On the gap between objective and perceived risks of COVID-19.

A survey conducted by the German Socio-Economic Panel during the early phase of the SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic in spring 2020 showed that the perceived risks of SARS-CoV‑2 infection were a massive overestimation of the actual risks. A total of 5783 people (2.3% missing data) stated how likely they thought it was that SARS-CoV‑2 would cause a life-threatening illness in them in the next 12 months.

Five-Year Results of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting With or Without Carotid Endarterectomy in Patients With Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Stenosis: CABACS RCT.

Background: In patients with coronary artery disease and concomitant asymptomatic severe carotid stenosis, combined simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) has been widely performed despite lack of evidence from randomized trials. We recently showed that the risk of stroke or death within 30 days was higher following CABG+CEA compared with CABG alone. Here, we report long-term outcomes following CABG with versus without CEA.

Exposure to surrounding greenness and natural-cause and cause-specific mortality in the ELAPSE pooled cohort.

Background: The majority of studies have shown higher greenness exposure associated with reduced mortality risks, but few controlled for spatially correlated air pollution and traffic noise exposures. We aim to address this research gap in the ELAPSE pooled cohort.

Methods: Mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in a 300-m grid cell and 1-km radius were assigned to participants' baseline home addresses as a measure of surrounding greenness exposure.

Association of Blood Pressure, Its Treatment, and Treatment Efficacy With Volume of White Matter Hyperintensities in the Population-Based 1000BRAINS Study.

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Dose-escalated radiotherapy with PET/CT based treatment planning in combination with induction and concurrent chemotherapy in locally advanced (uT3/T4) squamous cell cancer of the esophagus: mature results of a phase I/II trial.

Background: This prospective phase I/II trial assessed feasibility and efficacy of dose-escalated definitive chemoradiation after induction chemotherapy in locally advanced esophageal cancer. Primary study endpoint was loco-regional progression-free survival at 1 year.

Methods: Eligible patients received 2 cycles of induction chemotherapy with irinotecan, folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil weekly and cisplatin every 2 weeks (weeks 1-6, 8-13) followed by concurrent chemoradiation with cisplatin and irinotecan (weeks 14, 15, 17, 18, 20).

Effects of Life Events and Social Isolation on Stroke and Coronary Heart Disease.

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents a severe, life-changing event for people across the world. Life changes may involve job loss, income reduction due to furlough, death of a beloved one, or social stress due to life habit changes. Many people suffer from social isolation due to lockdown or physical distancing, especially those living alone and without family.

Long-term exposure to fine particle elemental components and lung cancer incidence in the ELAPSE pooled cohort.

Background: An association between long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) and lung cancer has been established in previous studies. PM is a complex mixture of chemical components from various sources and little is known about whether certain components contribute specifically to the associated lung cancer risk. The present study builds on recent findings from the "Effects of Low-level Air Pollution: A Study in Europe" (ELAPSE) collaboration and addresses the potential association between specific elemental components of PM and lung cancer incidence.

Long-term low-level ambient air pollution exposure and risk of lung cancer - A pooled analysis of 7 European cohorts.

Background/aim: Ambient air pollution has been associated with lung cancer, but the shape of the exposure-response function - especially at low exposure levels - is not well described. The aim of this study was to address the relationship between long-term low-level air pollution exposure and lung cancer incidence.

Methods: The "Effects of Low-level Air Pollution: a Study in Europe" (ELAPSE) collaboration pools seven cohorts from across Europe.

Cardiovascular Risk and Atherosclerosis Progression in Hypertensive Persons Treated to Blood Pressure Targets.

Arterial hypertension promotes atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. We evaluated how cardiovascular risk and atherosclerosis progression are associated with blood pressure, antihypertensive treatment, and treatment efficacy. In 3555 participants of the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study without previous cardiovascular disease (mean±SD; age, 58.

Value of Progression of Coronary Artery Calcification for Risk Prediction of Coronary and Cardiovascular Events: Result of the HNR Study (Heinz Nixdorf Recall).

Background: Computed tomography (CT) allows estimation of coronary artery calcium (CAC) progression. We evaluated several progression algorithms in our unselected, population-based cohort for risk prediction of coronary and cardiovascular events.

Methods: In 3281 participants (45-74 years of age), free from cardiovascular disease until the second visit, risk factors, and CTs at baseline (b) and after a mean of 5.

Genetic Contribution to Alcohol Dependence: Investigation of a Heterogeneous German Sample of Individuals with Alcohol Dependence, Chronic Alcoholic Pancreatitis, and Alcohol-Related Cirrhosis.

The present study investigated the genetic contribution to alcohol dependence (AD) using genome-wide association data from three German samples. These comprised patients with: (i) AD; (ii) chronic alcoholic pancreatitis (ACP); and (iii) alcohol-related liver cirrhosis (ALC). Single marker, gene-based, and pathway analyses were conducted.

The distribution of blood concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and manganese (Mn) in residents of the German Ruhr area and its potential association with occupational exposure in metal industry and/or other risk factors.

