BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has long been known that airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can negatively affect pregnancy and birth outcomes, such as birth weight, fetal development, and placental growth factors. However, similar studies yield divergent results. Our goal was to estimate the amount of monohydroxylated PAH (OH-PAH) metabolites in the urine of pregnant women/mothers and their newborns in relation to birth outcomes, such as placenta weight, Apgar 5', and the growth parameters of children up to the age of two. METHODS: Two cohorts of children born in 2013 and 2014 during the summer and winter seasons in the Czech Republic in the cities Karviná (N = 144) and České Budějovice (N = 198), which differ significantly in the level of air pollution, were studied. PAH exposure was assessed by the concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in the air and the concentration of 11 OH-PAH metabolites in the urine of newborns and mothers. Growth parameters and birth outcomes were obtained from medical questionnaires after birth and from pediatric questionnaires during the following 24 months of the child's life. RESULTS: Concentrations of B[a]P were significantly higher in Karviná (p < 0.001). OH-PAH metabolites were significantly higher in the mothers' as well as in the newborns' urine in Karviná and during the winter season. Neonatal length was shorter in newborns in Karviná (p < 0.001), but this difference evened out during the next 3 to 24 months. Compared to České Budějovice, newborns in Karviná showed significantly lower weight gain between birth and three months after delivery. The OH-PAH metabolites in mothers' or newborns' urine did not affect birth weight. The presence of seven OH-PAH (top 25% of values of concentrations higher than the median) metabolites in the newborns' urine is associated with decreased length of newborn. Nine OH-PAH metabolites decreased placenta weight, which was the most significant, while seven OH-PAH metabolites decreased Apgar 5'. CONCLUSION: We have shown a possible connection between higher concentration of OH-PAH metabolites in newborns' urine and decreased length, head circumference, placenta weight, and Apgar 5', but not birth weight.

• Klíčová slova
• Birth length, Birth weight, Growth parameters, Head circumference, Monohydroxylated PAH metabolites, Placenta weight, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
• MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• matky MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• placenta MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky * MeSH
• porodní hmotnost MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• zpožděný efekt prenatální expozice * epidemiologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky * MeSH

Thirty years ago, Northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic was one of the most air polluted areas in Europe. After political changes, the Czech government put forward a research program to determine if air pollution is really affecting human health. This program, later called the "Teplice Program", was initiated in collaboration with scientists from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). This cooperation made possible the use of methods on the contemporary level. The very high concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the air showed, for the first time, the impact of air pollutants on the health of the population in mining districts: adverse pregnancy outcomes, the impact of air pollution on sperm morphology, learning disabilities in children, and respiratory morbidity in preschool children. A surprising result came from the distribution of the sources of pollution: 70% of PM10 pollution came from local heating and not from power plants as expected. Thanks to this result, the Czech government supported changes in local heating from brown coal to natural gas. This change substantially decreased SO2 and PM10 pollution and affected mortality, especially cardiovascular mortality.

• Klíčová slova
• DNA adducts, PAHs, PM2.5, SO2, air pollution, mortality, neurobehavioral changes, pregnancy outcome, sperm abnormalities,
• MeSH
• látky znečišťující vzduch * analýza   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• pevné částice analýza   MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• zdraví MeSH
• znečištění ovzduší * analýza   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Evropa MeSH
• Názvy látek
• látky znečišťující vzduch * MeSH
• pevné částice MeSH

Current studies of gene × air pollution interaction typically seek to identify unknown heritability of common complex illnesses arising from variability in the host's susceptibility to environmental pollutants of interest. Accordingly, a single component generalized linear models are often used to model the risk posed by an environmental exposure variable of interest in relation to a priori determined DNA variants. However, reducing the phenotypic heterogeneity may further optimize such approach, primarily represented by the modeled DNA variants. Here, we reduce phenotypic heterogeneity of asthma severity, and also identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) associated with phenotype subgroups. Specifically, we first apply an unsupervised learning algorithm method and a non-parametric regression to find a biclustering structure of children according to their allergy and asthma severity. We then identify a set of SNPs most closely correlated with each sub-group. We subsequently fit a logistic regression model for each group against the healthy controls using benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) as a representative airborne carcinogen. Application of such approach in a case-control data set shows that SNP clustering may help to partly explain heterogeneity in children's asthma susceptibility in relation to ambient B[a]P concentration with greater efficiency.

