Publications (20)51.16 Total impact
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Article: Object use affects motor planning in infant prehension.
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ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors underlying the ability to plan object-oriented grasping movements in the first two years of life. In particular, we were interested in evaluating the relationship between manual motor planning, object use and infant-parent interaction. In order to achieve this aim, grasping behaviors of nineteen healthy infants, aged nine to 25months, were examined during naturalistic play sessions with a standard set of toys. Our main finding was that, regardless of age, infants perform a better manual planning when they use an object in a functional rather than non-functional way, suggesting that the planning of an action also depends on knowing the functional properties of an object. In addition, we found that the ability to use objects in a functional way was strongly affected by infant-parent interaction. Thus, level of object use and environmental role must be taken into account in order to understand the development of manual motor planning.Human movement science 04/2013; · 2.15 Impact Factor -
Article: Cellular cholesterol efflux and cholesterol loading capacity of serum: effects of LDL-apheresis.
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ABSTRACT: High LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) characterizes familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCH). LDL-apheresis, used in these patients to reduce LDL-C levels, has been shown to also affect HDL levels and composition. We studied LDL-apheresis effects on six FH and nine FCH subjects' serum capacity to modulate cellular cholesterol efflux, an index of HDL functionality, and to load macrophages with cholesterol. Serum cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) and macrophage cholesterol loading capacity (CLC) were measured before, immediately after, and two days after LDL-apheresis. The procedure reduced total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, and apoB plasma levels (-69%, -80% and -74%, respectively), parameters only partially restored two days later. HDL-C and apoA-I plasma levels, reduced after LDL-apheresis (-27% and -16%, respectively), were restored to almost normal levels two days later. LDL-apheresis reduced serum aqueous diffusion (AD) CEC, SR-BI-CEC, and ABCA1-CEC. AD and SR-BI were fully restored whereas ABCA1-CEC remained low two days later. Sera immediately and two days after LDL-apheresis had a lower CLC than pre-LDL-apheresis sera. In conclusion, LDL-apheresis transiently reduces HDL-C levels and serum CEC, but it also reduces also serum capacity to deliver cholesterol to macrophages. Despite a potentially negative effect on HDL levels and composition, LDL-apheresis may counteract foam cells formation.The Journal of Lipid Research 03/2012; 53(5):984-9. · 5.56 Impact Factor -
Article: Myeloperoxidase modulation by LDL apheresis in familial hypercholesterolemia.
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ABSTRACT: Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a marker of plaque vulnerability and a mechanistic bridge between inflammation and cardiovascular disease, and thus is a suitable target for therapeutic strategy against cardiovascular disease. Since hypercholesterolemia is associated with atherosclerosis and inflammation, we tested whether MPO serum levels were up-regulated in Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) and whether acute reduction of total cholesterol (TC) would also reduce MPO concentration. FH subjects undergoing LDL-apheresis (LDL-A) treatment are a paradigmatic clinical model where TC rapidly plunges from extremely high to extremely low levels after selective LDL removal, and then spontaneously rebounds to baseline conditions. This clinical setting allows multiple intra-patient observations at different plasma TC concentrations. We measured MPO levels in serum by ELISA tests, and in peripheral leukocytes by immunofluorescence, to learn whether they were affected by the changes in TC levels. Serum MPO was measured before and serially up to the 14th day following LDL-A. In both serum and peripheral leukocytes, MPO concentrations were i) higher than in sex- and age-matched healthy controls (p < 0.01); ii) decreased with TC reduction; iii) parallel with TC time course; iv) correlated with plasma TC. At regression analysis, plasma TC was the only variable considered that influenced MPO serum levels (β 0.022 ± 0.010, p < 0.0001). In FH the MPO serum levels were modulated through changes in the TC concentrations carried out by LDL-A. Further study is needed to determine whether reduced MPO levels obtained by LDL-A could have any therapeutic impact.Lipids in Health and Disease 01/2011; 10:185. · 2.17 Impact Factor -
Article: Time course of Paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in an experimental model of virus-induced breast cancer.
