J Heinrich

..Exposure to infection indicating sub-clinical infection rather than clinical infection might protect from atopic diseases...

..We especially focused on COPD as defined by GOLD criteria and additionally compared the effects of air pollution on respiratory symptoms by questionnaire data and by lung function measurements...

..The aim of this study was to investigate whether respiratory health at baseline contributes to the effects of long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution on cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of elderly women...

..35 kU x L(-1) was used as cut-off. These results, showing an association between prenatal allergen and endotoxin exposures and immunoglobulin E production, suggest that the development of foetal immune responses may be affected...

..Here, we restrict the review on the impact of fine particle exposure on children's health to the following outcomes: infant death, lung function, respiratory symptoms and reproductive outcomes...

..A higher microbial exposure in general and in particular to endotoxin in early childhood might contribute to this lower risk of atopy...

..However, the results from epidemiologic research provide a more complex picture...

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..A study of 330 adults reported increased systolic blood pressure and higher hypertension prevalence rates in men with rhinitis. The authors replicated this study...

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..Previous research on air pollution effects has found associations with chronic adverse health effects even at the relatively low levels of ambient particulates currently measured in most urban areas...

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..A new federal bill to diminish environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in the workplace was recently passed in Germany, but protection of nonsmokers from smoking family members at home needs more attention...

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..We could not confirm the conclusion of the previous study that men with rhinitis need special attention for blood pressure control...

..91-1.20)). We conclude that exposure to traffic-related air pollutants increases the risk of nonallergic respiratory symptoms and to a lesser degree the risk of hay fever and allergic sensitization but not the risk of asthma in adults...

..Cat allergen level in settled house dust and its determinants in Europe are unknown...

..In conclusion, there were no significant changes in the prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, or self-reported symptoms of allergic diseases...

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..In epidemiological studies of the potential health effects of traffic related air pollution, self reported traffic intensity is a commonly used, but rarely validated, exposure variable...

..However, repeated measurements of fungi levels were only weakly correlated and thus repeated observations for assessment of annual means of total spore counts are needed...

..Modern living conditions are associated with a higher odds of allergic sensitization...

..This paper describes the study design, frequency data on cardiovascular and psychosocial factors at baseline survey, and findings of three 5 year follow-up medical examinations. Life status was followed for 30 years...

..76; CI: 0.66 to 0.88) after adjustment for several potential predictors. In conclusion, we found that the prevalence of nonasthmatic respiratory symptoms decreased from the first period to the second period in all three study areas...

..It is not yet clear if this is due to a true increase in morbidity or only to a higher awareness for these diseases among doctors and the public...

..The risk is increased if subjects are exposed to a mixture of allergens or if they are sensitized in addition to high exposure...

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..Previous studies have reported a protective association between high levels of exposure to endotoxin during infancy and the development of subsequent eczema within the first 6 months of life...

..4). We conclude that that the amount of dust sampled can be used as a proxy for hygiene and that beta(1-->3)-glucan concentrations per square meter are related to the amount of dust sampled...

..The association between dietary fatty acid intake and the development of atopic diseases has been inconsistent. This could be due to inter-individual genetic differences in fatty acid metabolism...

..Therefore, we evaluated the influence of the FADS1 FADS2 gene cluster polymorphisms on the association between BF and asthma...

..This singly measured biocontaminant concentration is related to adverse respiratory outcomes such as asthma, wheeze or others...

..In a recent genome wide scan, a functional promoter variant (rs2251746) in the gene encoding the alpha chain of the high affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E (IgE) (FCER1A) was identified as major determinant of serum IgE levels...

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..To describe regional differences between eastern and western Germany with regard to food, nutrient and supplement intake in 9-12-year-old children, and analyse its association with parental education and equivalent income...

..9, 95% CI 3.4-35.0) and ever-wheeze without infection (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.9) at age 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Second-hand exposure to cat allergen in homes without cats is detrimental in terms of allergy development in infants...

..However, none of these factors and not even a combination of factors explains the variability of endotoxin levels between homes...

..Specific IgE antibodies are often detected without any clinical manifestation of allergies. We aimed to analyse the predictivity of allergic sensitization for incident symptoms of allergic diseases in adults during a 10-year follow-up...

