Effects of Weight Change and Weight Cycling on Lung Function in Overweight and Obese Adults.

Epidemiological studies have reported on the detrimental effects on lung function after natural, and thus limited, weight gain in unselected populations. Studies on bariatric surgery, on the contrary, have indicated large improvements in lung function after substantial weight loss. To study the associations between profound weight loss or gain and pulmonary function within the same population.

Asthma occurrence in children and early life systemic antibiotic use: an incidence density study.

Background: Results of studies evaluating the relationship between asthma occurrence and early life antibiotic use have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between occurrence of asthma in children and systemic antibiotic use in the first year of life based on an incidence density study with careful consideration of the temporal aspects of the determinant-outcome relationship.

Methods: We conducted an incidence density study nested in a data collection project with information on 1128 mother-child pairs.

Knowledge, Perceptions and Reporting Practices of Theoretical Design in Causal Observational Epidemiological Studies on the Role of Antibiotic Use in the Occurrence of Asthma in Children.

Good research is driven by study design encompassing theoretical design, design of data collection and design of data processing. In epidemiological research, theoretical design is based on a functional relationship between the occurrence and determinants studied (occurrence function) and should also define that part of the theoretical population and the context to which the results pertain (domain). Both are essential for the design of data collection, the design of data processing and the interpretation of the study results and should be explicitly reported.

The Association between the Occurrence of Asthma and Antecedents of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the Previous Year in Children: An Incidence-Density Study.

In previous studies, the strength of the association between childhood asthma and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) differed depending on the way ETS was assessed and the type of study conducted. We investigated the relationship between asthma occurrence in children and recent exposure to ETS based on an incidence-density study driven by the explicit formulation of a theoretical design. Additionally, we assessed whether the relationship is modified by perinatal ETS exposure and parental inhalation atopy.

Reporting of "Theoretical Design" in Explanatory Research: A Critical Appraisal of Research on Early Life Exposure to Antibiotics and the Occurrence of Asthma.

"Theoretical design" comprises the development of an occurrence relation and the specification of the study domain. In explanatory research, the occurrence relation causally relates one determinant to the occurrence (of an event or a state) taking into account other relevant characteristics (confounders and modifiers). Conflicting results in explanatory research might be (partially) explained by differences in the "theoretical design" or by a mismatch between the "theoretical design" and the "design of data collection".

Bronchodilator response and lung function decline: Associations with exhaled nitric oxide with regard to sex and smoking status.

Background: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a marker of type-2 inflammation used both to support diagnosis of asthma and follow up asthma patients. The associations of FeNO with lung function decline and bronchodilator (BD) response have been studied only scarcely in large populations.

Objectives: To study the association between FeNO and a) retrospective lung function decline over 20 years, and b) lung function response to BD among asthmatic subjects compared with non-asthmatic subjects and with regards to current smoking and sex.

Cumulative Occupational Exposures and Lung-Function Decline in Two Large General-Population Cohorts.

Few longitudinal studies have assessed the relationship between occupational exposures and lung-function decline in the general population with a sufficiently long follow-up. To examine the potential association in two large cohorts: the ECRHS (European Community Respiratory Health Survey) and the SAPALDIA (Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults). General-population samples of individuals aged 18 to 62 were randomly selected in 1991-1993 and followed up approximately 10 and 20 years later.

Physical activity and lung function-Cause or consequence?

Concerns exist that the positive association of physical activity with better lung function, which has been suggested in previous longitudinal studies in smokers, is due to reverse causation. To investigate this, we applied structural equation modeling (SEM), an exploratory approach, and marginal structural modeling (MSM), an approach from the causal inference framework that corrects for reverse causation and time-dependent confounding and estimates causal effects, on data from participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS, a multicentre European cohort study initiated in 1991-1993 with ECRHS I, and with two follow-ups: ECRHS II in 1999-2003, and ECRHS III in 2010-2014). 753 subjects who reported current smoking at ECRHS II, with repeated data on lung function at ECRHS I, II and III, physical activity at ECRHS II and III, and potential confounders at ECRHS I and II, were included in the analyses.

Regular Physical Activity Levels and Incidence of Restrictive Spirometry Pattern: A Longitudinal Analysis of 2 Population-Based Cohorts.

We estimated the association between regular physical activity and the incidence of restrictive spirometry pattern. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and physical activity were assessed in 2 population-based European cohorts (European Community Respiratory Health Survey: n = 2,757, aged 39-67 years; and Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults: n = 2,610, aged 36-82 years) first in 2000-2002 and again approximately 10 years later (2010-2013). Subjects with restrictive or obstructive spirometry pattern at baseline were excluded.

Assessment of the absorbed dose after exposure to surgical smoke in an operating room.

Surgical smoke produced by electrosurgery contains various chemical substances such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The aim of this study is to investigate airborne concentrations of VOCs and PAHs during electrosurgery in an operating room, in relation to metabolites in urine in order to assess the absorbed dose. A 5-day exposure study was set up in a general surgery operation room including surgeons, scrub assistants and circulation nurses (n = 15).

Body mass index and weight change are associated with adult lung function trajectories: the prospective ECRHS study.

Background: Previous studies have reported an association between weight increase and excess lung function decline in young adults followed for short periods. We aimed to estimate lung function trajectories during adulthood from 20-year weight change profiles using data from the population-based European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS).

Methods: We included 3673 participants recruited at age 20-44 years with repeated measurements of weight and lung function (forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV)) in three study waves (1991-93, 1999-2003, 2010-14) until they were 39-67 years of age.

Exposure to Indoor Ferromagnetic Particulate Matter Monitored by Strawberry Plants and the Occurrence of Acute Respiratory Events in Adults.