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ABSTRACT: Early assessment of the efficacy of treatment is important in patients with breast cancer, whose routine adjuvant regimen frequently includes chemotherapy. Irrespective of the exact mechanisms involved in induction, the common early phenotypic marker of apoptosis is the expression on the outer cell membrane surface of phosphatidylserine, which avidly binds annexin V. (99m)Tc-labeled annexin V has been proposed for in vivo scintigraphic detection of apoptosis, albeit with contradicting results. This study was performed to define the time course of apoptosis induced by the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel in a model of virus-induced murine breast cancer. The RIII virus induces an estrogen-dependent, slow-growing breast cancer; BALB-c/cRIII female mice with breast tumors averaging 10 mm were studied, both in baseline conditions and at various times after the intravenous administration of paclitaxel (equivalent to a human dose of 20 mg/70 kg of body weight). The biodistribution of (99m)Tc-annexin V was evaluated at baseline and then at 1, 3, 6, and 24 h after paclitaxel administration. Apoptotic and antiapoptotic markers were also evaluated in tumor samples obtained at the same time points: DNA breaks (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling [TUNEL]), active caspase-3, apoptosis-inducing factor, and Bcl-2 protein. Baseline uptake of (99m)Tc-annexin V in breast tumors was about 2-fold higher than the uptake in normal breast tissue (demonstrating some ongoing apoptosis); tracer uptake increased at 1 and 3 h after paclitaxel administration (to almost double the baseline value) and then declined to levels even lower than baseline. Although no activation of the apoptosis-inducing factor mechanism was detected, a peak in TUNEL-positive tumor cells was reached 3 h after paclitaxel administration (to more than 6-fold the baseline level). The antiapoptotic marker Bcl-2 exhibited a biphasic pattern, with a maximum drop at 3 h, followed by return toward baseline levels at 6 h. These results define the time course of various biologic events taking place in this model of murine breast cancer after a proapoptotic insult (single-dose paclitaxel). Although confirming that in vivo uptake of (99m)Tc-annexin V reflects the degree of apoptosis, the study also suggests that the apoptotic response to antitumor therapy may differ from tumor type to tumor type. Therefore, contradicting results previously reported may depend on an inadequate time window chosen for imaging with (99m)Tc-annexin V.Journal of Nuclear Medicine 05/2010; 51(5):775-81. · 6.38 Impact Factor -
Article: Low high-density lipoprotein predicts death in patients with mild left ventricular dysfunction regardless of coronary atherosclerosis.
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ABSTRACT: Low plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. We investigated whether HDL-cholesterol levels had a prognostic value in patients with mild left ventricular dysfunction, irrespective of the presence of coronary disease. The study included 686 consecutive patients hospitalized between January 2002 and December 2006 because of left ventricular dysfunction. All patients completed a lipid profile and underwent coronary angiography. Patients were followed for a mean period of 23 months, during which major events were recorded. Seventy-three percent of patients were New York Heart Association (NYHA) class I-II, with the mean values of left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter being, respectively, 36.3 +/- 8.6% and 58.3 +/- 7.9 mm. Half of the patients (52%) had HDL values less than 40 mg/dl, 28% presented with HDL less than 35 mg/dl. In multivariable analysis, patients with HDL-cholesterol concentration less than 40 mg/dl showed higher risk for cumulative mortality (HR 1.77, P < 0.05) and for cardiac death (HR 2.06, P < 0.05). This higher risk was also observed in patients with low HDL-cholesterol levels but without significant coronary stenosis. The inclusion of the C-reactive protein (CRP) inflammation marker into the model highly improved the power of death prediction. In patients with left ventricular dysfunction, regardless of the presence of coronary atherosclerosis, lower HDL-cholesterol was a strong and independent predictor of both cardiac and all-cause death.Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine 09/2009; 10(12):898-905. · 1.51 Impact Factor -
Article: Cancer mortality and congenital anomalies in a region of Italy with intense environmental pressure due to waste.
