Paediatric Asthma contributes in paediatric global burden of diseases, as the most common chronic disease in children. Children are exposed to many environmental risk-factors, able to determine or worsen respiratory diseases, and contributing to asthma and asthma-like symptoms increases, especially in metropolitan areas. In urban settings, surrounding vegetation (greenness) may provide important benefits to health, including the promotion of physical activity and the mitigation of air and noise pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between greenness and respiratory health. A total of 187 children (10–13 yrs old) were recruited in Turin, the north-western part of Italy. The prevalence of asthma and asthma-like symptoms was calculated from self-reported data collected by SIDRIA questionnaire. Spirometry test was performed to obtain respiratory flow measurements. Greenness was measured at individual level through the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) estimations from remote-sensing images. Higher exposure (3rd tertile vs. 1st tertile) to NDVI was associated to significantly lower ORs for asthma [0.13 CI 95% 0.02–0.7, p = 0.019], bronchitis [0.14 CI 95% 0.05–0.45, p = 0.001], and current wheezing [0.25 CI 95% 0.09–0.70, p = 0.008]. A significative positive association was found between greenness and FEF_25–75, since children exposed to the 2nd tertile of NDVI reported a significantly decreased FEF_25–75 compared to those in the 3rd tertile [B: −2.40; C.I.95%: −0.48–0.01; p = 0.049]. This cross-sectional study provided additional data on still inconsistent literature referring to respiratory health in children and green spaces, attesting a positive effect of greenness in a specific area of Italy. Further research is still needed.

Inflammation is a comprehensive set of physiological processes that an organism undertakes in response to a wide variety of foreign stimuli, such as viruses, bacteria, and inorganic particles. A key role is played by cytokines, protein-based chemical mediators produced by a broad range of cells, including the immune cells recruited in the inflammation site. The aim of this systematic review is to compare baseline values of pro/anti-inflammatory biomarkers measured in Exhaled Breath Condensate (EBC) in healthy, non-smoking adults to provide a summary of the concentrations reported in the literature. We focused on: interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and C reactive protein (CRP). Eligible articles were identified in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL. Due to the wide differences in methodologies employed in the included articles concerning EBC sampling, storage, and analyses, research protocols were assessed specifically to test their adherence to the ATS/ERS Task Force guidelines on EBC. The development of reference intervals for these biomarkers can result in their introduction and use in both research and clinical settings, not only for monitoring purposes but also, in the perspective of future longitudinal studies, as predictive parameters for the onset and development of chronic diseases with inflammatory aetiology.

Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking habits have stabilized in many Western countries. This study aimed at evaluating whether socioeconomic disparities in smoking habits are still enlarging in Italy and at comparing the impact of education and occupation. In the frame of the GEIRD study (Gene Environment Interactions in Respiratory Diseases) 10,494 subjects, randomly selected from the general population aged 20–44 years in seven Italian centres, answered a screening questionnaire between 2007 and 2010 (response percentage = 57.2%). In four centres a repeated cross-sectional survey was performed: smoking prevalence recorded in GEIRD was compared with prevalence recorded between 1998 and 2000 in the Italian Study of Asthma in Young Adults (ISAYA). Current smoking was twice as prevalent in people with a primary/secondary school certificate (40-43%) compared with people with an academic degree (20%), and among unemployed and workmen (39%) compared with managers and clerks (20-22%). In multivariable analysis smoking habits were more affected by education level than by occupation. From the first to the second survey the prevalence of ever smokers markedly decreased among housewives, managers, businessmen and free-lancers, while ever smoking became even more common among unemployed (time-occupation interaction: p = 0.047). At variance, the increasing trend in smoking cessation was not modified by occupation. Smoking prevalence has declined in Italy during the last decade among the higher socioeconomic classes, but not among the lower. This enlarging socioeconomic inequality mainly reflects a different trend in smoking initiation.

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate bisphenol A (BPA) and its role in the induction of oxidative stress and confirm the same for tobacco smoke. Methods. A total of 223 young, healthy students (7–19 years old) were recruited in Chivasso, Italy. A spot of urine of each subject was analyzed to quantify BPA, cotinine, and 15F2t-isoprostane. Results. BPA showed a slight increase of concentration proportional with increasing age, even though the 11–14 years age group had slightly lower results, inducing a V-shape. The same trend was observed for 15F2t-isoprostane and cotinine. The result of piecewise linear robust regression shows a break point of the effect of BPA on 15F2t-isoprostane at 6 ng/mg CREA (p < 0.001). At higher levels, 15F2t-isoprostane shows an exponential increase by more than threefold for each one-log unit of BPA. An increase of oxidative stress due to BPA was observed, but only from 6 ng/mg of CREA up. Passive tobacco smoke is also able to induce an increase in oxidative stress. Conclusion. Prevention against BPA and passive tobacco smoke represents an important tool for promoting the highest health standard.

Air pollution is a leading risk factor for global mortality and morbidity. Oxidative stress is a key mechanism underlying air-pollution-mediated health effects, especially in the pathogenesis/exacerbation of airway impairments. However, evidence lacks on subgroups at higher risk of developing more severe outcomes in response to air pollution. This multi-centre study aims to evaluate the association between air pollution and oxidative stress in healthy adults and in patients affected by airway diseases from the Italian GEIRD (Gene Environment Interactions in Respiratory Diseases) multi-case control study. Overall, 1841 adults (49 % females, 20-83 years) were included from four Italian centres: Pavia, Sassari, Turin, and Verona. Following a 2-stage screening process, we identified 1273 cases of asthma, chronic bronchitis, rhinitis, or COPD and 568 controls. Systemic oxidative stress was quantified by urinary 8-isoprostane and 8-OH-dG. Individual residential exposures to NO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and O₃ were derived using an innovative five-stage machine-learning-based approach. Linear mixed regression models tested the association between oxidative stress biomarkers and air pollution tertiles, adjusting by age, sex, BMI, smoking, education and season, with recruiting centres as random intercept. Only cases exhibited higher levels of log-transformed 8-isoprostane and 8-OH-dG in association with NO₂ (β: 0.30 95 % CI: 0.08-0.52 and 0.20 95 % CI: 0.03-0.37), PM₁₀ (0.34 95 % CI: 0.12-0.55 and 0.21 95 % CI: 0.05-0.37) and PM_2.5 (0.27 95 % CI: 0.09-0.49 and 0.18 95 % CI: 0.02-0.34) as compared to the first tertile of exposure. No significant associations were observed for summer O₃. Our findings suggest that exposure to air pollution may increase systemic oxidative stress levels in people suffering from airway diseases. This introduces a potential novel approach available for future epidemiological studies and Public Health for effective prevention strategies oriented at the quantification of early biological effects in susceptible people, whose additional risk level might be currently underrated. Air-pollution-mediated exacerbations, driven by oxidative stress, still deserve our attention.