Exposure assessment of air pollution in epidemiologic research remains a challenge. Previous studies showed that magnetic monitoring of strawberry leaves, based on Saturation Isothermal Remnant Magnetization (SIRM), is a valid tool for estimating the concentration of ambient particulate matter (PM). This study uses this assessment method for the first time in epidemiologic research to quantify indoor exposure to PM.

Atopy Modifies the Association Between Inhaled Corticosteroid Use and Lung Function Decline in Patients with Asthma.

Background: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) are the mainstay of asthma treatment, but response to medication is variable. Patients with allergic inflammation generally show a better short-term response to ICSs; however, studies on predictors of long-term response are few.

Objective: To assess whether allergic sensitization can modify the association between ICS use and lung function decline over 20 years in adult asthma.

Effects of smoking bans on passive smoking exposure at work and at home. The European Community respiratory health survey.

This longitudinal study investigated whether smoking bans influence passive smoking at work and/or at home in the same subjects. Passive smoking at work and/or at home was investigated in random population samples (European Community Respiratory Health Survey) in 1990-1995, with follow-up interviews in 1998-2003 and 2010-2014. National smoking bans were classified as partial (restricted to public workplaces) or global (extended to private workplaces).

Determinants of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in healthy men and women from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey III.

Introduction: The fractional exhaled nitric oxide (F NO) is a marker for type 2 inflammation used in diagnostics and management of asthma. In order to use F NO as a reliable biomarker, it is important to investigate factors that influence F NO in healthy individuals. Men have higher levels of F NO than women, but it is unclear whether determinants of F NO differ by sex.

The prevalence of estrogen receptor-1 mutation in advanced breast cancer: The estrogen receptor one study (EROS1).

Background: Breast cancer has, due its high incidence, the highest mortality of cancer in women. The most common molecular variety of breast cancer is luminal subtype that expresses estrogen and progesterone receptors. Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), encoded by the estrogen receptor1 (ESR1) gene, is expressed in approximately 70% of all breast cancers, and hormonal therapy represents a major treatment modality in all stages of ER positive breast cancers.

Pharmacological treatment of asthma in a cohort of adults during a 20-year period: results from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey I, II and III.

Asthma often remains uncontrolled, despite the fact that the pharmacological treatment has undergone large changes. We studied changes in the treatment of asthma over a 20-year period and identified factors associated with the regular use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment. Changes in the use of medication were determined in 4617 randomly selected subjects, while changes in adults with persistent asthma were analysed in 369 participants.

Occupational exposures and incidence of chronic bronchitis and related symptoms over two decades: the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Objectives: Chronic bronchitis (CB) is an important chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related phenotype, with distinct clinical features and prognostic implications. Occupational exposures have been previously associated with increased risk of CB but few studies have examined this association prospectively using objective exposure assessment. We examined the effect of occupational exposures on CB incidence in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Restrictive spirometry pattern is associated with low physical activity levels. A population based international study.

Introduction: Restrictive spirometry pattern is an under-recognised disorder with a poor morbidity and mortality prognosis. We compared physical activity levels between adults with a restrictive spirometry pattern and with normal spirometry.

Methods: Restrictive spirometry pattern was defined as a having post-bronchodilator FEV/FVC ≥ Lower Limit of Normal and a FVC<80% predicted in two population-based studies (ECRHS-III and SAPALDIA3).

Residential air pollution does not modify the positive association between physical activity and lung function in current smokers in the ECRHS study.

Background: Very few studies have examined whether a long-term beneficial effect of physical activity on lung function can be influenced by living in polluted urban areas.

Objective: We assessed whether annual average residential concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO) and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters < 2.5 μm (PM) and <10 μm (PM) modify the effect of physical activity on lung function among never- (N = 2801) and current (N = 1719) smokers in the multi-center European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Occupational exposures and 20-year incidence of COPD: the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Background: Occupational exposures have been associated with an increased risk of COPD. However, few studies have related objectively assessed occupational exposures to prospectively assessed incidence of COPD, using postbronchodilator lung function tests. Our objective was to examine the effect of occupational exposures on COPD incidence in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

A three-generation study on the association of tobacco smoking with asthma.

Background: Mothers' smoking during pregnancy increases asthma risk in their offspring. There is some evidence that grandmothers' smoking may have a similar effect, and biological plausibility that fathers' smoking during adolescence may influence offspring's health through transmittable epigenetic changes in sperm precursor cells. We evaluated the three-generation associations of tobacco smoking with asthma.

Responsible Epidemiologic Research Practice: a guideline developed by a working group of the Netherlands Epidemiological Society.

Objectives: To develop a guideline on Responsible Epidemiologic Research Practice that will increase value and transparency, increase the accountability of the epidemiologists, and reduce research waste.

Setting: A working group of the Netherland Epidemiological Society was given the task of developing a guideline that would meet these objectives. Several publications about the need to prevent Detrimental Research Practices triggered this work.

Leisure-time vigorous physical activity is associated with better lung function: the prospective ECRHS study.

Objective: We assessed associations between physical activity and lung function, and its decline, in the prospective population-based European Community Respiratory Health Survey cohort.

Methods: FEV and FVC were measured in 3912 participants at 27-57 years and 39-67 years (mean time between examinations=11.1 years).

Prevalence of asthma-like symptoms with ageing.

Background: Change in the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms in populations of ageing adults is likely to be influenced by smoking, asthma treatment and atopy.

Methods: The European Community Respiratory Health Survey collected information on prevalent asthma-like symptoms from representative samples of adults aged 20-44 years (29 centres in 13 European countries and Australia) at baseline and 10 and 20 years later (n=7844). Net changes in symptom prevalence were determined using generalised estimating equations (accounting for non-response through inverse probability weighting), followed by meta-analysis of centre level estimates.