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ABSTRACT: Waste management in the Campania region has been characterised, since the 1980s, by widespread uncontrolled and illegal practices of waste dumping, generating concerns over the health implications. The objective of this study was to evaluate possible adverse health effects of such environmental pressure. The health effects of waste-related environmental exposures in Campania were assessed in a correlation study on nine causes of death (for the years 1994-2001) and 12 types of congenital anomaly (CA) (1996-2002) in 196 municipalities of the provinces of Naples and Caserta. Poisson regression was used to analyse the association between health outcomes and environmental contamination due to waste, as measured through a composite index, adjusting for deprivation. Statistically significant excess relative risks (ERR, %) in high-index compared with low-index (unexposed) municipalities were found for all-cause mortality (9.2 (95% CI 6.5 to 11.9) in men and 12.4 (9.5 to 15.4) in women and liver cancer (19.3 (1.4 to 40.3) in men and 29.1 (7.6 to 54.8) in women). Increased risks were also found for all cancer mortality (both sexes), stomach and lung cancer (in men). Statistically significant ERRs were found for CAs of the internal urogenital system (82.7 (25.6 to 155.7)) and of the central nervous system (83.5 (24.7 to 169.9)). Although the causal nature of the association is uncertain, findings support the hypothesis that waste-related environmental exposures in Campania produce increased risks of mortality and, to a lesser extent, CAs.Occupational and environmental medicine 06/2009; 66(11):725-32. · 3.64 Impact Factor -
Article: A new severity score index for phenotypic classification and evaluation of responses to treatment in type I Gaucher disease.
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ABSTRACT: Gaucher disease is the first lysosomal storage disease for which specific therapy became available. Over 4800 patients have been treated with enzyme replacement therapy. Analysis of Gaucher disease registry data has outlined the clinical heterogeneity of the disease and the different responses to treatment from patient to patient, and for different organs. This variability in clinical response justifies the development of a severity score index to assess disease activity, stage and prognosis, and to quantify the effects of treatment. The new scoring system proposed here, the "Gaucher Disease Severity Score Index - Type I" (GauSSI-I), is based on the clinical experience of the authors and an extensive literature review, including data from the International Gaucher Registry. In particular for skeletal disease, all the available scoring systems have been reviewed and compared in order to provide a skeletal scoring system that allows use of any of the different methods on an equivalent basis. The new scoring system, GauSSI-I, was developed. Six specific domains, in which different items were scored according to their impact on morbidity, were characterized. GauSSI-I was evaluated in 53 type I Gaucher patients treated with imiglucerase, and it was compared to the Zimran score, the only severity index score so far available. The GauSSI-I is a reliable method for staging the severity of adult type I Gaucher disease, and it is more sensitive than the Zimran score for monitoring the response to treatment.Haematologica 08/2008; 93(8):1211-8. · 6.42 Impact Factor -
Article: Cluster analysis of mortality and malformations in the Provinces of Naples and Caserta (Campania Region).
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ABSTRACT: The possible adverse health effects associated with the residence in the neighbourhood of toxic dump sites have been the object of many epidemiological studies in the last two decades;some of these reported increases of various health outcomes. The present study reports the cluster analysis of mortality and malformations at municipality level, standardized by socioeconomic deprivation index, in an area of the Campania Region characterized by a widespread illegal practice of dumping toxic and urban waste. Clusters have been observed with significant excess of mortality by lung, liver, gastric, kidney and bladder cancers and of prevalence of total malformations and malformations of limb, cardiovascular and urogenital system. The clusters are concentrated in a sub-area where most of the illegal practice of dumping toxic waste has taken placeAnnali dell'Istituto superiore di sanita 02/2008; 44(1):99-111. · 0.94 Impact Factor -
Article: Cancer mortality in an area of Campania (Italy) characterized by multiple toxic dumping sites.
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ABSTRACT: Several recent studies have documented that a widespread practice of dumping toxic wastes has taken place for many years in the Provinces of Naples and Caserta. Extensive programs of environmental monitoring are currently ongoing in the area. In this frame, the Department of Civil Defence of the Italian Government has appointed an ad hoc study group in order to assess the health status of the population resident in the area of interest. The first investigation performed by the study group has been a geographic study on cancer mortality and occurrence of malformations in 196 municipalities constituting the two Provinces. The study detected an area located in the southeastern part of the Province of Caserta and in the northwestern part of the Province of Naples, where cancer mortality and congenital malformations show significantly increased rates with respect to expected figures derived from the regional population. The area highlighted by the study is, in general terms, overlapping with the area where most illegal dumping of toxic wastes took place. It is now recommended that mortality studies be extended to take into account other health outcomes, to search for correlations with environmental exposures, and consider possible confounding factors.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 10/2006; 1076:449-61. · 3.15 Impact Factor -
Article: Folate gene polymorphisms and the risk of Down syndrome pregnancies in young Italian women.