..We compared the prevalence of allergic diseases in farmers, and rural, suburban and urban residents in the small geographical area of Augsburg in southern Germany...

..However, little is known about the longitudinal dynamics of these polymorphisms on body mass index (BMI), overweight, and obesity...

..The aim of this study is to investigate whether infant formulas containing canola oil support normal growth in infants as assessed by weight and length gain...

..The present results give indirect evidence, that less respiratory infections may be associated with higher bronchial hyperresponsiveness...

..74 (0.58, 0.93)]. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that current exposure to higher levels of house dust endotoxin might be associated with a decreased odds of allergic sensitization in adults...

..There was some indication of an association between traffic-related air pollution and symptoms of cough. Due to the very young age of the infants, it was too early to draw definitive conclusions from this for the development of asthma...

..In conclusion, this study supports the hypothesis of a potential protective mechanism related to dog exposure in early life, especially for children of atopic parents. However, this association was found only for dogs and not for cats...

..Stress has been suggested to impact the onset and exacerbation of eczema and other atopic disorders. Whether early exposure to stress-related factors might exert long-term effects remains to be clarified...

..Although in several epidemiological studies exposure to diesel motor emissions (DME) shows an elevated lung cancer risk, it is still controversial whether DME is a human carcinogen...

..Only a few studies have analyzed the value of early sensitization in predicting the development of atopic disease. The relevance of low immunoglobulin (Ig) E antibody levels in this respect also remains unclear...

..The reasons for the differences between countries are not clear...

..PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The study indicated that community is a major source of cat allergen exposure especially in communities of low SES...

..Atopic diseases develop on a genetic background and are modulated by environmental factors among which some infectious diseases are thought to have a protective influence...

..The mixed results may be explained by differences in age and avoidance patterns...

..003-1.060. No association between fine particle MC and mortality was found. This study shows that UFP, representing fresh combustion particles, may be an important component of urban air pollution associated with health effects...

..Positive dose-dependent associations and independent effects of postnatal exposure suggest involvement of environmental tobacco smoke in the risk for development of insulin resistance in children...

..In vitro studies, animal experiments, and human exposure studies have shown how ambient air pollution increases the risk of atopic diseases. However, results derived from observational studies are inconsistent...

..Tracking of fatty acid (FA) contribution to plasma or serum lipids over time was shown in children and adults. However, the potential role of FADS gene variants has not been investigated...

..The removal of dust by frequent cleaning reduces the indoor exposure to grass allergens. Such information is essential to train patients in allergen avoidance...

..The high dose effect, the time dependency of the administration and the effect by non-pulmonary indications raises the possibility that early antibiotic treatment could itself be related to later asthma...

..02-1.34). No association was seen with noncardiopulmonary nonlung cancer mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Living close to major roads and chronic exposure to NO2 and PM10 may be associated with an increased mortality due to cardiopulmonary causes...

..This study examines the association between peak height and weight velocities during the first 2 years of life and onset of asthma and wheeze up to 10 years of age...

..In this paper we investigated the association of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)-vaccination and atopic diseases and allergic sensitisation in children in Eastern Germany...

..Food allergy is common, especially in childhood, where 6-8% of children are affected. Identification of early and efficient markers for later development of food allergy is very important...

..The purpose of this study was to replicate these findings using data from Augsburg, a city from the southern part of West Germany. Furthermore the study population in this analysis was extended to higher age groups...

..These results might reflect a convergence of initially higher prevalences of overweight and obesity in the East with initially lower prevalences in the West...

..The indoor BTEX air concentrations were significantly higher than the outdoor concentrations (except benzene). Significant differences in BTEX indoor concentrations between OLD and NEW buildings could not be detected (except toluene)...

..However, differences remained after adjusting for these variables. Children's health was associated with parental education. The association could not fully be explained by established risk factors...

..This variable caused a similar increase in the indoor NO2 levels in each city (43% in Erfurt and 47% in Hamburg). However, outdoor sources of NO2 (motor vehicle traffic) contributed more to indoor NO2 levels in Hamburg than in Erfurt...

..Sulfur could be a tracer for coal combustion, however, it was not correlated with any of the quoted elements. Highly correlated elements V and Ni have similar enrichment factors and are considered as tracers for oil combustion...

