@article {3548, title = {Piccolipi{\`u}, a multicenter birth cohort in Italy: protocol of the study.}, journal = {BMC Pediatr}, volume = {14}, year = {2014}, month = {2014}, pages = {36}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The fetal and infant life are periods of rapid development, characterized by high susceptibility to exposures. Birth cohorts provide unique opportunities to study early-life exposures in association with child development and health, as well as, with longer follow-up, the early life origin of adult diseases. Piccolipi{\`u} is an Italian birth cohort recently set up to investigate the effects of environmental exposures, parental conditions and social factors acting during pre-natal and early post-natal life on infant and child health and development. We describe here its main characteristics.

METHODS/DESIGN: Piccolipi{\`u} is a prospective cohort of expected 3000 newborns, who will be recruiting in six maternity units of five Italian cities (Florence, Rome, Trieste, Turin and Viareggio) since October 2011. Mothers are contacted during pregnancy or at delivery and are offered to participate in the study. Upon acceptance, their newborns are recruited at birth and followed up until at least 18 years of age. At recruitment, the mothers donate a blood sample and complete a baseline questionnaire. Umbilical cord blood, pieces of umbilical cord and heel blood spots are also collected. Postnatal follow-up currently occurs at 6, 12, and 24 months of age using on-line or postal self administered questionnaire; further questionnaires and medical examinations are envisaged. Questionnaires collect information on several factors, including mother{\textquoteright}s and/or child{\textquoteright}s environmental exposures, anthropometric measures, reproductive factors, diet, supplements, medical history, cognitive development, mental health and socioeconomic factors. Health promotion materials are also offered to parents.

DISCUSSION: Piccolipi{\`u} will broaden our understanding of the contribution of early-life factors to infant and child health and development. Several hypotheses on the developmental origins of health can be tested or piloted using the data collected from the Piccolipi{\`u} cohort. By pooling these data with those collected by other existing birth cohorts it will be possible to validate previous findings and to study rare exposures and outcomes.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Child, Child Development, Child Welfare, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Environmental Exposure, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Italy, Prospective Studies, Socioeconomic Factors}, issn = {1471-2431}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2431-14-36}, author = {Farchi, Sara and Forastiere, Francesco and Vecchi Brumatti, Liza and Alviti, Sabrina and Arnofi, Antonio and Bernardini, Tommaso and Bin, Maura and Brescianini, Sonia and Colelli, Valentina and Cotichini, Rodolfo and Culasso, Martina and De Bartolo, Paolo and Felice, Laura and Fiano, Valentina and Fioritto, Alessandra and Frizzi, Alfio and Gagliardi, Luigi and Giorgi, Giulia and Grasso, Chiara and La Rosa, Francesca and Loganes, Claudia and Lorusso, Paola and Martini, Valentina and Merletti, Franco and Medda, Emanuela and Montelatici, Veronica and Mugelli, Isabella and Narduzzi, Silvia and Nistic{\`o}, Lorenza and Penna, Luana and Piscianz, Elisa and Piscicelli, Carlo and Poggesi, Giulia and Porta, Daniela and Ranieli, Antonella and Rapisardi, Gherardo and Rasulo, Assunta and Richiardi, Lorenzo and Rusconi, Franca and Serino, Laura and Stazi, Maria Antonietta and Toccaceli, Virgilia and Todros, Tullia and Tognin, Veronica and Trevisan, Morena and Valencic, Erica and Volpi, Patrizia and Ziroli, Valentina and Ronfani, Luca and Di Lallo, Domenico} } @article {1847, title = {Marriage and parenthood among childhood cancer survivors: a report from the Italian AIEOP Off-Therapy Registry.}, journal = {Haematologica}, volume = {96}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 May}, pages = {744-51}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to describe the patterns of marriage and parenthood in a cohort of childhood cancer survivors included in the Off-Therapy Registry maintained by the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.

DESIGN AND METHODS: We analyzed a cohort of 6,044 patients diagnosed with cancer between 1960 and 1998, while aged 0 to 14 years and who were 18 years old or older by December 2003. They were followed up through the regional vital statistics registers until death or the end of follow up (October 30, 2006), whichever occurred first, and their marital status and date of birth of their children were recorded. The cumulative probabilities of being married and having a first child were computed by gender and compared by tumor type within the cohort. Marriage and fertility rates (the latter defined as the number of live births per woman-year) were compared with those of the Italian population of the same age, gender, area of residence and calendar period by means of the observed to expected (O/E) ratios.

RESULTS: During the follow-up period, 4,633 (77\%) subjects had not married. The marriage O/E ratios were 0.56 (95\% CI: 0.51-0.61) and 0.70 (95\% CI: 0.65-0.76) among men and women, respectively. Overall, 263 men had 367 liveborn children, and 473 women had 697 liveborn children. The female fertility O/E ratio was 0.57 (95\% CI: 0.53-0.62) overall, and 1.08 (95\% CI: 0.99-1.17) when analyses were restricted to married/cohabiting women

CONCLUSIONS: Childhood cancer survivors are less likely to marry and to have children than the general population, confirming the life-long impact of their previous disease on their social behavior and choices. The inclusion of counseling in the strategies of management and long-term surveillance of childhood cancer patients could be beneficial to survivors as they approach adulthood.

}, keywords = {Adult, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Hematologic Neoplasms, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Italy, Male, Marriage, Middle Aged, Parents, Registries, Survivors}, issn = {1592-8721}, doi = {10.3324/haematol.2010.036129}, author = {Pivetta, Emanuele and Maule, Milena M and Pisani, Paola and Zugna, Daniela and Haupt, Riccardo and Jankovic, Momcilo and Aric{\`o}, Maurizio and Casale, Fiorina and Clerico, Anna and Cordero di Montezemolo, Luca and Kiren, Valentina and Locatelli, Franco and Palumbo, Giovanna and Pession, Andrea and Pillon, Marta and Santoro, Nicola and Terenziani, Monica and Valsecchi, Maria Grazia and Dama, Elisa and Magnani, Corrado and Merletti, Franco and Pastore, Guido} }