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ABSTRACT: Maternal impairments in folate metabolism and elevated homocysteinemia are known risk factors for having a child with Down syndrome (DS) at a young age. The 80G>A polymorphism of the reduced folate carrier gene (RFC-1) has been recently demonstrated to affect plasma folate and homocysteine levels, alone or in combination with the 677C>T polymorphism in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene. We performed the present study on 80 Italian mothers of DS individuals, aged less than 35 at conception, and 111 Italian control mothers, to study the role of the RFC-1 80G>A, MTHFR 677C>T, and MTHFR 1298A>C genotypes to the risk of a DS offspring at a young maternal age. When polymorphisms were considered alone, both allele and genotype frequencies did not significantly differ between DS mothers and control mothers. However, the combined MTHFR677TT/RFC-1 80GG genotype was borderline associated with an increased risk (OR 6 (CI 95%: 1.0-35.9), P = 0.05), and to be MTHF1298AA/RFC-1 80(GA or AA) was inversely associated with the risk (OR 0.36 (CI 95%: 0.14-0.96), P = 0.04). Present results seem to indicate that none of the RFC-1 80G>A, MTHFR 677C>T, and MTHFR 1298A>C polymorphisms is an independent risk factor for a DS offspring at a young maternal age; however, a role for the combined MTHFR/RFC-1 genotypes in the risk of DS pregnancies among young Italian women cannot be excluded.American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A 05/2006; 140(10):1083-91. · 2.39 Impact Factor -
Article: No evidence of chromosome damage in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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ABSTRACT: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. It is characterized by a progressive airflow limitation resulting from an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to inhaled gases and particles. Since oxidative stress is thought to play a role in COPD, and since increased oxidative stress is associated with chromosomal instability in several diseases, we investigated whether such relationship also exists in COPD. Whole blood lymphocytes from 49 COPD patients and 48 age- and sex-matched controls were cultivated in vitro and cytogenetic damage was evaluated by micronucleus (MN) and sister-chromatid-exchange (SCE) assays. In patients with COPD, MN frequency was not significantly different from that of controls. Similarly, SCE frequency did not differ in the two groups suggesting no disturbance in DNA replication. Unlike other diseases characterized by oxidative stress, COPD does not appear to be associated with DNA damage.Mutagenesis 04/2006; 21(2):167-71. · 3.18 Impact Factor -
Article: Inflammatory markers and serum lipids in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.
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ABSTRACT: Coronary microcirculation is impaired in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC), possibly because of endothelial dysfunction. High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) have the potential to regulate endothelial function and modulate inflammation and the innate immune response. This study investigated whether reduced HDLs, concomitantly with the activation of inflammation, are associated with IDC. Fifty-five patients with IDC, without evidence of other organ or systemic, chronic, or recurrent diseases, were compared with 55 healthy controls for HDLs and complete lipid profiles, C-reactive protein, C3 and C4 complement fractions, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and soluble endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1, haptoglobin, and ceruloplasmin. Patients with IDC differed from controls, with lower HDL levels, lower apolipoprotein A-I and A-II levels, and higher triglyceride levels, but not on total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, or lipoprotein(a). In addition, all measured inflammation markers were significantly greater in patients with IDC than in controls and were negatively correlated with HDLs. A strong and independent association with IDC was found for age, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and HDLs that, when categorized as <40 or >40 mg/dl, showed the strongest association (prevalence odds ratio 0.10, p <0.0005) with the disease. In conclusion, the data here reported on reduced HDLs and increased endothelial inflammatory activation and the linear negative correlation between HDLs and inflammation markers, particularly soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, could suggest a role for HDLs in the endothelial-microvascular dysfunction seen in IDC.The American Journal of Cardiology 12/2005; 96(12):1718-20. · 3.37 Impact Factor -
Article: [Prognostic value of high-density lipoproteins in the cardiology unit].