• Klíčová slova
• air pollution, asthma, gene-environment interaction, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, single nucleotide polymorphism,
• MeSH
• algoritmy MeSH
• benzopyren toxicita   MeSH
• bronchiální astma chemicky indukované   genetika   MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• genetická predispozice k nemoci * MeSH
• interakce genů a prostředí MeSH
• jednonukleotidový polymorfismus MeSH
• látky znečišťující vzduch toxicita   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• multifaktoriální dědičnost * MeSH
• statistika jako téma MeSH
• strojové učení bez učitele MeSH
• studie případů a kontrol MeSH
• vystavení vlivu životního prostředí škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• znečištění ovzduší škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• benzopyren MeSH
• látky znečišťující vzduch MeSH

BACKGROUND: Oxidative damage to placental DNA can result in negative pregnancy outcomes, including intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and low birth weight (LBW). OBJECTIVE: We investigated associations between the levels of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2´-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), a marker of oxidative DNA damage, in placental DNA, exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy, genetic polymorphisms in 94 selected genes, and pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: We studied 891 newborns who were IUGR- or LBW-affected or normal weight and were born between 1994 and 1999 in the Czech Republic in two districts with different levels of air pollution. RESULTS: We found nonsignificantly elevated 8-oxodG levels in the IUGR-affected group compared with the non-IUGR group (p = 0.055). Similarly, slightly elevated 8-oxodG levels were found in the LBW-affected group compared with the non-LBW group (p < 0.050). In univariate analyses, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with 8-oxodG levels, IUGR, and LBW. Exposure to particulate matter < 2.5 µm was associated with increased 8-oxodG levels in placental DNA and LBW. However, multivariate-adjusted logistic regression revealed that above-median 8-oxodG levels were the only factor significantly associated with IUGR [OR = 1.56; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07-2.37; p = 0.022]. Above-median levels of 8-oxodG were associated with LBW (OR = 1.88; 95% CI, 1.15-3.06; p = 0.011). Other variables associated with LBW included sex and gestational age of the newborn, maternal smoking, and haplotypes in the promoter region of the gene encoding mannose-binding lectin 2 (MBL2). The role of air pollutants in the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes seemed to be less important. CONCLUSIONS: Levels of 8-oxodG in placental DNA were associated with the risk of IUGR as well as LBW. Newborn's sex, gestational age, maternal smoking, and genetic polymorphisms in the promoter region of the MBL2 gene were associated with LBW incidence.

• MeSH
• 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosin MeSH
• deoxyguanosin analogy a deriváty   analýza   MeSH
• DNA chemie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec s nízkou porodní hmotností metabolismus   MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• pevné částice toxicita   MeSH
• růstová retardace plodu chemicky indukované   metabolismus   MeSH
• studie případů a kontrol MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• výsledek těhotenství * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosin MeSH
• deoxyguanosin MeSH
• DNA MeSH
• pevné částice MeSH

Three classes of DNA damage were assessed in human placentas collected (2000-2004) from 51 women living in the Teplice region of the Czech Republic, a mining area considered to have some of the worst environmental pollution in Europe in the 1980s. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-DNA adducts were localized and semiquantified using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the Automated Cellular Imaging System (ACIS). More generalized DNA damage was measured both by (32)P-postlabeling and by abasic (AB) site analysis. Placenta stained with antiserum elicited against DNA modified with 7β,8α-dihydroxy-9α,10α-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-benzo[a]pyrene (BPDE) revealed PAH-DNA adduct localization in nuclei of the cytotrophoblast (CT) cells and syncytiotrophoblast (ST) knots lining the chorionic villi. The highest levels of DNA damage, 49-312 PAH-DNA adducts/10(8) nucleotides, were found by IHC/ACIS in 14 immediately fixed placenta samples. An additional 37 placenta samples were stored frozen before fixation and embedding, and because PAH-DNA adducts were largely undetectable in these samples, freezing was implicated in the loss of IHC signal. The same placentas (n = 37) contained 1.7-8.6 stable/bulky DNA adducts/10(8) nucleotides and 0.6-47.2 AB sites/10(5) nucleotides. For all methods, there was no correlation among types of DNA damage and no difference in extent of DNA damage between smokers and nonsmokers. Therefore, the data show that DNA from placentas obtained in Teplice contained multiple types of DNA damage, which likely arose from various environmental exposures. In addition, PAH-DNA adducts were present at high concentrations in the CT cells and ST knots of the chorionic villi.

• MeSH
• adukty DNA toxicita   MeSH
• antisérum MeSH
• imunohistochemie MeSH
• keratinocyty účinky léků   metabolismus   MeSH
• kouření škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky toxicita   MeSH
• poškození DNA * účinky léků   MeSH
• techniky in vitro MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Názvy látek
• adukty DNA MeSH
• antisérum MeSH
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-DNA adduct MeSH Prohlížeč
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky MeSH

