Publications by authors named "Agnes Luzak"

Health care disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have caused persistent decreases in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake in Germany. The objective of this study was to estimate the cumulative deficit in first doses of the HPV vaccine administered to girls in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic and the projected time to recover from this deficit at different catch-up vaccination uptake levels, focusing on girls 9-14 years of age. This study used a published HPV vaccination modeling tool.

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Article Synopsis
  • HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, and its vaccination has been part of Germany's national immunization program since 2007, but uptake rates are still low.
  • A study analyzed healthcare claims data to assess the impact of this vaccination program on HPV-related diseases in women aged 28 to 33, comparing data from before and after the program's introduction.
  • Results showed significant reductions in cervical precancers, anogenital warts, and vaginal precancer/cancer, indicating the vaccine's effectiveness and the potential benefits of increasing vaccination rates in Germany.
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Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection can have a broad range of manifestations. This study aimed to assess cCMV-associated sequelae and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) in infants during the first year of life in Germany.

Methods: A retrospective, controlled cohort study using German claims data from the Institute for Applied Health Research Berlin (InGef) database was conducted.

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Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection can cause severe neurological damage, growth retardation, hearing loss, and microcephaly in infants. We aimed at assessing healthcare costs of infants with recorded cCMV diagnosis in an administrative claims database in the first 2 years of life.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, controlled cohort study using German claims data from the Institute for Applied Health Research Berlin (InGef) database.

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  • Rapid urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa is linked to decreased physical activity (PA) among children, potentially increasing body fat and leptin levels, but low leptin might correlate with high PA in lean children from low- and middle-income countries.
  • A study in rural Tanzania measured PA in 223 primary school children using accelerometers, along with leptin levels, anthropometric data, and socio-demographic information.
  • Results showed low leptin concentrations and high PA levels, indicating a negative association between leptin levels and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), with children in better infrastructure areas showing lower PA and higher leptin levels.
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Background: It is unclear whether early life food sensitization (as opposed to aeroallergen sensitization) is associated with subsequent poor lung function.

Objectives: We investigated the associations between food sensitization in the first 2 years of life and lung function at 12 to 18 years and whether these observed associations are mediated through aeroallergen sensitization or asthma.

Methods: We used data from a high-risk cohort (Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study [MACS]) and a population-based "Influence of life-style-related factors on the development of the Immune System and Allergies in East and West Germany plus the influence of traffic emissions and genetics" (LISAplus) cohort.

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Background: Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the biological determinants of physical activity (PA) is inconclusive. In this umbrella review, we summarized the current evidence on the biological determinants of PA across the life course, by pooling the results of the available systematic literature reviews (SLRs) and meta-analyses (MAs).

Methods: We conducted an online search on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases up to January 2018.

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  • Physical inactivity is linked to increased healthcare costs, and this study examined its impact using both self-reported and device-measured physical activity data from over 2,000 participants in Germany.
  • The research found that individuals reporting no sports activity had similar healthcare costs as those with high activity levels according to self-reports, but those with very low monitored physical activity incurred significantly higher costs compared to those with very high activity.
  • The conclusion suggests that using device measurements provides a clearer association with healthcare costs compared to self-reported data, highlighting the need for larger studies to confirm these findings.
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Purpose: Among patients with lung disease, decreased lung function is associated with lower health-related quality of life. However, whether this association is detectable within the physiological variability of respiratory function in lung-healthy populations is unknown. We analyzed the association of each EQ-5D-3L dimension (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression) and self-reported physical inactivity with spirometric indices in lung-healthy adults.

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Background: To date, the scientific literature on socioeconomic correlates and determinants of physical activity behaviours has been dispersed throughout a number of systematic reviews, often focusing on one factor (e.g. education or parental income) in one specific age group (e.

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Background: In lung disease, physical activity (PA) yields beneficial health effects, but its association with the function of healthy lungs has rarely been studied. We investigated the association of accelerometer-based PA with spirometric indices, maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (PI) and lung diffusion capacity in lung-healthy adults.

Methods: In total, 341 apparently lung-healthy participants from the population-based KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg) FF4 cohort study (45% male, aged 48-68 years, 47% never smokers) completed lung function testing and wore ActiGraph accelerometers over a one week period at the hip.

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Objective: Regular physical activity (PA) reduces the risk of disease and premature death. Knowing factors associated with PA might help reducing the disease and economic burden caused by low activity. Studies suggest that socio-cultural factors may affect PA, but systematic overviews of findings across the life course are scarce.

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Background: Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the policy determinants of physical activity (PA) is inconclusive. This umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) summarizes the current evidence on the policy determinants of PA across the life course, by pooling the results of the available SLRs and meta-analyses (MAs).

Methods: A systematic online search was conducted on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus databases up to April 2016.

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Low levels of physical activity (PA) are reported to contribute to the occurrence of non-communicable diseases over the life course. Although psychological factors have been identified as an important category concerning PA behavior, knowledge on psychological determinants of PA is still inconclusive. Therefore, the aim of this umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize and synthesize the scientific evidence on psychological determinants of PA behavior across the life course.

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Background: Participation in regular physical activity is associated with a multitude of health benefits across the life course. However, many people fail to meet PA recommendations. Despite a plethora of studies, the evidence regarding the environmental (physical) determinants of physical activity remains inconclusive.

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Background: Various factors may affect lung function at different stages in life. Since investigations that simultaneously consider several factors are rare, we examined the relative importance of early life, current environmental/lifestyle factors and allergic diseases on lung function in 15-year-olds.

Methods: Best subset selection was performed for linear regression models to investigate associations between 21 diverse early life events and current factors with spirometric parameters (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s and maximal mid-expiratory flow (FEF)) in 1326 participants of the German GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts.

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Estimation of physical activity using 24 h-accelerometry requires detection of accelerometer non-wear time (NWT). It is common practice to define NWT as periods >60 minutes of consecutive zero-accelerations, but this algorithm was originally developed for waking hours only and its applicability to 24 h-accelerometry is unclear. We investigated sensitivity and specificity of different algorithms to detect NWT in 24 h-accelerometry compared to diary in 47 ActivE and 559 KORA participants.

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Background: Low levels of physical activity (PA) are a global concern and increasing PA engagement is becoming a priority in current public health policies. Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the behavioral determinants of PA is still inconclusive. Thus, the aim of this umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize the evidence on the behavioral determinants of PA across the life course.

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Background: Intensity and duration of physical activity are associated with the achievement of health benefits. Our aim was to characterize physical activity behavior in terms of intensity, duration pattern, and adherence to the WHO physical activity recommendations in a population-based sample of adults from southern Germany. Further, we investigated associations between physical activity and sex, age, and body mass index (BMI), considering also common chronic diseases.

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Background: Biomarker tests are increasingly being offered by laboratories and clinicians as self-pay health services to screen asymptomatic individuals; however, sufficient evidence may not be available to support this practice. We investigated the benefit-harm tradeoffs associated with 11 biomarkers currently offered in Germany as self-pay tests to screen for cancer.

Methods: We systematically searched bibliographic databases for health technology assessments, systematic reviews and randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) through September 2015.

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Background: The prevalence of allergen sensitization reaches up to 46.6% in 14- to 17-year-old German adolescents. Polysensitization is strongly associated with a higher risk of allergic rhinitis or asthma.

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