Associations of Migration, Socioeconomic Position and Social Relations With Depressive Symptoms - Analyses of the German National Cohort Baseline Data.

We analyze whether the prevalence of depressive symptoms differs among various migrant and non-migrant populations in Germany and to what extent these differences can be attributed to socioeconomic position (SEP) and social relations. The German National Cohort health study (NAKO) is a prospective multicenter cohort study (N = 204,878). Migration background (assessed based on citizenship and country of birth of both participant and parents) was used as independent variable, age, sex, Social Network Index, the availability of emotional support, SEP (relative income position and educational status) and employment status were introduced as covariates and depressive symptoms (PHQ-9) as dependent variable in logistic regression models.

[Design and quality control of the oral health status examination in the German National Cohort (GNC)].

Background: Caries and periodontitis are highly prevalent worldwide. Because detailed data on these oral diseases were collected within the framework of the German National Cohort (GNC), associations between oral and systemic diseases and conditions can be investigated.

Objectives: The study protocol for the oral examination was designed to ensure a comprehensive collection of dental findings by trained non-dental staff within a limited examination time.

[Measuring physical fitness in the German National Cohort-methods, quality assurance, and first descriptive results].

Physical fitness is defined as an individual's ability to be physically active. The main components are cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscle strength, and flexibility. Regardless of physical activity level, physical fitness is an important determinant of morbidity and mortality.

[Physical activity in the German National Cohort (NAKO): use of multiple assessment tools and initial results].

Background: Physical activity is a complex behavior that is difficult to measure validly and reliably in large, population-based studies. Data on physical activity are available for the initial 100,000 participants of the German National Cohort.

Objectives: To describe the baseline physical activity assessment in the cohort and to present initial descriptive results.

[Persons with migration background in the German National Cohort (NAKO)-sociodemographic characteristics and comparisons with the German autochthonous population].

Background: Persons with a migration background (PmM) as a population group usually differ from the autochthonous population in terms of morbidity, mortality, and use of the health care system, but they participate less frequently in health studies. The PmM group is very heterogeneous, which has hardly been taken into account in studies so far.

Objectives: Sociodemographic characteristics of PmM in the NAKO health study (age, sex, time since migration, education) are presented.

Erratum: Genetic loci associated with heart rate variability and their effects on cardiac disease risk.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15805.

Genetic loci associated with heart rate variability and their effects on cardiac disease risk.

Reduced cardiac vagal control reflected in low heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with greater risks for cardiac morbidity and mortality. In two-stage meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for three HRV traits in up to 53,174 individuals of European ancestry, we detect 17 genome-wide significant SNPs in eight loci. HRV SNPs tag non-synonymous SNPs (in NDUFA11 and KIAA1755), expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) (influencing GNG11, RGS6 and NEO1), or are located in genes preferentially expressed in the sinoatrial node (GNG11, RGS6 and HCN4).

Anti-nuclear autoantibodies in the general German population: prevalence and lack of association with selected cardiovascular and metabolic disorders-findings of a multicenter population-based study.

Background: We determined the prevalence of anti-nuclear autoantibodies (ANAs) in the German adult population and examined the association between ANAs and cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.

Methods: We used data and blood samples from the pretest phases of the German National Cohort, obtained from six of the 18 study centers (n = 1199). All centers applied standardized instruments including face-to-face interviews, anthropometric measurements and collection of blood samples.

Determination of nasal and oropharyngeal microbiomes in a multicenter population-based study - findings from Pretest 1 of the German National Cohort.

We examined acceptability, preference and feasibility of collecting nasal and oropharyngeal swabs, followed by microbiome analysis, in a population-based study with 524 participants. Anterior nasal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected by certified personnel. In addition, participants self-collected nasal swabs at home four weeks later.

Clustering of Subgingival Microbiota Reveals Microbial Disease Ecotypes Associated with Clinical Stages of Periodontitis in a Cross-Sectional Study.

Periodontitis is characterized by chronic inflammation associated with alteration of the oral microbiota. In contrast to previous microbiome studies focusing on comparison between extreme phenotypes, our study analyzed a random sample of 85 people. The aim of this study was to link microbial differences to disease's prevalence and severity.