In 2003, we recorded a striking difference in the prevalence of atopy between village and small-town populations in southwest Poland. Nine years later, we undertook a second survey of the same area. We sought to assess whether rapid changes in farming practices, driven by accession to the European Union in 2004, were accompanied by an increase in atopy, asthma, and hay fever in these villages. In 2012, we surveyed 1730 inhabitants older than 5 years (response rate, 85%); 560 villagers and 348 town inhabitants who had taken part in the earlier survey. Participants completed a questionnaire on farm-related exposures and symptoms of asthma and hay fever. Atopy was assessed by using skin prick tests. In 2012, far fewer villagers had contact with cows (4% vs 24.3% in 2003) or pigs (14% vs 33.5%), milked cows (2.7% vs 12.7%), or drank unpasteurized milk (9% vs 35%). Among the villagers, there was a significant increase at all ages in the prevalence of atopy between 2003 and 2012 both in the total population (7.3% vs 19.6%, P < .0001) and among those who took part in both surveys (7.9% vs 17.8%, P < .0001). Among the townspeople, the prevalence of atopy did not change substantially (20% vs 19.9% and 21.7% vs 18.5%, respectively). Hay fever increased 2-fold in the villages (3.0% vs 7.7%) but not in the town (7.1% vs 7.2%); there was little or no change in asthma prevalence in the villages (5.0% vs 4.3%) or town (4.3% vs 5.0%). We report a substantial increase in atopy at all ages and in a remarkably short period of time in a Polish population whose farm-related exposures were dramatically reduced after their country's accession to the European Union.

In light of the constantly increasing prevalence of allergic diseases, changes in dietary patterns have been suggested as a plausible environmental explanation for the development and progression of these diseases. Nowadays, much attention has been paid to the development of dietary interventions using natural substances with anti-allergy activities. In this respect, dietary polyphenols have been studied extensively as one of the most prominent natural bioactive compounds with well-documented anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties. This review aims to discuss the mechanisms underlying the potential anti-allergic actions of polyphenols related to their ability to reduce protein allergenicity, regulate immune response, and gut microbiome modification; however, these issues need to be elucidated in detail. This paper reviews the current evidence from experimental and clinical studies confirming that various polyphenols such as quercetin, curcumin, resveratrol, catechins, and many others could attenuate allergic inflammation, alleviate the symptoms of food allergy, asthma, and allergic rhinitis, and prevent the development of allergic immune response. Conclusively, dietary polyphenols are endowed with great anti-allergic potential and therefore could be used either for preventive approaches or therapeutic interventions in relation to allergic diseases. Limitations in studying and widespread use of polyphenols as well as future research directions are also discussed.

Living on a farm and having contact with rural exposures have been proposed as one of the most promising ways to be protected against allergy and asthma development. There is a significant body of epidemiological evidence that consumption of raw milk in childhood and adulthood in farm but also nonfarm populations can be one of the most effective protective factors. The observation is even more intriguing when considering the fact that milk is one of the most common food allergens in childhood. The exact mechanisms underlying this association are still not well understood, but the role of raw milk ingredients such as proteins, fat and fatty acids, and bacterial components has been recently studied and its influence on the immune function has been documented. In this review, we present the current understanding of the protective effect of raw milk on allergies and asthma.

The pathophysiology of asthma has been intensively studied, but its underlying mechanisms such as airway inflammation, control of airway tone, and bronchial reactivity are still not completely explained. There is an urgent need to implement novel, non-invasive diagnostic tools that can help to investigate local airway inflammation and connect the molecular pathways with the broad spectrum of clinical manifestations of asthma. The new biomarkers of different asthma endotypes could be used to confirm diagnosis, predict asthma exacerbations, or evaluate treatment response. In this paper, we briefly describe the characteristics of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) that is considered to be an interesting source of biomarkers of lung disorders. We look at the composition of EBC, some aspects of the collection procedure, the proposed biomarkers for asthma, and its clinical implications. We also indicate the limitations of the method and potential strategies to standardize the procedure of EBC collection and analytical methods.