Occupational exposure to ionizing radiation is associated with autoimmune thyroid disease.

Context: The thyroid gland is a potential target organ for radiation-related damage.

Objective: The aim of the analysis was to investigate the association between occupational exposure to ionizing radiation and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD).

Design: Our design was the cross-sectional Study of Health in Pomerania.

[Exposure to tobacco smoke (passive smoking) in the home and inpatient treatment of children under the age of 5 years in Germany].

Background And Objective: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) poses an impact on the health of the newborns and infants. In Germany research about the tobacco-attributable morbidity and mortality has been conducted to a very small extent. This analysis examines all data from 16 federal states in regard to number and duration of hospitalization of children exposed to ETS up to 5 years of age.

Two-hour postdose concentration: a reliable marker for cyclosporine exposure in adolescents with stable renal transplants.

In pediatric renal transplant recipients, most patients receive maintenance treatment with cyclosporine (CsA) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). Until now, the 2-hour postdose CsA target level for combined maintenance treatment with MMF has not been defined. This prospective pilot study evaluated the pharmacokinetics of CsA under the influence of MMF to determine a reliable single CsA concentration time that correlates with the area under the curve (AUC(0-6h)) estimates for adolescents who were additionally treated with MMF during the late posttransplant period.

Nucleic acid isolation from environmental aqueous samples.

The application of molecular techniques has revolutionized freshwater and marine ecology, especially for plankton research. Methods, such as denatured gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE), and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), together with environmental clone libraries, have unraveled an unexpected biodiversity of organisms in the water column. Molecular probes are just entering the field of commercialization for monitoring toxic algal blooms.

Relation of parity with common carotid intima-media thickness among women of the Study of Health in Pomerania.

Background And Purpose: Metabolic and hormonal changes associated with pregnancy and childbirth are assumed to contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease among women. We analyzed the association of parity with common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), which has a predictive value of subsequent myocardial infarction and stroke.

Methods: The Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), an epidemiological study of the general population in the northeast of Germany, included 1195 women aged 45 to 79 years.

Association of malocclusion and functional occlusion with subjective symptoms of TMD in adults: results of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP).

An analysis of exclusively representative population-based studies on adults has shown that only few and inconsistent associations could be detected between malocclusions and clinical signs of temporomandibular disorders (TMD)--and none for functional occlusion factors (occlusal interferences, non-working side contacts, etc). The aim of this study was to analyze associations between morphologic occlusion as well as factors of functional occlusion and subjectively perceived symptoms of TMD--again on the basis of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), providing a sample of 4310 subjects (out of 7008 subjects yielding a response rate of 68.8%) aged 20 to 81 years, and other international representative studies from the systematic review.

Subtyping general population smokers not intending to quit by stages to reduce smoking.

The present study proposes target groups for preventive measures in smokers not intending to quit based on the intention to reduce smoking using the stages of change concept. Smokers were identified within a representative general population sample (T1; N=4,075) and assessed after 30 months (T2; N=913) and 36 months (T3; N=786). The cross-sectional analyses of the present study included at T2 677 smokers not intending to quit within the next 6 months (cessation-precontemplation stage).

Hepatic steatosis is associated with an increased risk of carotid atherosclerosis.

Aim: Although an association between hepatic steatosis and vascular risk factors has been described, direct relationships between fatty liver and atherosclerosis have not yet been investigated. The aim of the present study has been to investigate those relationships.

Methods: The Study of Health in Pomerania examined a random population sample aged between 20 and 79 years.

Reference intervals of serum thyroid function tests in a previously iodine-deficient area.

Aim: We undertook the present study to establish reference data for serum thyroid function tests in a previously iodine-deficient area.

Methods: Data from 4298 individuals, 20-79 years of age were available for the present analysis. Thyroid function (thyrotropin [TSH], free triiodothyronine [FT(3)], and free thyroxine [FT(4)]) and serum autoantibodies to thyroperoxidase (anti-TPOAb) were evaluated from blood samples.

Stage of change transitions and processes of change, decisional balance, and self-efficacy in smokers: a transtheoretical model validation using longitudinal data.

Interactions were examined between stage of change transitions and intraindividual increases or decreases in the processes of change, pros and cons of smoking, and situational temptations longitudinally. A total of 786 ever smokers was assessed 2 times, 6 months apart, with respect to the transtheoretical model (TTM) constructs. Two significant discriminant functions within initial precontemplators and 1 significant function within initial contemplators were found.

Independent risk factors for gallstone formation in a region with high cholelithiasis prevalence.

Background/aims: Cholelithiasis is a common disorder in north-eastern Germany. Analyses of risk factors for gallstone formation in this population may have high explanatory power. Gender-specific risk factors for gallstone formation and their interactions were investigated by using data of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP).

Consistency or change in nicotine dependence according to the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence over three years in a population sample.

The goal was to determine whether nicotine dependence levels remain consistent or change over three years. From a population- based sample of 4075 residents aged 18-64, drawn at random, data of 696 individuals was used, who had smoked cigarettes for 21 years on average. Nicotine dependence was assessed by the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) at baseline, and 30 and 36 months later.

Relation between psychological strain and carotid atherosclerosis in a general population.

Objective: To investigate the hypothesis that psychological strain is related to carotid atherosclerosis in a large general population sample.