BACKGROUND: Few studies of air pollutants address morbidity in preschool children. In this study we evaluated bronchitis in children from two Czech districts: Teplice, with high ambient air pollution, and Prachatice, characterized by lower exposures. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to examine rates of lower respiratory illnesses in preschool children in relation to ambient particles and hydrocarbons. METHODS: Air monitoring for particulate matter < 2.5 microm in diameter (PM(2.5)) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was conducted daily, every third day, or every sixth day. Children born May 1994 through December 1998 were followed to 3 or 4.5 years of age to ascertain illness diagnoses. Mothers completed questionnaires at birth and at follow-up regarding demographic, lifestyle, reproductive, and home environmental factors. Longitudinal multivariate repeated-measures analysis was used to quantify rate ratios for bronchitis and for total lower respiratory illnesses in 1,133 children. RESULTS: After adjustment for season, temperature, and other covariates, bronchitis rates increased with rising pollutant concentrations. Below 2 years of age, increments in 30-day averages of 100 ng/m(3) PAHs and of 25 microg/m(3) PM(2.5) resulted in rate ratios (RRs) for bronchitis of 1.29 [95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.07-1.54] and 1.30 (95% CI, 1.08-1.58), respectively; from 2 to 4.5 years of age, these RRs were 1.56 (95% CI, 1.22-2.00) and 1.23 (95% CI, 0.94-1.62), respectively. CONCLUSION: Ambient PAHs and fine particles were associated with early-life susceptibility to bronchitis. Associations were stronger for longer pollutant-averaging periods and, among children > 2 years of age, for PAHs compared with fine particles. Preschool-age children may be particularly vulnerable to air pollution-induced illnesses.

• Klíčová slova
• PAHs, PM2.5, air pollution, bronchitis, children’s health, infant, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, respiratory illness, volatile organic compounds,
• MeSH
• bronchiolitida epidemiologie   MeSH
• bronchitida epidemiologie   MeSH
• kohortové studie MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• látky znečišťující vzduch toxicita   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• pneumonie epidemiologie   MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky toxicita   MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• retrospektivní studie MeSH
• riziko MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• vystavení vlivu životního prostředí škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• Check Tag
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• látky znečišťující vzduch MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky MeSH

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate how indoor pollution from tobacco and home heating may adversely affect respiratory health in young children. DESIGN: A birth cohort was followed longitudinally for 3 years to determine incidence of lower respiratory illness (LRI). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 452 children born 1994-1996 in two districts in the Czech Republic participated. EVALUATIONS: Indoor combustion exposures were home heating and cooking fuel, mother's smoking during pregnancy, and other adult smokers in the household. Diagnoses of LRI (primarily acute bronchitis) from birth to 3 years of age were abstracted from pediatric records. Questionnaires completed at delivery and at 3-year follow-up provided covariate information. LRI incidence rates were modeled with generalized linear models adjusting for repeated measures and for numerous potential confounders. RESULTS: LRI diagnoses occurred more frequently in children from homes heated by coal [vs. other energy sources or distant furnaces ; rate ratio (RR) = 1.45 ; 95% confidence interval (CI) , 1.07-1.97]. Maternal prenatal smoking and other adult smokers also increased LRI rates (respectively: RR = 1.48 ; 95% CI, 1.10-2.01 ; and RR = 1.29 ; 95% CI, 1.01-1.65) . Cooking fuels (primarily electricity, natural gas, or propane) were not associated with LRI incidence. For children never breast-fed, coal home heating and mother's smoking conferred substantially greater risks: RR = 2.77 (95% CI, 1.45-5.27) and RR = 2.52 (95% CI, 1.31-4.85) , respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal smoking and coal home heating increased risk for LRI in the first 3 years of life, particularly in children not breast-fed. RELEVANCE: Few studies have described effects of coal heating fuel on children's health in a Western country. Breast-feeding may attenuate adverse effects of prenatal and childhood exposures to combustion products.

• MeSH
• bydlení * MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• kouření škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• poruchy dýchání chemicky indukované   epidemiologie   MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• uhlí * MeSH
• vytápění škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• znečištění tabákovým kouřem statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• znečištění vzduchu ve vnitřním prostředí statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• Check Tag
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• uhlí * MeSH
• znečištění tabákovým kouřem MeSH

