Elżbieta Sochacka-Tatara

Aim of the study: Type 1 diabetes requires continuous self-management and may be associated with anxiety, diabetes-related distress, and reduced quality of life. Although advanced diabetes technologies improve treatment safety and metabolic outcomes, their relationship with psychological functioning remains uncertain. This pilot study examined associations between anxiety and quality of life and compared adults treated with and without closed-loop technology. Subject or material and methods: This cross-sectional pilot study included 50 adults with type 1 diabetes treated at a diabetology outpatient clinic. Twenty participants used a closed-loop system, whereas 30 were treated with multiple daily injections or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion without closed-loop technology. Anxiety, life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and diabetes-related emotional burden were assessed using the STAI, SWLS, WHO-5 Well-Being Index, PAID, and DDS-17. Groups were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test, and associations were examined using Spearman’s rho. Results: Higher state and trait anxiety were associated with lower life satisfaction and psychological well-being and with greater diabetes-related emotional burden and diabetes distress. No statistically significant differences were observed between participants using and not using closed-loop technology in anxiety, quality of life, psychological well-being, or diabetes-related emotional burden. Discussion: The findings indicate that anxiety and subjective diabetes burden are clinically relevant correlates of poorer psychological functioning. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously because of the pilot, cross-sectional design and limited sample size. Conclusions: Assessment of anxiety and diabetes-related distress should remain an important component of comprehensive diabetes care, regardless of the technology used.

Waterwater-based epidemiology (WBE) may be able to monitor public health emergencies by analyzing human urinary biomarkers in wastewater. This work proposes a novel approach utilizing WBE for the spatial and temporal evaluation of PAHs exposure using hydroxyl derivatives of PAHs. These are 1-hydroxynaphthalene, 2-hydroxynaphthalene, 2-hydroxyfluorene, 9-hydroxyfluorene, 9-hydroxyphenanthrene, 1-hydroxypyrene and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene. Most target markers were found at quantifiable concentrations in raw and treated wastewater. The total loads identified in raw sewage ranged from 88.33 g/day to 154.77 g/day during the summer period and from 137.66 g/day to 283.78 2 g/day during the winter period. The obtained results for the removal efficiencies of OH-PAHs indicate a seasonal dependency in their degradation. Removal efficiencies were higher in January compared to August.The results of the back calculations allowed to estimate that during the summer, on average, a resident of Krakow could absorb approximately 2.1 µg of the assessed OH-PAHs per day, while in winter, this value increased to 4.1 µg. This is close to the reported in the literature value that the total daily exposure to OH-PAHs is estimated at 3 µg/day.Moreover, the risk quotation (RQ) values on the base of acute and chronic data base for compounds present in effluents were calculated. The RQ values in January were relatively low, but in August the RQ values were higher, indicating a high concentration of effluent and nitrogen in summer as these compounds were removed in winter and summer.To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time wastewater profiling of OH-PAHs in wastewater for the evaluation of exposure to PAHs have been used, also their removal as well emission with effluent were determined.

There have been few assessments of the health benefits to children of policies aimed at curbing fossil fuel-related air pollution. This has resulted in a lack of awareness regarding their positive impact on the health of this vulnerable population. We estimated the pediatric health benefits of policies targeting coal burning in one of Europe’s most polluted cities, Kraków, Poland. We combined available data on child health outcomes, related concentration-response functions, childhood population counts, and concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ based on city-wide air monitoring in Kraków. Two exposure reduction scenarios were examined. First, we used the observed decrease in air pollutant concentrations between 2010 and 2019. Second, we hypothesized a reduction to the annual World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline values issued in 2005. Between 2010 and 2019, the mean annual air pollution levels in Kraków decreased for both PM_2.5 and PM₁₀. Annual average PM_2.5 concentrations declined by 39.1%, reaching 23.3 μg m⁻³; PM₁₀ dropped by 39.2% to 34.6 μg m⁻³. These reductions in air pollution can be linked to numerous actions undertaken at local and national levels. We estimate that the forgone benefits in 2010 from not having achieved the PM levels observed in 2019 (on an annual basis) included: 505 (35.7%) fewer incident cases of asthma in the 1–14 age group, 81 fewer preterm births (16.8% decrease), 52 fewer cases of low birth weight (12.3% decrease), and 59 avoided asthma hospitalizations in 0–18 year olds. Compliance with the 2005 WHO PM_2.5 guidelines in 2010 would have avoided 780 incident asthma cases in the 1–14 age group (54.5% decrease), 138 preterm births (28.3% decrease), and 90 cases of low birth weight (21.2% reduction) and 219 (54.2%) fewer asthma hospitalizations in 0–18 year olds. Large health benefits were also estimated for PM₁₀ in both scenarios. This study estimated substantial health benefits for children in Kraków, which were largely attributable to clean air policies that restrict the use of coal and other solid fuels. Kraków provides a model for other cities in Europe and beyond that are affected by coal pollution and have high rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, and respiratory illness.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants that are generated by the incomplete combustion of organic materials. The main anthropogenic sources of PAHs are the combustion of solid fuels for heating purposes, illegal waste incineration, road transport and industries based on fossil fuels. PAHs can easily enter the body because they are present in all elements of the environment, including water, soil, air, and food. Due to their ubiquitous presence, PAHs, may exert a harmful effect on human health. Assessing PAH exposure through biomonitoring mostly involve techniques to measure the concentration of 1-hydroxypyrene in human urine. Nevertheless, through recent progress in analytical techniques, other common metabolites of PAHs in human biospecimens can be detected. A scientific literature search was conducted to determine which hydroxy derivatives of PAHs are markers of PAHs exposure and to reveal the leading sources of these compounds. Techniques for analyzing biological samples to identify OH-PAHs are also discussed. The most frequently determined OH-PAH in human urine is 1-hydroxypyrene, the concentration of which reaches up to a dozen ng/L in urine. Apart from this compound, the most frequently determined biomarkers were naphthalene and fluorene metabolites. The highest concentrations of 1- and 2-hydroxynaphthalene, as well as 2-hydroxyfluorene, are associated with occupational exposure and reach approximately 30 ng/L in urine. High molecular weight PAH metabolites have been identified in only a few studies. To date, PAH metabolites in feces have been analyzed only in animal models for PAH exposure. The most frequently used analytical method is HPLC-FLD. However, compared to liquid chromatography, the LOD for gas chromatography methods is at least one order of magnitude lower. The hydroxy derivatives naphthalene and fluorene may also serve as indicators of PAH exposure.