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ABSTRACT: Clinical and epidemiological studies have shown an inverse and independent association between high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and risk of developing coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of the phenotype characterized by low HDL values and to assess the impact of HDL plasma levels on the prognosis of patients hospitalized in the cardiologic unit of our Institute, during 30 months of follow-up. Between February 1999 and February 2002, 1169 patients (778 men and 391 women) who had undergone hospitalization, were enrolled in a cardiovascular registry. The lipid profile was evaluated for all patients; a subgroup (n = 626) underwent coronary angiography. Patients were followed up for a mean period of 30 months, during which the frequency of revascularization procedures (coronary angioplasty or bypass), myocardial infarction and death were recorded. Nearly half of the subjects (45%, of which 77% men) showed HDL values < 40 mg/dl, and 25% of the population (80% men) were characterized by extremely reduced HDL concentrations (< or = 35 mg/dl). Patients with coronary atherosclerosis showed HDL levels lower than those of subjects with negative angiography (41.0 +/- 10.8 vs 46.6 +/- 10.9 mg/dl, p < 0.0005). An inverse relationship was found between HDL and coronary artery disease: the risk of developing the illness decreased by 4% for each increase of 1 mg/dl in HDL (p < 0.005); in males < 60 years and females < 65 years, the coronary artery disease risk association increased by 3% (p < 0.005). The risk of interventions decreased by 2% for each increase of 1 mg/dl in HDL (p < 0.01), both in the total population and in males < 60 years and females < 65 years. Finally, patients with HDL < 40 mg/dl showed a higher risk of revascularization interventions (+25%, p < 0.01) in comparison to the subjects with HDL > 40 mg/dl. This study demonstrates: a) the high prevalence of the phenotype characterized by low plasma concentrations of HDL among patients hospitalized in a cardiologic unit; b) lower HDL values in subjects with coronary atherosclerosis compared to subjects with normal coronary angiography; c) the inverse relationship between HDL and coronary atherosclerosis; d) the prognostic value of HDL as a predictor of surgical revascularization.Italian heart journal. Supplement: official journal of the Italian Federation of Cardiology 10/2004; 5(9):720-6. -
Article: Severity of bone marrow involvement in patients with Gaucher's disease evaluated by scintigraphy with 99mTc-sestamibi.
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ABSTRACT: Gaucher's disease is a lysosomal storage disorder due to a genetically transmitted deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase. In the most common form of the disease (type 1), accumulation of glucosylceramide in the reticuloendothelial cells of liver, spleen, and bone marrow leads to visceromegaly, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and osteopenia. Skeletal manifestations secondary to infiltration of the bone marrow by Gaucher's cells are detectable by radiography only in advanced stages. Imaging of bone marrow involvement can be performed indirectly by magnetic resonance techniques or by bone marrow scintigraphy with radiocolloids. However, both procedures lack specificity because the normal bone marrow, rather than the pathologic process, is imaged. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of (99m)Tc-sestamibi scintigraphy for direct evaluation of bone marrow involvement. Seventy-two patients with type 1 and 2 patients with type 3 Gaucher's disease (35 males, 39 females) were enrolled in the study. The mean age +/- SD was 31.9 +/- 16.5 y (range, 3-76 y), and the average duration of the disease manifestations when performing scintigraphy was 12.95 y (median, 10.5 y; range, 0-44 y). Forty-three of 74 patients had never received enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), whereas 31 patients were already being treated with ERT. (99m)Tc-Sestamibi was injected intravenously (6-8 MBq/kg of body weight) and imaging was recorded at the lower limbs 30 min after injection, at the plateau of tracer accumulation in the involved bone marrow. The scans were evaluated visually, assigning a semiquantitative score based on the extension and intensity of uptake in the bone marrow of the lower limbs (0 = no uptake; 8 = maximum uptake). The scintigraphic score was entered into complex statistical analysis, which included a series of clinical and blood chemistry parameters defining overall severity of the disease. (99m)Tc-Sestamibi scintigraphy showed that 71 of 74 patients had some degree of bone marrow involvement. The scintigraphic score was highly correlated with an overall clinical severity score index (SSI) and with various parameters contributing to the SSI, either positively or negatively. The highest correlation of the scintigraphic score was found with an overall biochemical marker of disease severity (serum chitotriosidase). ERT-naive patients showed high correlation of the scintigraphic score with the clinical SSI, with a radiographically based score, and with serum chitotriosidase. In the ERT-treated patients, the scintigraphic score was correlated with the clinical SSI, with hepatomegaly, and with hemoglobin. (99m)Tc-Sestamibi uptake reliably identifies bone marrow infiltration by Gaucher's cells. The scintigraphic score is helpful for defining the severity of bone marrow involvement and for comparing patients. (99m)Tc-Sestamibi scintigraphy, which provides topographic information about the sites involved by the disease, is highly correlated with other parameters of disease severity and appears to correlate with response to ERT.Journal of Nuclear Medicine 09/2003; 44(8):1253-62. · 6.38 Impact Factor -
Article: [Evaluation of the health impact of a waste-to-energy incinerator].
