Comparison of fatalities due to COVID-19 and other nonexternal causes during the first five pandemic waves : Results from multiple cause of death statistics in Bavaria.

Background: Older age is a risk factor for a fatal course of SARS-CoV‑2 infection, possibly due to comorbidities whose exact role in this context, however, is not yet well understood. In this paper, the characteristics and comorbidities of persons who had died of COVID-19 in Bavaria by July 2022 are shown and compared with the characteristics of other fatalities during the pandemic.

Methods: Based on data from multiple cause of death statistics, odds ratios for dying from COVID-19 (compared to dying from other nonexternal causes of death) were calculated by using logistic regression models, stratified by age, sex, and pandemic waves.

Long-Term Trends in the Protection Against Severe Courses of COVID-19 by Vaccination.

Background: The long-term course of protection against severe COVID-19 courses by vaccine-induced or hybrid immunity in Germany is unclear.

Methods: We studied 146 457 cases aged 60-99 years in the German federal state of Bavaria who were immunized against COVID-19 and tested positive for it from February 2022 to January 2023. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios for a severe course (hospitalization or death due to COVID-19) for different intervals between the onset of full primary or booster immunity and the date of the infection.

Vaccine-Induced or Hybrid Immunity and COVID-19-Associated Mortality During the Omicron Wave.

Background: It is not yet entirely clear to what extent vaccine-induced or hybrid immunity offers protection from death during the omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we evaluated 470 159 cases aged ≥ 60 years in the German federal state of Bavaria who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 1 January and 30 June 2022. Cox models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) for dying within 60 days of the infection, depending on sex, age, time of infection, and different levels of immunity.

[What are the effects of different places of death of old people?].

Background: Inadequate quality of medical postmortem examinations has been discussed in the forensic medical literature for many years. It is known that older deceased persons are less likely to have a non-natural cause of death certified and autopsies are performed less frequently compared to younger deceased persons.

Methods: Death certificates of all deaths that occurred in Munich with an age of ≥ 75 years during the death period 01/01/2013-31/12/2014 were analyzed.

Is the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine effective in elderly populations? Results from population data from Bavaria, Germany.

Background: The efficacy of the BioNTech-Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccination in the elderly (≥80 years) could not be fully assessed in the BioNTech-Pfizer trial due to low numbers in this age group. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the BioNTech-Pfizer (BNT162b2) vaccine to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes in octo- and novo-generians in a German state setting.

Methods And Findings: A prospective observational study of 708,187 persons aged ≥80 years living in Bavaria, Germany, was conducted between Jan 9 to Apr 11, 2021.

Associations of breastfeeding with childhood autoimmunity, allergies, and overweight: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study.

Background: Breastfeeding has beneficial effects on numerous health outcomes.

Objectives: We investigated whether breastfeeding duration is associated with the development of early childhood autoimmunity, allergies, or obesity in a multinational prospective birth cohort.

Methods: Infants with genetic susceptibility for type 1 diabetes (n = 8676) were followed for the development of autoantibodies to islet autoantigens or transglutaminase, allergies, and for anthropometric measurements to a median age of 8.

Incidence and risk factors of cerebral sinovenous thrombosis in infants.

Aim: To describe the incidence of term and preterm neonatal cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) and identify perinatal risk factors.

Method: This was a national capture-recapture calculation-corrected surveillance and nested case-control study. Infants born preterm and at term with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed neonatal CSVT were identified by surveillance in all paediatric hospitals in Germany (2015-2017).

Posterior subcapsular cataracts are a late effect after acute exposure to 0.5 Gy ionizing radiation in mice.

Purpose: The long-term effect of low and moderate doses of ionizing radiation on the lens is still a matter of debate and needs to be evaluated in more detail.

Material And Methods: We conducted a detailed histological analysis of eyes from B6C3F1 mice cohorts after acute gamma irradiation (Co source; 0.063 Gy/min) at young adult age of 10 weeks with doses of 0.

Associations of area-level deprivation with adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes in Bavaria, Germany: Results from a cross-sectional study.

Background: We investigated associations of area-level deprivation with obstetric and perinatal outcomes in a large population-based routine dataset.

Methods: We used the data of n = 827,105 deliveries who were born in hospitals between 2009 to 2016 in Bavaria, Germany. The Bavarian Index of Multiple Deprivation (BIMD) on district level was assigned to each mother by the zip code of her residential address.

Distinct IL-1α-responsive enhancers promote acute and coordinated changes in chromatin topology in a hierarchical manner.