Evidence of the causal-empirical link between man-made chemicals present in industrial and household products, often leakage into the environment, and the effects on public health is growing, although still limited. These include, among other things, air pollutants in the environment associated with the highest prevalence of asthma, as well as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in urban populations. There is strong evidence of health risks posed by human exposure to organic air pollutants such as PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) from combustion processes (solid fuels, coal and biomass) and communication. Generally, PAHs are formed during incomplete combustion and pyrolysis of organic material in a wide range of temperatures, up to over 1200 ° C. After entering the body, PAHs are transported to the alveoli and then spread throughout the body with the blood. The biological effects that PAHs cause in the human body are short-term, chronic, or long-term health effects, i.e. carcinogenicity, immunotoxicity, or developmental toxicity, genotoxicity. After entering the human body, PAHs undergo a complicated metabolism process and are excreted in the form of OH-PAHs with urine and faeces.The purpose of the study was to analyse selected OH-PAHs in influent and effluent wastewater from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Analysed PAH metabolites are: 1- and 2-hydroxynaphthalene, 2- and 9-hydroxyfluorene, 9-hydroxyphenenthrene, 1-hydroxypyrene, and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene. The wastewater samples came from the largest WWTP in Kraków. OH-PAH concentration levels were determined by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), preceded by the extraction of analytes into the solid phase and their derivatization.The concentrations of the analyzed compounds were at the level of ng/L. Regardless of the season of sampling for analysis (summer and winter), the highest concentrations, even up to 400 ng/L, were found in 2-hydroxynaphthalene and 9-hydroxyfluorene in influents. 1-hydroxypyrene, which according to literature reports is considered a marker of exposure to PAHs, was observed for influent and effluent samples only in winter at the level of only a few ng/L. Keywords: Hydroxy derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Biomarker, WastewaterAcknowledgments: A Research project financed by program “Initiative for Excellence – Research University” for the AGH University of Science and Technology. The research was supported by Research Subsidy AGH 16.16.210.476.

Unhealthy diet and cooking method used may influence the risk of breast cancer (BC), but there is only limited evidence with regard to benign breast disease (BBD). The aim of this study was to assess a relationship between cooking technique, especially fried to boiled meals ratio in the diet, and the risk of BC and BBD in a group of Polish women. A case-control study involving 34 BC cases, 81 BBD cases and 122 healthy controls was conducted between July 2007 and November 2011. All the women were asked about their nutritional habits, especially the way of preparing meat and fish dishes. Then the ratio of fried to boiled meals was calculated. High fried to boiled ratio was associated with increasing risk of BBD, but not BC. Women consuming fried dishes more often than boiled dishes had elevated risk of BBD: OR = 3.04 and OR = 3.65 for the second and the third tertile, respectively. Adjustment for the other confounders only slightly altered this relationship. Women who preferred frying as a cooking technique had increased risk of benign breast disease, but not breast cancer. There is a need of more precise investigation to confirm this association.

An unfavorable trend of increasing rates of colorectal cancer has been observed across modern societies. In general, dietary factors are understood to be responsible for up to 70% of the disease’s incidence, though there are still many inconsistencies regarding the impact of specific dietary items. Among the dietary minerals, calcium intake may play a crucial role in the prevention. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of intake of higher levels of dietary calcium on the risk of developing of colorectal cancer, and to evaluate dose dependent effect and to investigate possible effect modification.