Objective: This study investigated the metal distribution in blood samples from the general population and the risk of having high metal concentration for metal workers.

Methods: Metal concentrations were determined in archived blood samples from 1411 men and 1410 women (median age 59 and 57 years, respectively) collected at baseline (2000-2003) of the prospective Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study. Retrospective information on working in metal industry was obtained from previous follow-up survey (2011-2014).

Socioeconomic Status Interacts with the Genetic Effect of a Chromosome 9p21.3 Common Variant to Influence Coronary Artery Calcification and Incident Coronary Events in the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study (Risk Factors, Evaluation of Coronary Calcium, and Lifestyle).

Background: Genetic variants of a locus within the chromosome 9p21.3 region are consistently associated with coronary artery disease and coronary artery calcification (CAC). The aim of this study was to examine whether a 9p21.

Linkage and Association Analysis Identifies TRAF1 Influencing Common Carotid Intima-Media Thickness.

Background And Purpose: Carotid intima-media thickness is a marker for subclinical atherosclerosis that predicts subsequent clinical cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to identify chromosomal loci with linkage or association to common carotid intima-media thickness.

Methods: Nuclear families were recruited using the single parental proband sib-pair design.

Association of long-term exposure to local industry- and traffic-specific particulate matter with arterial blood pressure and incident hypertension.

Background: Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) may lead to increased blood pressure (BP). The role of industry- and traffic-specific PM2.

Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a cohort study: effects of total and traffic-specific air pollution.

Background: Studies investigating the link between long-term exposure to air pollution and incidence of diabetes are still scarce and results are inconsistent, possibly due to different compositions of the particle mixture. We investigate the long-term effect of traffic-specific and total particulate matter (PM) and road proximity on cumulative incidence of diabetes mellitus (mainly type 2) in a large German cohort.

Methods: We followed prospectively 3607 individuals without diabetes at baseline (2000-2003) from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study in Germany (mean follow-up time 5.

Whole-Body MR Imaging in the German National Cohort: Rationale, Design, and Technical Background.

Purpose: To detail the rationale, design, and future perspective of implementing whole-body magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the German National Cohort, a large multicentric population-based study.

Materials And Methods: All institutional review boards approved the study, and informed consent is obtained before study enrollment. Participants are enrolled from a random sample of the general population at five dedicated imaging sites among 18 recruitment centers.

Coronary artery calcification, intima-media thickness, and ankle-brachial index are complementary stroke predictors.

Background And Purpose: Coronary artery calcification (CAC), a marker of coronary atherosclerosis, predicts stroke in addition to established risk factors. Whether CAC's predictive value can be improved by peripheral atherosclerosis markers, namely carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and ankle-brachial index (ABI), was unknown.

Methods: A total of 3289 participants of the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study (45-75 years; 48.

Ankle-brachial index predicts stroke in the general population in addition to classical risk factors.

Background: Predictors of future stroke events gain importance in vascular medicine. Herein, we investigated the value of the ankle-brachial index (ABI), a simple non-invasive marker of atherosclerosis, as stroke predictor in addition to established risk factors that are part of the Framingham risk score (FRS).

Methods: 4299 subjects from the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study (45-75 years; 47.

Effect of smoking and other traditional risk factors on the onset of coronary artery calcification: results of the Heinz Nixdorf recall study.

Background: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) indicates coronary atherosclerosis and can be present in very early stages of the disease. The conversion from no CAC to any CAC reflects an important step of the disease process as cardiovascular risk is increased in persons even with mildly elevated CAC. We sought to identify risk factors that determined incident CAC>0 in men and women from an unselected general population with a special focus on the role of smoking.

Cohort studies with low baseline response may not be generalisable to populations with different exposure distributions.

Several advocates of mega-cohorts in epidemiology recently stated that high baseline response needs not be a driving scientific factor. We illustrate how cohort studies with low baseline response can become less generalisable than cohort studies with reasonable high baseline response. Assuming exposure prevalences of 32%, and 39% for former, and current smoking in the general population, we postulate that 10% in each group have a specific genotype G that makes them susceptible for the effect of smoking on the outcome (synergism between genotype and smoking).

Granzyme B-induced and caspase 3-dependent cleavage of gelsolin by mouse cytotoxic T cells modifies cytoskeleton dynamics.

Granule-associated perforin and granzymes (gzms) are key effector molecules of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (Tc cells) and natural killer cells and play a critical role in the control of intracellular pathogens and cancer. Based on the notion that many gzms, including A, B, C, K, H, and M exhibit cytotoxic activity in vitro, all gzms are believed to serve a similar function in vivo. However, more recent evidence supports the concept that gzms are not unidimensional but, rather, possess non-cytotoxic potential, including stimulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-viral activities.

Smoking cessation and subclinical atherosclerosis--results from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study.

Background: Smoking accounts for more than 5 million years of potential life lost per year in the US alone. Leading causes of smoking attributable mortality are acute atherothrombotic complications of coronary heart disease (CHD). Smoking cessation is a key issue in preventive medicine, but quantitative data on its benefit for the coronary arteries are sparse.