Methods: Intima-media thickness and the prevalence of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries were quantitatively assessed by high resolution ultrasound among 2164 participants (1112 women and 1052 men, aged 45 to 75 years) of the SHIP (study of health in Pomerania), an epidemiological survey of a random sample of the population of north eastern Germany. Psychological strain was measured by 13 items reflecting typical psychological complaints.

Relationships of psychiatric disorders with overweight and obesity in an adult general population.

Objective: To explore relationships of smoking and risk drinking status, nicotine and alcohol dependence, and anxiety, depressive, and somatoform disorders with overweight and obesity.

Research Methods And Procedures: A probability sample was drawn that was representative for the adult general population, 18 to 64 years of age, in one region of Germany; the participation rate was 70.2%.

Influence of psychiatric comorbidity in alcohol-dependent subjects in a representative population survey on treatment utilization and natural recovery.

Background: It is well known that only a minority of alcohol-dependent subjects seek help and that the majority of alcohol-dependent individuals recover without utilization of formal help. Psychiatric comorbidity is highly prevalent among alcohol-dependent individuals. However, no data are available on the impact of psychiatric comorbidity on natural recovery.

Risk factors for headache, including TMD signs and symptoms, and their impact on quality of life. Results of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP).

Objective: The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the role of various signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), among other potential risk factors, in developing frequent headache in a population-based sample of the cross-sectional epidemiologic Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). The impact of headache and of myogenous and arthrogenous signs of TMD on the quality of life of this sample was evaluated.

Method And Materials: Medical history and dental and sociodemographic parameters of 4,255 subjects were checked for correlations with frequent headache using a multivariate logistic regression model.

Readiness to change versus readiness to seek help for alcohol problems: the development of the Treatment Readiness Tool (TReaT).

Objective: This study developed and psychometrically evaluated a short self-report measure for treatment readiness, a construct correlated with but distinct from general change readiness. This measure, the Treatment Readiness Tool (TReaT), was based on the transtheoretical model of behavior change.

Method: A nontreatment-seeking sample of 748 patients from general hospitals who met criteria for at-risk or harmful drinking was recruited as part of an intervention study in Western Pomerania, Germany.

[Health Risk drinking and problematic consumption of alcohol in Pomerania: comparative analysis of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) compared with the Federal German Health and Examination Survey in 1998].

Purpose: Epidemiological studies show a "North-South" gradient in drinking patterns in Germany, with the South-Eastern regions consuming more alcohol. Hence, patterns of alcohol consumption as well as at-risk drinking were evaluated in West Pomerania using a representative sample. In addition, the average daily quantities and the proportions of at-risk drinking were compared with representative data for Germany (Federal German Health and Examination Survey 1998 [FGHES]).

Caries prevalence in an adult population: results of the Study of Health in Pomerania, Germany (SHIP).

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the caries prevalence in the adult population of Pomerania, Germany in comparison to national and international data.

Materials And Methods: The study sample comprised 4,022 randomly selected subjects who were examined from October 1997 to May 2001 within the "Study of Health in Pomerania" (medical and dental, population-based cross-sectional study in Pomerania, Northeast Germany. Response rate: 69%.

Risk determinants of periodontal disease--an analysis of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP 0).

Background: In this study, risk determinants were determined for periodontal disease in the representative population sample (n=3146) of the Study of Health in Pomerania.

Methods: After examining the net random sample (response 69%) and exclusion of edentulous cases and those with missing values, 2595 subjects remained. Using a multivariate, fully adjusted logistic regression, different definitions of "periodontally diseased/healthy" were examined as the dependent variable (extent of attachment loss (AL> or =4 mm, combined AL and tooth loss).

Evaluation of bone-mineral density by digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR) in pediatric renal transplant recipients.

Background: Loss of bone mass and increased fracture risk are known complications after renal transplantation in adults. Risk factors include donor source, dialysis status prior to transplantation, aetiology of renal disease, transplant rejection and drug therapy, particularly steroids.

Objective: In this preliminary study of quantification of bone loss in children after renal transplantion, we evaluated the applicability of digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR) of hand radiographs to estimate cortical bone mineral density (DXR-BMD).

Smoking, nicotine dependence and psychiatric comorbidity--a population-based study including smoking cessation after three years.

Background: Evidence suggests that nicotine-dependent smokers are at increased risk for psychiatric comorbidity but general population data that included the number of nicotine dependence and withdrawal symptoms according to DSM-IV, the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), somatoform disorders and the number of psychiatric diagnoses are rare. The goal of the present study was to analyse relationships of smoking and nicotine dependence with psychiatric disease and whether psychiatric disease predicts the sustaining of smoking after three years.

Methods: Cohort study with a random adult population sample in a northern German region (N = 4075) including a baseline measurement of ever daily smokers aged 18-64 (n = 2458), a first follow-up of the current smokers at baseline (n = 1552) after 30 months and a second follow-up after 36 months.

Dental nomograms for benchmarking based on the study of health in Pomerania data set.

Aim: Benchmarking is a means of setting goals or targets. On an oral health level, it denotes retaining more teeth and/or improving the quality of life. The goal of this pilot investigation was to assess whether the data generated by a population-based study (SHIP 0) can be used as a benchmark data set to characterize different practice profiles.