Background and aims
Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal with estrogenic activity and established human carcinogenicity, but several uncertainties still exist about the amounts of relevant exposure and particularly the cancer types involved.
Background and aims
Cadmium (Cd) poses serious environmental health hazards to humans. Cigarette smoking and diet are usually main sources of exposure in non-occupationally exposed subjects, while non-ferrous metal industrial production, fossil fuel combustion, cement production and waste incineration are main anthropogenic sources of outdoor air Cd. The study aim was to assess the influence of outdoor air pollution on serum Cd levels in an Italian population.
Background
Little is known about the health effects of the selenium found in drinking water, and the evidence from human studies on dietary organic selenium is of limited relevance when assessing this issue, due to the distinctive toxicological and nutritional properties of the inorganic species of this metalloid generally found in drinking water.
Background and aims
Exposure to pesticides used in agriculture has been suggested to be a risk factor of childhood leukemia, though definitive evidence on this relation and the exact identification of the specific pesticides involved are still lacking.
Methods
We carried out a population-based case-control study in the Modena and Reggio Emilia provinces of Emilia-Romagna region, Northern Italy. We included the 111 childhood leukemia cases newly-diagnosed from 1998 to 2011, and 444 controls matched by age and sex to the cases. Each children's house was georeferred and positioned on the provincial territorial cartography.
Background
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with still unknown aetiology. As an increased risk of ALS has been reported in areas with high population density, the aim of the study was to test this hypothesis in our population.