFQ (SFFQ) which measures the usual dietary intake of 3-year-old children. DESIGN: The children's daily dietary intake was measured using the SFFQ. The average intake of three 24 h dietary recalls (24hDR) was calculated as a reference method. Wilcoxon's rank test and Spearman's rank-correlation coefficient were used to compare nutrient intakes assessed by both methods. The level of agreement between the SFFQ and the repeated 24hDR was determined by the Bland-Altman method. To assess the agreement in quartile distribution, the weighted kappa coefficient (κ w) was used. SETTING: Krakow, Poland. SUBJECTS: One hundred and forty-three 3-year-old children and their mothers, participants of a prospective cohort study. RESULTS: Overall, the SFFQ overestimated energy and nutrient intakes compared with the repeated 24hDR. The median correlation coefficient for energy and nutrient intakes was 0·456, with higher results for Ca, P and riboflavin. Although the κ w value showed only slight to fair agreement between the two methods, about 75 % of the children were classified into the same or adjacent quartile and the level of agreement assessed by the Bland-Altman method for most of the nutrients investigated was good. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicated that the SFFQ might be a useful tool to assess dietary intakes of nutrients by small children, especially for ranking them according their nutrient intake.

Does dietary calcium interact with dietary fiber against colorectal cancer? A case-control study in Central Europe.

BACKGROUND: An unfavorable trend of increasing rates of colorectal cancer has been observed across modern societies. In general, dietary factors are understood to be responsible for up to 70% of the disease's incidence, though there are still many inconsistencies regarding the impact of specific dietary items. Among the dietary minerals, calcium intake may play a crucial role in the prevention. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of intake of higher levels of dietary calcium on the risk of developing of colorectal cancer, and to evaluate dose dependent effect and to investigate possible effect modification. METHODS: A hospital based case-control study of 1556 patients (703 histologically confirmed colon and rectal incident cases and 853 hospital-based controls) was performed between 2000-2012 in Krakow, Poland. The 148-item semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess dietary habits and level of nutrients intake was used. Data regarding possible covariates was also collected. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, gender, education, consumption of fruits, raw and cooked vegetables, fish, and alcohol, as well as for intake of fiber, vitamin C, dietary iron, lifetime recreational physical activity, BMI, smoking status, and taking mineral supplements, an increase in the consumption of calcium was associated with the decrease of colon cancer risk (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.98 for every 100 mg Ca/day increase). Subjects consumed >1000 mg/day showed 46% decrease of colon cancer risk (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.35-0.83). The effect of dietary calcium was modified by dietary fiber (p for interaction =0.015). Finally, consistent decrease of colon cancer risk was observed across increasing levels of dietary calcium and fiber intake. These relationships were not proved for rectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The study confirmed the effect of high doses of dietary calcium against the risk of colon cancer development. This relationship was observed across different levels of dietary fiber, and the beneficial effect of dietary calcium depended on the level of dietary fiber suggesting modification effect of calcium and fiber. Further efforts are needed to confirm this association, and also across higher levels of dietary fiber intake.

Higher fish consumption in pregnancy may confer protection against the harmful effect of prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The objective of this study was to assess a hypothesized beneficial effect of fish consumption during the last trimester of pregnancy on adverse birth outcomes resulting from prenatal exposure to fine air particulate matter. METHODS: The cohort consisted of 481 nonsmoking women with singleton pregnancies, of 18-35 years of age, who gave birth at term. All recruited women were asked about their usual diet over the period of pregnancy. Measurements of particulate matter less than 2.5 mum in size (PM(2.5)) were carried out by personal air monitoring over 48 h during the second trimester of pregnancy. The effect of PM(2.5) and fish intake during gestation on the birth weight of the babies was estimated from multivariable linear regression models, which beside the main independent variables considered a set of potential confounding factors such as the size of the mother (height, prepregnancy weight), maternal education, parity, the gender of the child, gestational age and the season of birth. RESULTS: The study showed that the adjusted birth weight was significantly lower in newborns whose mothers were exposed to particulate matter greater than 46.3 microg/m3 (beta coefficient = -97.02, p = 0.032). Regression analysis stratified by the level of maternal fish consumption (in tertiles) showed that the deficit in birth weight amounted to 133.26 g (p = 0.052) in newborns whose mothers reported low fish intake (<91 g/week). The birth weight deficit in newborns whose mothers reported medium (91-205 g/week) or higher fish intake (>205 g/week) was insignificant. The interaction term between PM(2.5) and fish intake levels was also insignificant (beta = -107,35, p = 0.215). Neither gestational age nor birth weight correlated with maternal fish consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a higher consumption of fish by women during pregnancy may reduce the risk of adverse effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants and highlight the fact that a full assessment of adverse birth outcomes resulting from prenatal exposure to ambient hazards should consider maternal nutrition during pregnancy.

