Influences the Aeromath in the Way of Ending Births

Air pollution represents a significant health problem in the Czech Republic (CR). Originally, the most polluted region was Northern Bohemia, later Northern Moravia. These specific conditions were used to study the impact of air pollution to children in those two regions. In Northern Bohemia, the impact of the increased concentrations of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (c-PAHs) to fetal growth was observed, expressed as intrauterine growth retardation and impact of air pollution to respiratory morbidity and neurodevelopment in children. In Northern Moravia was studied the effect of air pollution to the morbidity of preschool children; to asthma bronchiale—gene expression, children susceptibility to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P); to genetic damage in newborns; concentrations of PAHs in the urine of mothers and newborns, content of PAHs in human breast milk and diet

Biomarkers of exposure and effect—interpretation in human risk assessment

The effect of exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed onto respirable air particles (PM2.5, diameter < 2.5 μm) on DNA adducts and chromosomal aberrations was repeatedly studied in Prague, Czech Republic, in groups of policemen working in the downtown area and in bus drivers. Personal exposure was evaluated using personal samplers during working shifts. DNA adducts were analyzed in lymphocytes by the 32P-postlabeling assay and chromosomal aberrations were analyzed by conventional cytogenetic analysis and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The impact of environmental pollution on DNA adducts and chromosomal aberrations was studied in a total of 950 subjects. Our results suggest that the environmental exposure of nonsmokers to concentrations higher than 1 ng benzo[a]pyrene/m3 represents a risk of DNA damage, as indicated by an increase in DNA adducts and the genomic frequency of translocations determined by FISH

Unfavourable birth outcomes of the Roma women in the Czech Republic and the potential explanations: a population-based study

BACKGROUND: Data on the health status of the Roma people in Central and Eastern Europe are sparse and the reasons for their poor health are not clear. The objective of this study was to quantify the differences in birth outcomes between Roma and non-Roma mothers in the Czech Republic and to investigate the potential causes of such differences. METHOD: A population-based study recruited 8938 non-Roma and 1388 Roma hospitalised singleton births that occurred in two Czech districts (Teplice and Prachatice) between 1995 and 2004. During their stay in hospital, mothers completed a questionnaire on their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and maternal smoking and alcohol consumption. Data on maternal height and weight and on infants' birth weight and gestational age were taken from hospital records. RESULTS: Birth weight and gestational age of Roma infants was 373 (SE 15) g and 0.92 (0.05) weeks, respectively, lower than in non-Roma infants. Controlling for demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural factors reduced these differences to 133 (18) g and 0.57 (0.06) weeks, respectively (all p-values < 0.001). In terms of binary outcomes, the Roma vs. non-Roma odds ratios were 4.5 (95% CI 3.7–5.4) for low birth weight (< 2500 g), 2.8 (2.2–3.4) for preterm birth (< 37 weeks of gestation), and 2.9 (2.5–3.4) for intrauterine grown retardation (<10(th )percentile of birth weight for gestational age); controlling for all covariates reduced these odds ratios to 1.7 (1.3–2.2), 1.5 (1.1–2.0) and 1.3 (1.0–1.6), respectively. Maternal education made the largest contribution to the ethnic differences; the role of health behaviours was relatively modest. CONCLUSION: There are striking differences in birth outcomes between Roma and non-Roma mothers. The causes of these differences are complex but largely socioeconomic

Urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2\u27-deoxyguanosine analysis by an improved ELISA: does assay standardization reduce inter-laboratory variability?

ELISA is commonly used for the detection of urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2\u27-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), a marker of whole body oxidative stress. However, the method has been criticized for high inter-laboratory variability and poor agreement with chromatographic techniques. We performed an inter-laboratory comparison of 8-oxodG assessed in 30 urine samples and a urine spiked with four different concentrations of 8-oxodG by ELISA using standardized experimental conditions, including: sample pre-treatment with solid-phase extraction (SPE), performing analysis using a commercial kit from a single manufacturer and strict temperature control during the assay. We further compared the ELISA results with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and performed tentative identification of compounds that may contribute to the discrepancy between both methods. For all but one participating laboratory (Data 1) we observed consistent ELISA results lying mostly within 1SD of the mean 8-oxodG concentration. Mean 8-oxodG levels assessed by ELISA correlated with the data obtained by HPLC-MS/MS (R=0.679, p\u3c0.001). The correlation improved when Data 1 were excluded from the analysis (R=0.749, p\u3c0.001). We identified three outlying urine samples; one with an ELISA 8-oxodG concentration lower, and two with 8-oxodG levels higher, than those measured by HPLC-MS/MS. Omitting these samples further improved inter-methodology agreement (R=0.869, p\u3c0.001). In the outliers with high 8-oxodG estimates various aromatic and heterocyclic compounds were tentatively identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Application of authentic standards revealed the presence of saccharides, including d-glucose and d-galactose as putative interfering substances. In summary, assay standardization improved ELISA inter-laboratory agreement, although some variability is still observed. There are still compounds contributing to overestimation of 8-oxodG by ELISA, but only in some urine samples. Thus, despite significant improvement, ELISA still should not be considered a robust alternative to chromatographic techniques

International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO)

Reviews find a likely adverse effect of air pollution on perinatal outcomes, but variation of findings hinders the ability to incorporate the research into policy. The International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO) was formed to better understand relationships between air pollution and adverse birth outcomes through standardized parallel analyses in datasets from different countries. A planning group with 10 members from 6 countries was formed to coordinate the project. Collaboration participants have datasets with air pollution values and birth outcomes. Eighteen research groups with data for approximately 20 locations in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America are participating, with most participating in an initial pilot study. Datasets generally cover the 1990s. Number of births is generally in the hundreds of thousands, but ranges from around 1,000 to about one million. Almost all participants have some measure of particulate matter, and most have ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Strong enthusiasm for participating and a geographically-diverse range of participants should lead to understanding uncertainties about the role of air pollution in perinatal outcomes and provide decision-makers with better tools to account for pregnancy outcomes in air pollution policies

Chromosomal aberration frequency in lymphocytes predicts the risk of cancer: results from a pooled cohort study of 22 358 subjects in 11 countries

Mechanistic evidence linking chromosomal aberration (CA) to early stages of cancer has been recently supported by the results of epidemiological studies that associated CA frequency in peripheral lymphocytes of healthy individuals to future cancer incidence. To overcome the limitations of single studies and to evaluate the strength of this association, a pooled analysis was carried out. The pooled database included 11 national cohorts and a total of 22 358 cancer-free individuals who underwent genetic screening with CA for biomonitoring purposes during 1965–2002 and were followed up for cancer incidence and/or mortality for an average of 10.1 years; 368 cancer deaths and 675 incident cancer cases were observed. Subjects were classified within each laboratory according to tertiles of CA frequency. The relative risk (RR) of cancer was increased for subjects in the medium [RR = 1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07–1.60] and in the high (RR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.16–1.72) tertiles when compared with the low tertile. This increase was mostly driven by chromosome-type aberrations. The presence of ring chromosomes increased the RR to 2.22 (95% CI = 1.34–3.68). The strongest association was found for stomach cancer [RRmedium = 1.17 (95% CI = 0.37–3.70), RRhigh = 3.13 (95% CI = 1.17–8.39)]. Exposure to carcinogens did not modify the effect of CA levels on overall cancer risk. These results reinforce the evidence of a link between CA frequency and cancer risk and provide novel information on the role of aberration subclass and cancer type