Epidemiologia e prevenzione 31(1 Suppl 2):35-41. · 0.65 Impact Factor -
Article: [Mortality for non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the period 1981-2000 in 25 Italian municipalities with urban solid waste incinerators].
Epidemiologia e prevenzione 30(2):80-1. · 0.65 Impact Factor -
Article: [HIA for the location of an incineration plant near Florence: an experience].
Epidemiologia e prevenzione 30(1):46-54. · 0.65 Impact Factor -
Article: [A study on mortality around six municipal solid waste landfills in Tuscany Region].
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ABSTRACT: Describing mortality of populations residing in the neighbourhoods of selected waste landfill sites and contributing to the definition of their health status. Descriptive study of mortality at municipality and aggregated municipalities level. Mortality from 1995 to 2000 in six areas of five provinces of Tuscany Region where municipal and/or hazardous waste landfills are located. Areas considered at higher exposure were those including municipalities where inhabitants mainly reside within 5 km from selected landfills. Comparison was made with rates observed in the five provinces in the same period. Statistical comparisons were perfomed using standardised mortality ratios (SMR) and bayesian mortality ratios (BMR) adjusted for age. Mortality for all causes, groups and specific causes of cancer and non-cancer diseases. Statistically significant mortality excesses were found for circulatory system and cerebrovascular diseases, for lymphohematopoietic system, liver and bladder cancer and non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Methods utilized have produced preliminary indications on associations between residence in areas with landfills and mortality. These excesses, also due to the limitations of macrogeographic studies, indicate that further insights at microgeographic level are needed.Epidemiologia e prevenzione 29(5-6 Suppl):53-6. · 0.65 Impact Factor -
Article: [Mortality in the area around Massa-Carrara 10 years after ANIC-Agricoltura and Farmoplant chemical plants were shut down].
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ABSTRACT: To describe mortality of residents in the area of Massa-Carrara for the period 1995-2000 and to compare it with mortality for the years 1990-1994. Geographical descriptive study. In the area of Massa-Carrara cause and gender specific standardized mortality ratios (SMR), adjusted for age and municipal deprivation index (reference: Tuscany Region), have been computed for the years 1995-2000 and compared with mortality in the period 1990-1994 calculating ratios between standardized rates by age classes with a direct method (CMF). For those causes showing a statistically significant increase a spatial analysis on a group of municipalities around Massa and Carrara has been carried out. Mortality for all causes, and for 30 specific causes. The study results confirm, for the years 1995-2000, the previous observation (1990-1994) of statistically significant excesses for mortality from all causes (SMR 109), all cancers (SMR 112), respiratory diseases (SMR 126), cirrhosis (SMR 226), liver (SMR 161) and lung cancer (SMR 115) in males. A statistically significant excess for larynx (SMR 158) and pleural cancer (SMR 178) is observed in the years 1995-2000, which was not present in 1990-1994. A mortality excess for cirrhosis is confirmed in females (SMR 158) and a new one emerges for liver cancer (SMR 144). The comparison between mortality data for the periods 1995-2000 and 1990-1994 has shown a statistically significant decrease in mortality for all causes and for several specific causes, a significant increase in liver (CMF males 1.35; CMF females 1.78) and blood cancer mortality is also detected (CMF females 1.44). This study confirms the negative health impact of environmental, occupational exposures in populations living in areas where high-risk factories are located. Adverse health effects are stronger in socially and economically deprived areas, and persist over many years after closing polluting industrial plants. The results of this study point out to the need of health promoting actions aiming at modifying lifestyle risk factors, ameliorating socio-economic conditions, and maintaining a constant control on environment, also through a specific environmental epidemiological surveillance to monitor the impact of reclamation procedures completed or in progress.Epidemiologia e prevenzione 30(2):120-8. · 0.65 Impact Factor -
Article: [Results of the evaluation].
Epidemiologia e prevenzione 34(5-6 Suppl 3):21-6. · 0.65 Impact Factor
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2008
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Istituto Superiore di Sanità
- Department of Environment and Primary Prevention
Roma, Latium, Italy
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