Case-control study on beneficial effect of regular consumption of apples on colorectal cancer risk in a population with relatively low intake of fruits and vegetables.

Laboratory in-vitro studies and animal experiments showing the potential health benefits from apples raises the question to what extent the regular consumption of apples in humans may have a beneficial effect on colorectal cancer risk. A total of 592 incident cases of colorectal cancer have been enrolled in a hospital-based case-control study. The comparison group included 765 controls chosen from the patients of the same hospital without history of cancer and admitted for treatment of nonneoplastic conditions. Interviews of both cases and controls were conducted in the hospital setting by trained interviewers. The median intake of fruits among cases was lower than in controls (9.5 vs. 11 servings/week) and the difference was statistically significant. Apples were the most frequent fruit consumed by the study participants and about 80% of variability in the total fruit consumption resulted from the intake of apples. We did not observe any significant statistical differences in consumption of berries, citrus, or stone fruits and other kinds of fruits across cases and controls. The adjusted estimates of colorectal cancer risk related to the daily consumption of apples (in quintiles) were based on the unconditional multivariate logistic model, which considered the set of potential confounding variables such as demographic characteristics of participants (age, gender, place of residency, marital status, tobacco smoking), total energy intake, intake of vegetables and fruits without apples. The results of the logistic analysis showed that the adjusted risk of colorectal cancer inversely correlated with daily number of apple servings. The reduced risk of colorectal cancer of border significance level was already observed at the consumption of at least one apple a day (odds ratio=0.65, 95% CI: 0.39-1.09), but at the intake of more than one apple a day the risk was reduced by about 50% (odds ratio=0.53, 95% CI: 0.35-0.79). Neither the consumption of vegetables nor other fruits have shown beneficial effects on the risk of colorectal cancer. The observed protective effect of apple consumption on colorectal risk may result from their rich content of flavonoid and other polyphenols, which can inhibit cancer onset and cell proliferation.

[Nutritional status of pregnant women and birth outcome]. / Stan odzywienia kobiet ciezarnych a cechy rozwoju somatycznego noworodków.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine whether nutritional status of pregnant women influences the birth outcome. METHODS: A prospective study, conducted in Krakow, in 382 non-smoking, no obese pregnant women between the ages of 18 - 35. The course of pregnancy was uncomplicated, finished with natural labor, in biological time limits. The impact of mother's nutritional status before pregnancy and weight gain on newborns weight, length and head circumference was estimated by multivariate linear regression. RESULTS: The infant birth weight depended on mothers nutritional status before pregnancy and was lower in the group of underweight subjects (3381.6 g vs. 3479.9 g, p = 0.022). Women with low increase in body mass during pregnancy delivered newborns with lower anthropometrics parameters. The increase in body weight of one category resulted in statistically significant increase of birth weight by 140.9 g, increase of length by 0.51 cm and in head circumference by 0.27 cm. CONCLUSIONS: Increase in body mass during pregnancy is particularly important in the group of women underweight before pregnancy. Change of nutritional habits before and in the course of pregnancy may have beneficial effects for intrauterine fetal development.

Modulating effects of maternal fish consumption on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms in early infancy attributed to prenatal exposure to fine particles.

The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis whether infants with higher prenatal exposure to fine particles (PM(2.5)) are at greater risk of developing respiratory symptoms and whether fish consumption in pregnancy may modulate the effect. The study was carried out in a cohort of 465 newborns in Krakow (Poland) who have been followed over the first 2 years of life and for whom data on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms and measurements of personal air monitoring in the second trimester of pregnancy were available. The incidence risk ratio (IRR) of respiratory symptoms due to prenatal PM(2.5) exposure were adjusted for potential confounders (gender of child, breastfeeding, parity, maternal atopy, maternal education as a proxy for the socio-economic status, exposure to postnatal environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and moulds in households) in the generalized estimating equations (GEE) statistical models. The adjusted risk of coughing was associated significantly with PM(2.5) level (IRR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.77-3.58), moulds in the household, parity, maternal atopy and postnatal ETS, but was lower in girls, and in infants whose mothers consumed more fish in pregnancy (IRR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.79-0.91). The risk of wheezing was also correlated significantly with the prenatal exposure to PM(2.5) (IRR = 1.36; 95% CI: 1.29-1.43) but also with the presence of moulds in homes, parity, maternal atopy and postnatal ETS. The occurrence of wheezing was associated inversely with the gender of child, gestational age, and fish consumption in pregnancy (IRR = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95-0.99). Similarly, the risk of difficult (puffy) breathing increased with prenatal exposure to PM(2.5) (IRR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.12-1.25) moulds, maternal atopy, and parity. The symptom occurrence was lower in girls and associated inversely with the gestational age, and fish consumption in pregnancy (IRR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.92-0.97). The results of the study support the hypothesis that fish consumption in pregnancy may mitigate the harmful effect of prenatal or perinatal exposure to components of PM(2.5) resulting in an increased burden of respiratory infections among infants.

