16 research outputs found
Key paediatric messages from Amsterdam
The Paediatric Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) maintained its high profile at the 2015 ERS International Congress in Amsterdam. There were symposia on preschool wheeze, respiratory sounds and cystic fibrosis; an educational skills workshop on paediatric respiratory resuscitation; a hot topic session on risk factors and early origins of respiratory diseases; a meet the expert session on paediatric lung function test reference values; and the annual paediatric grand round. In this report the Chairs of the Paediatric Assembly’s Groups highlight the key mess
Occupational Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Birth Weight and Length of Gestation: A European Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND: Women of reproductive age can be exposed to
endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at work and exposure to
EDCs in pregnancy may affect fetal growth. OBJECTIVES: We
assessed whether maternal occupational exposure to EDCs during
pregnancy as classified by application of a job exposure matrix
was associated with birth weight, term low birth weight (LBW),
length of gestation, and preterm delivery. METHODS: Using
individual participant data from 133,957 mother-child pairs in
13 European cohorts spanning births from 1994 to 2011, we linked
maternal job titles with exposure to 10 EDC groups as assessed
through a job exposure matrix. For each group, we combined the
two levels of exposure categories (possible and probable) and
compared birth outcomes with the unexposed group (exposure
unlikely). We performed meta-analyses of cohort-specific
estimates. RESULTS: Eleven percent of pregnant women were
classified as exposed to EDCs at work during pregnancy based on
job title. Classification of exposure to one or more EDC group
was associated with an increased risk of term LBW (OR 1.25,
95%CI 1.04, 1.49), as were most specific EDC groups; this
association was consistent across cohorts. Further, the risk
increased with increasing number of EDC groups (OR 2.11 95%CI
1.10, 4.06 for exposure to 4 or more EDC groups). There were few
associations (p < 0.05) with the other outcomes; women
holding job titles classified as exposed to bisphenol A or
brominated flame retardants were at higher risk for longer
length of gestation. CONCLUSION: Results from our large
population-based birth cohort design indicate that employment
during pregnancy in occupations classified as possibly or
probably exposed to EDCs was associated with an increased risk
of term LBW
Prenatal Particulate Air Pollution and DNA Methylation in Newborns: An Epigenome-Wide Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to air pollution has been associated with childhood respiratory disease and other adverse outcomes. Epigenetics is a suggested link between exposures and health outcomes. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate associations between prenatal exposure to particulate matter (PM) with diameter [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) or [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) and DNA methylation in newborns and children. METHODS: We meta-analyzed associations between exposure to [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) and [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) at maternal home addresses during pregnancy and newborn DNA methylation assessed by Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450K BeadChip in nine European and American studies, with replication in 688 independent newborns and look-up analyses in 2,118 older children. We used two approaches, one focusing on single cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites and another on differentially methylated regions (DMRs). We also related PM exposures to blood mRNA expression. RESULTS: Six CpGs were significantly associ
Old and new targets for innovative antimalarial compounds: the different strategies of the Italian Malaria Network
Association of light-to-moderate alcohol drinking in pregnancy with preterm birth and birth weight: elucidating bias by pooling data from nine European cohorts
Women who drink light-to-moderately during pregnancy have been observed to have lower risk of unfavourable pregnancy outcomes than abstainers. This has been suggested to be a result of bias. In a pooled sample, including 193 747 live-born singletons from nine European cohorts, we examined the associations between light-to-moderate drinking and preterm birth, birth weight, and small-for-gestational age in term born children (term SGA). To address potential sources of bias, we compared the associations from the total sample with a sub-sample restricted to first-time pregnant women who conceived within six months of trying, and examined whether the associations varied across calendar time. In the total sample, drinking up to around six drinks per week as compared to abstaining was associated with lower risk of preterm birth, whereas no significant associations were found for birth weight or term SGA. Drinking six or more drinks per week was associated with lower birth weight and higher risk of term SGA, but no increased risk of preterm birth. The analyses restricted to women without reproductive experience revealed similar results. Before 2000 approximately half of pregnant women drank alcohol. This decreased to 39% in 2000–2004, and 14% in 2005–2011. Before 2000, every additional drink was associated with reduced mean birth weight, whereas in 2005–2011, the mean birth weight increased with increasing intake. The period-specific associations betw
Antenatal steroids and risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia: A lack of effect or a case of over-adjustment?