Effects of air pollution on morbidity and mortality may be mediated by alterations in immune competence. In this study we examined short-term associations of air pollution exposures with lymphocyte immunophenotypes in cord blood among 1,397 deliveries in two districts of the Czech Republic. We measured fine particulate matter < 2.5 microm in diameter (PM2.5) and 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 24-hr samples collected by versatile air pollution samplers. Cord blood samples were analyzed using a FACSort flow cytometer to determine phenotypes of CD3+ T-lymphocytes and their subsets CD4+ and CD8+, CD19+ B-lymphocytes, and natural killer cells. The mothers were interviewed regarding sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, and medical records were abstracted for obstetric, labor and delivery characteristics. During the period 1994 to 1998, the mean daily ambient concentration of PM2.5 was 24.8 microg/m3 and that of PAHs was 63.5 ng/m3. In multiple linear regression models adjusted for temperature, season, and other covariates, average PAH or PM2.5 levels during the 14 days before birth were associated with decreases in T-lymphocyte phenotype fractions (i.e., CD3+ CD4+, and CD8+), and a clear increase in the B-lymphocyte (CD19+) fraction. For a 100-ng/m3 increase in PAHs, which represented approximately two standard deviations, the percentage decrease was -3.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), -5.6 to -1.0%] for CD3+, -3.1% (95% CI, -4.9 to -1.3%) for CD4+, and -1.0% (95% CI, -1.8 to -0.2%) for CD8+ cells. The corresponding increase in the CD19+ cell proportion was 1.7% (95% CI, 0.4 to 3.0%). Associations were similar but slightly weaker for PM2.5. Ambient air pollution may influence the relative distribution of lymphocyte immunophenotypes of the fetus.

• MeSH
• fetální krev cytologie   MeSH
• imunofenotypizace MeSH
• kohortové studie MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lymfocyty cytologie   MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• polycyklické sloučeniny toxicita   MeSH
• vystavení vlivu životního prostředí MeSH
• znečištění ovzduší * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Názvy látek
• polycyklické sloučeniny MeSH

Over the last decade or so, a large number of studies have investigated the possible adverse effects of ambient air pollution on birth outcomes. We reviewed these studies, which were identified by a systematic search of the main scientific databases. Virtually all reviewed studies were population based, with information on exposure to air pollution derived from routine monitoring sources. Overall, there is evidence implicating air pollution in adverse effects on different birth outcomes, but the strength of the evidence differs between outcomes. The evidence is sufficient to infer a causal relationship between particulate air pollution and respiratory deaths in the postneonatal period. For air pollution and birth weight the evidence suggests causality, but further studies are needed to confirm an effect and its size and to clarify the most vulnerable period of pregnancy and the role of different pollutants. For preterm births and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) the evidence as yet is insufficient to infer causality, but the available evidence justifies further studies. Molecular epidemiologic studies suggest possible biologic mechanisms for the effect on birth weight, premature birth, and IUGR and support the view that the relation between pollution and these birth outcomes is genuine. For birth defects, the evidence base so far is insufficient to draw conclusions. In terms of exposure to specific pollutants, particulates seem the most important for infant deaths, and the effect on IUGR seems linked to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, but the existing evidence does not allow precise identification of the different pollutants or the timing of exposure that can result in adverse pregnancy outcomes.

• MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• kojenecká mortalita * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec s nízkou porodní hmotností * MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• výsledek těhotenství MeSH
• znečištění ovzduší škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• Check Tag
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• přehledy MeSH

We studied the impact of maternal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on birth weight (BW), low birth weight (LBW), and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) according to self-reported maternal smoking habits in a sample of 6,866 singleton births. We obtained data about parental characteristics and maternal active smoking (AS) and passive smoking at delivery via maternal questionnaires and medical records. We used three categories of smoking habits (nonsmokers and those who smoked 1-10 or >10 cigarettes per day) and defined ETS exposure as greater than or equal to 5 cigarettes per day smoked by others in the mother's presence. We used multiple regression and logistic regression procedures with adjustment for many associated covariates. We observed a significant reduction of the mean BW in infants of AS mothers. This reduction was only marginal for mothers who stopped smoking after recognizing their pregnancy. ETS exposure in 1,797 of 5,507 nonsmoking mothers reduced the mean BW of their infants by 53 g [95% confidence interval (CI), 24-82 g]. ETS exposure also significantly reduced BW in babies of AS mothers by 92 g (CI, 21-113 g) compared with BW of ETS-nonexposed AS mothers. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of LBW for ETS-exposed AS mothers was two times the LBW risk of ETS-nonexposed AS mothers(2.02; CI, 1.11-3.67); the AOR of ETS-exposed nonsmoking mothers was 1.51 (CI, 1.02-2.26). The AOR of IUGR for this group did not differ from unity (1.08; CI, 0.82-1.43). However, ETS exposure increased the AOR of IUGR for AS mothers from 1.64 (CI, 1.06-2.53) to 2.13 (CI, 1.70-2.67). ETS exposure reduced the BW of infants of nonsmoking mothers and contributed to additional BW reduction in infants of AS mothers. ETS exposure increased the risk of LBW but not that of IUGR in babies of nonsmoking mothers.

• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• embryonální a fetální vývoj MeSH
• hodnocení rizik MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec s nízkou porodní hmotností * MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• porodní hmotnost * MeSH
• růstová retardace plodu etiologie   MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• vystavení vlivu životního prostředí * MeSH
• znečištění tabákovým kouřem škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• znečištění tabákovým kouřem MeSH