Protective effect of fish consumption on colorectal cancer risk. Hospital-based case-control study in Eastern Europe.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Current epidemiologic studies investigating the effect of fish intake on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk are scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between fish consumption and CRC risk. METHODS: This hospital-based case-control study was performed in 548 CRC patients (Surgery Clinic, University Hospital in Krakow, Poland) between November 2000 and May 2008. Histological findings, information on anatomic location and stage of cancer were available for all the patients enrolled in this study. The control group consisted of 745 patients of the same hospital with no history of cancer admitted for treatment of non-neoplastic conditions. During the 5-year study period, the food frequency questionnaire used focused on the reference period that was defined as 1-5 years prior to CRC diagnosis for the CRC cases and the date of hospital admission for the controls. RESULTS: The crude odds ratio (OR) was inversely related to fish consumption (z for trend in quartiles of intake= -2.31, p=0.021; OR=0.89; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.81-0.98). The risk of CRC increased with intake of stewed or cooked meat (z for trend in quartiles of intake=2.14; p=0.032; OR=1.11; 95% CI: 1.01-1.23). The adjusted OR showed a significant reduction in CRC already at the moderate fish intake of one or two servings per week (OR=0.70; 95% CI: 0.51-0.94), but it was even lower at higher fish intake (OR=0.56; 95% CI: 0.39-0.86). All multivariate statistical models employed in the analysis considered potential confounders, such as demographic characteristics of subjects, body mass index, smoking status, leisure time physical activity, energy consumption and intake of meat products. CONCLUSIONS: The study results indicate that increased fish intake may have a preventive effect on CRC and modulate the effect of meat consumption. To our knowledge, this is the first large epidemiologic study on dietary habits and CRC incidence in Eastern Europe.

Personal exposure to fine particles and benzo[a]pyrene. Relation with indoor and outdoor concentrations of these pollutants in Kraków.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed personal exposure of pregnant women to fine particles (PM(25)) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and the relationship between pollutant concentrations in ambient and indoor air. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a group of 78 pregnant women, simultaneous 48 h measurements of personal, indoor, and outdoor exposure to PM(25) and B[a]P were carried out in the second trimester of pregnancy. The results show that participants were exposed to varying concentrations of PM(25) and B[a]P, with higher exposure in the winter season. Overall, the mean personal PM(25) level was 30.4 microg/m(3) and B[a]P 2.1 ng/m(3). The winter/summer ratios for mean personal exposures were 1.4 (35.6 microg/m(3) vs. 25.8 microg/m(3)) and 5.4 (4.9 ng/m(3) vs. 0.9 ng/m(3)), respectively. As for indoor levels, the winter/summer ratios were 1.4 (33.2 microg/m(3) vs. 24.4 microg/m(3)) for PM(25) and 5.4 (4.3 ng/m(3) vs. 0.8 ng/m(3)) for B[a]P, and for outdoor concentrations, the respective values were 1.5 (40.3 microg/m(3) vs. 26.4 microg/m(3), and 6.8 (6.1 ng/m(3) vs 0.9 ng/m(3)). A stronger correlation was found between personal PM(25) exposure and the pollutant concentration indoors (r = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.83-0.93) than outdoors (r = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.64-0.83). The correlations between personal B[a]P exposure and its indoor or outdoor levels were similar (0.95-0.96) and significant. The markedly higher exposure to B[a]P in Kraków in winter than in summer can be explained by the massive use of coal for heating in the cold season. CONCLUSION: We conclude that although ambient PM(25) measurements provide an adequate indicator of outdoor air quality for use in epidemiologic studies, they may not be adequate for studies on relationship between non-ambient pollution and health effects. Since only about 20% of variability in personal B[a]P exposure could be explained by personal PM(25) level, the extrapolation of personal exposure to B[a]P from personal PM(25) data may be greatly underestimated.

Variability of total exposure to PM2.5 related to indoor and outdoor pollution sources Krakow study in pregnant women.

The study is a part of an ongoing prospective cohort study on the relationship between the exposure to environmental factors during pregnancy and birth outcomes and health of newborns. We have measured personal PM(2.5) level in the group of 407 non-smoking pregnant women during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy. On average, the participants from the city center were exposed to higher exposure than those from the outer city area (GM=42.0 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 36.8-48.0 vs. 35.8 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 33.5-38.2 microg/m(3)). More than 20% of study subjects were affected by high level of PM(2.5) pollution (above 65 microg/m(3)). PM(2.5) concentrations were higher during the heating season (GM=43.4 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 40.1-46.9 microg/m(3)) compared to non-heating season (GM=29.8 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 27.5-32.2 microg/m(3)). Out of all potential outdoor air pollution sources (high traffic density, bus depot, waste incinerator, industry etc.) considered in the bivariate analysis, only the proximity of industrial plant showed significant impact on the personal exposure (GM=54.3 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 39.4-74.8 microg/m(3)) compared with corresponding figure for those who did not declare living near the industrial premises (GM=36.2 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 34.1-38.4 microg/m(3)). The subjects declaring high exposure to ETS (>10 cigarettes daily) have shown very high level of personal exposure (GM=88.8 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 73.9-106.7 microg/m(3)) compared with lower ETS exposure (< or =10 cigarettes) (GM=46.3 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 40.0-53.5 microg/m(3)) and no-ETS exposure group (GM=33.9 microg/m(3), 95% CI: 31.8-36.1 microg/m(3)). The contribution of the background ambient PM(10) level was very strong determinant of the total personal exposure to PM(2.5) and it explained about 31% of variance between the subjects followed by environmental tobacco smoke (10%), home heating by coal/wood stoves (2%), other types of heating (2%) and the industrial plant localization in the proximity of household (1%).

Effects of prenatal exposure to mercury on cognitive and psychomotor function in one-year-old infants: epidemiologic cohort study in Poland.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study is to assess the cognitive and psychomotor status of 1-year-old infants whose mothers were exposed to low, but varying, amounts of mercury during pregnancy. METHODS: Mercury levels in cord and maternal blood at delivery were used to assess prenatal environmental exposure to mercury. Bayley Scales of Infant Development were used to assess neurobehavioral health outcomes. The cohort consisted of 233 infants who were born at 33 to 42 weeks of gestation between January 2001 and March 2003 to mothers attending ambulatory prenatal clinics in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Enrollment included only nonsmoking women with singleton pregnancies between the ages of 18 and 35 years who were free from chronic diseases. RESULTS: The geometric mean (GM) for maternal blood mercury level for the group of infants with normal neurocognitive performance was lower (GM = 0.52 mug/L; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46-0.58) than that observed in the group with delayed performance (GM = 0.75 mug/L; 95% CI, 0.59-0.94), and this difference was significant (p = 0.010). The GM of cord blood mercury level in the normal group also was lower (GM = 0.85 mug/L; 95% CI, 0.78-0.93) than that observed in the group with delayed performance (GM = 1.05 mug/L; 95% CI, 0.87-1.27), and this difference was of borderline significance (p = 0.070). The relative risk (RR) for delayed performance increased more than threefold (RR = 3.58; 95% CI, 1.40-9.14) if cord blood mercury level was greater than 0.80 mug/L. Risk for delayed performance in the group of infants with greater maternal mercury levels (>0.50 mug/L) also was significantly greater (RR = 2.82; 95% CI, 1.17-6.79) compared with children whose mothers had mercury levels less than 0.50 mug/L. CONCLUSIONS: The results may be of public health importance because delayed psychomotor or mental performance in infants is assumed to be an indicator of later neurocognitive development in children, which may persist into adult life.

[Intake of pharmacologic supplements of vitamins and minerals during pregnancy. Survey conducted in Krakow]. / Farmakologiczna suplementacja witaminami i skladnikami mineralnymi w okresie ciqay. Badania epidemiologiczne w Krakowie.

The aim of this study was to describe pharmacological supplements during pregnancy in the sample of 406 nonsmoking women, residents of Krakow. Multivitamins' supplements were taken by 79.1%, folic acid by 41.4%, magnesium by 23.9% and iron only by 14.5% of the study group. Our results confirm that vitamin and mineral supplements, ferrum, folic acid and magnesium in particular, are inadequate in comparison to recommended intakes. Women with lower education (secondary school or lower) failed to supplement diet with multivitamins (OR = 5.74; 95% CI: 1.41-23.5) and folic acid (OR = 2.11; 95% CI: 1.22-3.66). Otherwise, health problems during the previous pregnancies and nulliparity have lowered pharmacological folic acid supplements (OR = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.21-0.97 and OR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.32-0.99, respectively). Results of our study show that diet assessed for pregnancy period does not meet nutritional requirements. Pharmacological supplementary intake of vitamins and minerals is also insufficient. It is advisable to popularize education concerning necessity and usefulness of vitamin and microelement supplementation during medical examinations in the childbearing age.