Although antenatal steroids reduce risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants, their effect on BPD is conflicting. We hypothesised that the lack of protective effect found in some studies could derive from over-adjustment during analysis, caused by controlling for factors intermediate in the causal pathway between treatment and outcome. We prospectively studied a cohort of infants 23-32 weeks gestation <1500 g, admitted to 10 tertiary-level neonatal units in Lombardy (Italy) in 1999-2002; 1118 neonates out of 1314 survived to 36 weeks; 15.9% developed BPD (oxygen requirement at 36 weeks); 82% were treated with steroids. In univariable analysis, steroids were not significantly protective against BPD; some intermediate factors (mechanical ventilation, greater severity of illness as measured by Clinical Risk Index for Babies score, patent ductus arteriosus) were significantly positively associated with (i.e. were risk factors for) BPD (OR = 11.0, 1.55, 4.42, respectively, all P < 0.001), and negatively associated with (i.e. prevented by) steroids (OR = 0.58, 0.92, and 0.58, respectively, all P < 0.01). In multiple logistic regression models using propensity scores, without the above-mentioned intermediate risk factors, steroid-treated infants had a lower risk of BPD (OR 0.59 [95% CI 0.36, 0.97], P = 0.036); male sex (OR = 2.08), late-onset sepsis (OR = 4.26), and birthweight (OR = 0.63 for 100 g increase) were also associated with BPD, all P < 0.001. When intermediate risk factors for BPD were also added to the model, the effect of steroids disappeared; ventilation (OR = 3.03), increased illness severity (OR = 1.11), and patent ductus arteriosus (OR = 1.90) were significant risk factors. This study suggests that including variables that are potential mediators in the causal chain can obscure the ability to detect a protective effect of treatment. We observed such a phenomenon in our analyses of the relationship between antenatal steroids and BPD, suggesting that steroid effect is partly mediated through a reduction in the classical risk factors. \uc2\ua9 2007 The Authors
Occupational Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Birth Weight and Length of Gestation: A European Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND: Women of reproductive age can be exposed to
endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at work, and exposure to EDCs in
pregnancy may affect fetal growth.
OBJECTIVES: We assessed whether maternal occupational exposure to EDCs
during pregnancy as classified by application of a job exposure matrix
was associated with birth weight, term low birth weight (LBW), length of
gestation, and preterm delivery.
METHODS: Using individual participant data from 133,957 mother-child
pairs in 13 European cohorts spanning births from 1994 through 2011, we
linked maternal job titles with exposure to 10 EDC groups as assessed
through a job exposure matrix. For each group, we combined the two
levels of exposure categories (possible and probable) and compared birth
outcomes with the unexposed group (exposure unlikely). We performed
meta-analyses of cohort-specific estimates.
RESULTS: Eleven percent of pregnant women were classified as exposed to
EDCs at work during pregnancy, based on job title. Classification of
exposure to one or more EDC group was associated with an increased risk
of term LBW [odds ratio (OR) = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.49], as were
most specific EDC groups; this association was consistent across
cohorts. Further, the risk increased with increasing number of EDC
groups (OR = 2.11; 95% CI: 1.10, 4.06 for exposure to four or more EDC
groups). There were few associations (p < 0.05) with the other outcomes;
women holding job titles classified as exposed to bisphenol A or
brominated flame retardants were at higher risk for longer length of
gestation.
CONCLUSION: Results from our large population-based birth cohort design
indicate that employment during pregnancy in occupations classified as
possibly or probably exposed to EDCs was associated with an increased
risk of term LBW
3TR: A pan-European cross-disease research consortium aimed at improving personalised biological treatment of asthma and COPD
3TR, the largest IMI consortium ever in immune diseases, brings clinical researchers and scientists from several disease areas together, in an endeavour to increase the clinical impact of targeted immune-mediated therapies, including asthma and COP