How cytokine-driven changes in chromatin topology are converted into gene regulatory circuits during inflammation still remains unclear. Here, we show that interleukin (IL)-1α induces acute and widespread changes in chromatin accessibility via the TAK1 kinase and NF-κB at regions that are highly enriched for inflammatory disease-relevant SNPs. Two enhancers in the extended chemokine locus on human chromosome 4 regulate the IL-1α-inducible IL8 and CXCL1-3 genes.

Combining fish and environmental PCR for diagnostics of diseased laboratory zebrafish in recirculating systems.

Precise knowledge of the health status of experimental fish is crucial to obtain high scientific and ethical standards in biomedical research. In addition to the use of sentinel fish, the examination of diseased fish is a fundamental part of all health monitoring concepts. PCR assays offer excellent sensitivity and the ability to test a broad variety of pathogenic agents in different sample types.

Risk factors for perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke: a large case-control study.

Aim: To identify maternal, obstetric, and neonatal risk factors related to perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke (PAIS) diagnosed within 28 days after birth and to understand the underlying pathophysiology.

Method: For case and control ascertainment, we used active surveillance in 345 paediatric hospitals and a population-based perinatal database for quality assurance of hospital care. We analysed complete cases of PAIS using logistic regression.

Genetic Contribution to the Divergence in Type 1 Diabetes Risk Between Children From the General Population and Children From Affected Families.

The risk for autoimmunity and subsequently type 1 diabetes is 10-fold higher in children with a first-degree family history of type 1 diabetes (FDR children) than in children in the general population (GP children). We analyzed children with high-risk HLA genotypes ( = 4,573) in the longitudinal TEDDY birth cohort to determine how much of the divergent risk is attributable to genetic enrichment in affected families. Enrichment for susceptible genotypes of multiple type 1 diabetes-associated genes and a novel risk gene, , was identified in FDR children compared with GP children.

Blood draws up to 3% of blood volume in clinical trials are safe in children.

Aim: Recommendations for maximum blood draw in children range from 1 to 5% despite limited evidence. The aim of the study was to assess the safety of blood draws in children aged six months to 12 years targeting volumes of 3% of total blood volume.

Methods: Children who experienced three-monthly blood draws during participation in one of three investigators initiated clinical trials conducted in our institution were examined.

Progression from islet autoimmunity to clinical type 1 diabetes is influenced by genetic factors: results from the prospective TEDDY study.

Background: Progression time from islet autoimmunity to clinical type 1 diabetes is highly variable and the extent that genetic factors contribute is unknown.

Methods: In 341 islet autoantibody-positive children with the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) DR3/DR4-DQ8 or the HLA DR4-DQ8/DR4-DQ8 genotype from the prospective TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young) study, we investigated whether a genetic risk score that had previously been shown to predict islet autoimmunity is also associated with disease progression.

Results: Islet autoantibody-positive children with a genetic risk score in the lowest quartile had a slower progression from single to multiple autoantibodies (p=0.

Physical activity is associated with lower insulin and C-peptide during glucose challenge in children and adolescents with family background of diabetes.

Aims: Children and adolescents with a family history of diabetes are at increased risk of overweight, but little is known about the potentially beneficial effects of physical activity on these children. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and metabolic and inflammatory risks in children and adolescents with a family background of Type 1 diabetes or gestational diabetes.

Methods: Valid MVPA measurements, made with accelerometers, were available from 234 participants (median age, 10.

Associations of Maternal Diabetes During Pregnancy with Overweight in Offspring: Results from the Prospective TEDDY Study.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the relationship between different forms of, and potential pathways between, maternal diabetes and childhood obesity at different ages.

Methods: Prospective cohort data from The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, which was composed of 5,324 children examined from 0.25 to 6 years of age, were analyzed.

Fasting hypoglycemia is associated with disease progression in presymptomatic early stage type 1 diabetes.

Objective: In children with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes, intermittent hyperglycemia and rising hemoglobin A1c levels are a known signal of progression toward insulin-dependency. Episodes of hypoglycemia, however, have also been reported in one published case. We investigated the prevalence of hypoglycemia and its association with disease progression in children with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes.

Associations of maternal type 1 diabetes with childhood adiposity and metabolic health in the offspring: a prospective cohort study.

Aims/hypothesis: Exposure to an intrauterine hyperglycaemic environment has been suggested to increase the offspring's later risk for being overweight or having metabolic abnormalities, but conclusive evidence for pregnancies affected by maternal type 1 diabetes is still lacking. This study aims to analyse the relationship between maternal type 1 diabetes and the offspring's metabolic health and investigate whether birthweight and/or changes in the offspring's metabolome are in the potential pathway.

Methods: We analysed data from 610 and 2169 offspring having a first-degree relative with type 1 diabetes from the TEENDIAB and BABYDIAB/BABYDIET cohorts, respectively.