..These results might suggest that preventive actions should start as early as possible and children from disadvantaged families might be considered as a susceptible subgroup...

..10 x HI - 0.668. Because the measured levels of ammonium nitrate were very low in Erfurt, we concluded that other compounds like semi-volatile organics were responsible for the loss of particulate material at 50 degrees C...

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..91-2.10). The strongest effect estimates for chronic inflammation were found for those children likely to have been exposed at higher levels, that is when stoves had no fans, in smaller homes, and for children spending more time indoors...

..The aim of this study was to evaluate whether regional urban air pollution may partly explain the large variation in the prevalence of allergic sensitization across cities of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) II...

..The aim of our study was to assess the relation between social class, immune parameters, and the prevalence of respiratory infections in children...

..The reasons for our observation, especially the gender difference, are still uncertain. In conclusion the morphology and function of erythrocytes might be sensitive parameters of low dose lead toxicity...

..180 g; 209 vs. 174 g and 62 vs. 53 g. Surprisingly similar changes in eating habits were observed with men and women. The majority of changes could be explained by the improved variety in food supply after the reunification...

..In terms of developing atopic diseases there is no verifiable detrimental effect of early swimming...

..9% for a decrement of 100 micro g/m(3) SO(2) (p = 0.029). Effects on FEV(1) were smaller and not statistically significant. Our study indicates that a reduction of air pollution in a short time period may improve children's lung function...

..The increase of particulate and gaseous air pollution was associated with multiple changes in the differential white blood cell count in patients with chronic pulmonary diseases...

..This study investigates whether a delayed introduction of solids (past 4 or 6 months) is protective against the development of eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and food or inhalant sensitization at the age of 6 years...

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..rho2.5 has the potential to serve as a crude tracer for chemical composition and atmospheric processing and might play an important role when considering the associations between health effects and ambient particles...

..5; CI:0.25-0.82) and cheese (OR=0.3, CI:0.21-0.55). ETS at work, occupational hazards and previous pneumonia may be risk factors for lung cancer in nonsmoking women, while a diet rich in fresh vegetables and cheese seems to be protective...

..The aim of this analysis was to determine whether lung function determinants differ between subpopulations within Germany and whether prediction equations developed for one subpopulation are also adequate for another subpopulation...

..Environmental exposure to endotoxin might have a crucial role in immune maturation and development of asthma...

..CONCLUSIONS: High plasma carotenoid concentrations reflecting a diet high in various fruits and vegetables might have a protective effect on allergic rhinitis in adulthood...

..The influence of cat allergen exposure in early childhood on the development of sensitization and allergic diseases is complex. Little is known about the natural course of the sensitization development within individuals...

..These effects were strongest in the group of children who had lived in the same home since birth...

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..Some studies have suggested that particulate matter (PM) levels during pregnancy may be associated with birth weight. Road traffic is a major source of fine PM (PM with aero-dynamic diameter < 2.5 microm; PM(2.5))...

..To assess the association between the introduction of solid foods in the first 12 months and the occurrence of eczema during the first 4 years of life in a prospective study of newborns...

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..Temperature effects and seasonal variation of endotoxin should be considered in future studies of outdoor endotoxin...

..We conclude that for comparable exposure to tobacco smoke, the risk of lung cancer is comparable in women and men...

..Dietary factors were mostly not related with prevalence rates of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and atopic eczema either in males or in females...

..CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional study among adults, a high content of n-3 fatty acids in RBC membranes (EPA) or in the diet (ALA) is associated with a decreased risk of allergic sensitisation and allergic rhinitis...

..It seems that the decline in ambient lead fall had an impact on the body burden of lead, but the overall decrease in BLL in these two regions is caused by the overall decrease of lead in gasoline and thus in food...

..However, we could not determine whether margarine is a causal risk factor or whether other lifestyle factors have influenced this association...

..To investigate individual longitudinal change of relative weight, overweight and obesity from age 5 to 25 years by gender...

..7 microg m(-3) and 2.7 microg m(-3), respectively). Monthly means, however, can only be considered to be a crude estimate that may substantially under- or overestimate the true monthly mean value...

..The results suggest that reported asthma medication use and symptoms increase in association with particulate air pollution and gaseous pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide...