Use of oral moist tobacco (snus) in puberty and its association with asthma in the population-based RHINESSA study.

Objectives: To investigate the association of early snus use initiation (≤15 years of age) with asthma and asthma symptoms.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort.

Setting: Study centres in Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Estonia, from 2016 to 2019.

Pregnancy outcomes as related to in utero exposure to air pollution and greenness: The Life-GAP Project.

Background: Lower birth weight and preterm birth may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes later in life. We examined whether maternal exposure to air pollution and greenness during pregnancy is associated with offspring birth weight and preterm birth.

Methods: We analyzed data on 4286 singleton births from 2358 mothers from Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, a prospective questionnaire-based cohort study (1990-2010).

An observational analysis on the influence of parental allergic rhinitis, asthma and smoking on exhaled nitric oxide in offspring.

Background: Parental allergic diseases and smoking influence respiratory disease in the offspring but it is not known whether they influence fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in the offspring. We investigated whether parental allergic diseases, parental smoking and FeNO levels in parents were associated with FeNO levels in their offspring.

Methods: We studied 609 offspring aged 16-47 years from the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, Spain and Australia generation (RHINESSA) study with parental information from the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) III study and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) III.

Associations of long-term exposure to air pollution and greenness with incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Northern Europe: The Life-GAP project.

Background: Prolonged exposure to air pollution has been linked to adverse respiratory health, yet the evidence concerning its association with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is inconsistent. The evidence of a greenness effect on chronic respiratory diseases is limited.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM and PM), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O) and greenness (as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index - NDVI) and incidence of self-reported chronic bronchitis or COPD (CB/COPD).

Longitudinal analysis of the skin microbiome in association with hand eczema, hand hygiene practices and moisturizer use.

Background: The skin microbiota maintains a physical and immunological barrier to the environment. Little is known about how the microbiome changes over time or the effect of hand hygiene practices and moisturizer use.

Objectives: To assess sex-specific changes in skin bacteria over time, and how the microbiome is related to self-reported hand eczema, hand hygiene practices and use of moisturizers.

Social theory and science diplomacy.

This essay discusses the relationship between social theory and science diplomacy for both academic and policy application. This discussion is based on workpackage 2 Power with Science Diplomacy of H2020 Inventing a shared Science Diplomacy for Europe (InsSciDE) and consortium-wide discussions. The outcome of the discussions on theory of science diplomacy is that it is unfeasible to develop one theory of science diplomacy.

Muscle Strength and Male Sexual Function.

Sexual dysfunction, in particular erectile dysfunction, is a common complaint among aging men. Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and smoking are shown to be independent risk factors for erectile dysfunction, while cardiorespiratory fitness is shown to be protective. Less is known about the role of muscle strength in male sexual function.

Microbiome-based risk prediction in incident heart failure: a community challenge.

Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem. Early identification of at-risk individuals could allow for interventions that reduce morbidity or mortality. The community-based FINRISK Microbiome DREAM challenge (synapse.

Long-term exposure to low-level air pollution and greenness and mortality in Northern Europe. The Life-GAP project.

Background: Air pollution has been linked to mortality, but there are few studies examining the association with different exposure time windows spanning across several decades. The evidence for the effects of green space and mortality is contradictory.

Objective: We investigated all-cause mortality in relation to exposure to particulate matter (PM and PM), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O) and greenness (normalized difference vegetation index - NDVI) across different exposure time windows.

Periodontitis is associated with airflow obstruction in the Malmö Offspring Dental Study.

Aim: To investigate the association between periodontitis and lung function in the Malmö Offspring Dental Study.

Materials And Methods: In all 1001 individuals (49.9% female, mean age: 44.

Advancing microbiome research with machine learning: key findings from the ML4Microbiome COST action.

The rapid development of machine learning (ML) techniques has opened up the data-dense field of microbiome research for novel therapeutic, diagnostic, and prognostic applications targeting a wide range of disorders, which could substantially improve healthcare practices in the era of precision medicine. However, several challenges must be addressed to exploit the benefits of ML in this field fully. In particular, there is a need to establish "gold standard" protocols for conducting ML analysis experiments and improve interactions between microbiome researchers and ML experts.

Indoor Airborne Microbiome and Endotoxin: Meteorological Events and Occupant Characteristics Are Important Determinants.

Airborne bacteria and endotoxin may affect asthma and allergies. However, there is limited understanding of the environmental determinants that influence them. This study investigated the airborne microbiomes in the homes of 1038 participants from five cities in Northern Europe: Aarhus, Bergen, Reykjavik, Tartu, and Uppsala.

Oral bacterial composition associated with lung function and lung inflammation in a community-based Norwegian population.

Background: The oral cavity is the gateway to the bacteria community in the lung. Disruption of the symbiotic balance of the oral microbiota has been associated with respiratory diseases. However, little is known about the relationship between oral bacteria and respiratory outcomes in the general population.

