Search results for "Exposure"

Barriers and incentives for Italian paediatricians to become smoking cessation promoters: a GARD-Italy Demonstration Project

2020

Background: Paediatricians rarely devote any time to screening and treatment for parental tobacco use. The present project is part of a Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD)-Italy Demonstration Project, aimed to increase the skills of primary care physicians and paediatricians as "promoter of smoking cessation". The aims of this study were: (I) to identify latent classes of barriers and incentives for smoking cessation counseling among paediatricians using latent class analysis (LCA); (II) to investigate risk factors for inclusion into the identified classes. Methods: In 2018, 1,500 Italian paediatricians were invited to complete an online survey on passive smoke expos…

Could E-cigarette vaping contribute to heart disease?

2020

E-cigarettes have become a controversial topic. While their benefits are questioned by the scientific community, a part of the medical profession is still supporting them as an effective harm reduction tool for smoking cessation. The impact of E-cigarettes on the cardiovascular system is still elusive.We assessed results from animal, pre(clinical), and epidemiological studies to critically evaluate and synthesize evidence relevant to the cardiovascular effects of E-cigarettes. Animal studies have demonstrated that E-cigarette vapor exposure can cause endothelial and cardiac dysfunction. However, there have also been reports on the less harmful effects of E-cigarette vapor exposure in compar…

News from the Underground: What were the most important scientific/clinical take-home messages for juniors?

2014

The ERS International Congress has traditionally been a splendid opportunity to present current updates in clinical respiratory medicine and new research findings. This year’s programme was packed, making it impossible to attend all sessions, but juniors interested in specific fields were there for you to highlight the most important take home messages from the 2014 ERS International Congress in Munich. Amongst the most important news for the clinicians was the publication of a Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines update [1]. In the updated guidelines, the heterogeneity of asthma is emphasised, suggesting the need of “4P” (Personalised, Predictive, Preventive and Participatory) tr…

Smoke exposure as a risk factor for asthma in childhood: A review of current evidence

2014

Asthma is a common chronic multifactorial disease that affects >300 million people worldwide. Outdoor and indoor pollution exposure has been associated with respiratory health effects in adults and children. Smoking still represents a huge public health problem and millions of children suffer the detrimental effects of passive smoke exposure. This study was designed to review the current evidences on exposure to passive smoke as a risk factor for asthma onset in childhood. A review of the most recent studies on this topic was undertaken to provide evidence about the magnitude of the effect of passive smoking on the risk of incidence of asthma in children. The effects of passive smoking are …

Third-hand smoke exposure and health hazards in children

2013

Smoking still represents a huge public health problem. Millions of children suffer the detrimental effects of passive smoking. An increasing number of countries have recently issued laws to regulate smoking in public places. Instead, homes remain a site where children are dangerously exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). The combination of tobacco smoke pollutants which remain in an indoor environment, the so-called ‘third-hand smoke’ (THS), represent a new concept in the field of tobacco control. THS consists of pollutants that remain on surfaces and in dust after tobacco has been smoked, are re-emitted into the gas-phase, or react with other compounds in the environment to form se…

El tabaquismo pasivo en adultos

2002

H(II) centers in natural silica under repeated UV laser irradiations

2004

We investigated the kinetics of H(II) centers (=Ge'-H) in natural silica under repeated 266nm UV irradiations performed by a Nd:YAG pulsed laser. UV photons temporarily destroy these paramagnetic defects, their reduction being complete within 250 pulses. After re-irradiation, H(II) centers grow again, and the observed recovery kinetics depends on the irradiation dose; multiple 2000 pulses re-irradiations induce the same post-irradiation kinetics of H(II) centers after each exposure cycle. The analysis of these effects allows us to achieve a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the centers during and after laser irradiation.

Pollutant concentrations in placenta.

2011

Unborn children are exposed to environmental pollutants via the placenta, and there is a causal relationship between maternal intake of pollutants and fetal exposure. Placental examination is an effective way for acquiring data for estimating fetal exposure. We analyzed the concentrations of 104 congeners of persistent organic pollutants, seven organotin compounds, five heavy metals, and methylmercury in 130 randomly selected placentas. Additionally, we examined similarities between pollutant concentrations by analyzing correlations between their placental concentrations. Our results yield new information for conducting contaminant risk assessments for the prenatal period. Out of the 117 in…

Quantifying the health impacts of outdoor air pollution: useful estimations for public health action

2013

According to WHO,1 health impact assessment (HIA) is A combination of procedures, methods and tools used to evaluate the potential health effects of a policy, programme or project. Using qualitative, quantitative and participatory techniques, HIA aims to produce recommendations that will help decision makers and other stakeholders make choices about alternatives and improvements to prevent disease/injury, and to actively promote health. The typical procedural steps in HIA include screening, scoping, assessment of health effects, recommending alternatives and mitigations, reporting and monitoring.2 Each step helps predict or foresee potential effects of policy decisions on a population's hea…

Residential Exposure to Outdoor Air Pollution during Pregnancy and Anthropometric Measures at Birth in a Multicenter Cohort in Spain

2011

Background: A growing body of research suggests that prenatal exposure to air pollution may be harmful to fetal development. We assessed the association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and anthropometric measures at birth in four areas within the Spanish Children’s Health and Environment (INMA) mother and child cohort study. Methods: Exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and benzene was estimated for the residence of each woman (n = 2,337) for each trimester and for the entire pregnancy. Outcomes included birth weight, length, and head circumference. The association between residential outdoor air pollution exposure and birth outcomes was assessed with linear regress…