Association between lipid-A-producing oral bacteria of different potency and fractional exhaled nitric oxide in a Norwegian population-based adult cohort.

Background: Lipid A is the primary immunostimulatory part of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) molecule. The inflammatory response of LPS varies and depends upon the number of acyl chains and phosphate groups in lipid A which is specific for a bacterial species or strain. Traditional LPS quantification assays cannot distinguish between the acylation degree of lipid A molecules, and therefore little is known about how bacteria with different inflammation-inducing potencies affect fractional exhaled nitric oxide (F).

Food hypersensitivity: an examination of factors influencing symptoms and temporal changes in the prevalence of sensitization in an adult sample.

Background/objectives: Food hypersensitivity (FHS) is common, but little is known about the factors associated with severe reactions, age of onset and whether sensitization persists. This study examines the factors associated with self-reported severe food reactions, onset age and the changes in prevalence of sensitization to foods over time in an adult sample.

Subjects/methods: We used data from adults taking part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) III (2010-2014) who provided information on food hypersensitivity, including symptoms, suspected culprit food and onset age (n = 4865).

The impact of gingivitis reduction on lung function: a randomized trial under intensified oral hygiene.

Background: Periodontal disease and lung function impairment were found to be associated with low-grade systemic or local inflammation, and it might be that gingival/periodontal inflammation triggers lung function due to systemic inflammation or the transfer of oral bacteria or its components to the lung. A recent observational study in non-smoking subjects showed that lung volumes and flow rates were significantly reduced by 71-185 ml for severe gingivitis regardless of the adjustment for potential confounders. The result did not show any confounding by smoking, and the association between gingivitis and lower lung function was not modified by systemic inflammation.

Optimization of bacterial DNA and endotoxin extraction from settled airborne dust.

Collecting and obtaining sufficient amount of airborne particles for multiple microbial component assessments can be challenging. A passive dust sampling device, the electrostatic dust fall collector (EDC) has been established for assessing airborne exposures including endotoxin and glucans. Recently, with advances in next-generation sequencing techniques, EDCs were used to collect microbial cells for DNA sequencing analysis to promote the study of airborne bacterial and fungal communities.

The effect of farming environment on asthma; time dependent or universal?

The increasing prevalence of asthma is linked to westernization and urbanization. Farm environments have been associated with a lower risk of asthma development. However, this may not be universal, as the association differs across birth cohorts and farming methods.

Cow Farmers' Homes Host More Diverse Airborne Bacterial Communities Than Pig Farmers' Homes and Suburban Homes.

Living on a farm has been linked to a lower risk of immunoregulatory disorders, such as asthma, allergy, and inflammatory bowel disease. It is hypothesized that a decrease in the diversity and composition of indoor microbial communities is a sensible explanation for the upsurge in immunoregulatory diseases, with airborne bacteria contributing to this protective effect. However, the composition of this potentially beneficial microbial community in various farm and suburban indoor environments is still to be characterized.

Cohort profile: the multigeneration Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, Spain and Australia (RHINESSA) cohort.

Purpose: The Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, Spain and Australia (RHINESSA) cohort was established to (1) investigate how exposures before conception and in previous generations influence health and disease, particularly allergies and respiratory health, (2) identify susceptible time windows and (3) explore underlying mechanisms. The ultimate aim is to facilitate efficient intervention strategies targeting multiple generations.

Participants: RHINESSA includes study participants of multiple generations from ten study centres in Norway (1), Denmark (1), Sweden (3), Iceland (1), Estonia (1), Spain (2) and Australia (1).

Parental TB associated with offspring asthma and rhinitis.

Infections in early life are associated with asthma and allergies in one-generation settings; however, the link between parental infection and offspring phenotype is rarely investigated. We aim to study the association of parental TB before conception of the offspring with offspring asthma and rhinitis. We included 2,965 offspring born in 1985-2004 and registered in the Norwegian prescription database to 1,790 parents born after 1960 with a history of TB, and included in the Norwegian TB registry.

Exposure to Antibacterial Chemicals Is Associated With Altered Composition of Oral Microbiome.

Antimicrobial chemicals are used as preservatives in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi in the products. Unintentional exposure in humans to such chemicals is well documented, but whether they also interfere with human oral microbiome composition is largely unexplored. In this study, we explored whether the oral bacterial composition is affected by exposure to antibacterial and environmental chemicals.

Association of oral bacteria with oral hygiene habits and self-reported gingival bleeding.

Aim: To describe associations of gingival bacterial composition and diversity with self-reported gingival bleeding and oral hygiene habits in a Norwegian regional-based population.

Materials And Methods: We examined the microbiome composition of the gingival fluid (16S amplicon sequencing) in 484 adult participants (47% females; median age 28 years) in the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, Spain and Australia (RHINESSA) study in Bergen, Norway. We explored bacterial diversity and abundance differences by the community periodontal index score, self-reported frequency of gingival bleeding, and oral hygiene habits.