Long-Term Exposure to Nitrogen Dioxide and Ozone and Mortality: Update of the WHO Air Quality Guidelines Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO) and ozone (O) with mortality, to expand evidence that informed 2021 the WHO Air Quality Guidelines and guide the Health Risks of Air Pollution in Europe project.

Methods: We included cohorts investigating NO and O mortality from all-causes, respiratory diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI); and NO mortality from circulatory, ischemic heart, cerebrovascular diseases and lung cancer. We pooled estimates by random-effects models and investigated heterogeneity.

Adherence to Mediterranean diet and asthma control. Results from a small study among asthmatic patients in Greece.

Objectives: Current variations in asthma prevalence and clinical characteristics suggest that lifestyle choices including dietary habits, may affect the pathogenesis and/or clinical expression of the disease. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) and asthma control, considering disease severity.

Methods: Adherence to MD was assessed through a questionnaire, the MD Adherence Screener (MEDAS), previously validated in Mediterranean populations.

Long-Term Exposure to Particulate Matter and Mortality: An Update of the WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: For the development of the 2021 global air quality guidelines, the World Health Organization (WHO) commissioned a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to assess the association between exposure to air pollution and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. One of these reviews, which we aim to update, focused on the effects of long-term exposure to PM and PM on all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Methods: The protocol for this study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023425327).

Disentangling associations between multiple environmental exposures and all-cause mortality: an analysis of European administrative and traditional cohorts.

Background: We evaluated the independent and joint effects of air pollution, land/built environment characteristics, and ambient temperature on all-cause mortality as part of the EXPANSE project.

Methods: We collected data from six administrative cohorts covering Catalonia, Greece, the Netherlands, Rome, Sweden, and Switzerland and three traditional cohorts in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany. Participants were linked to spatial exposure estimates derived from hybrid land use regression models and satellite data for: air pollution [fine particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), black carbon (BC), warm season ozone (O)], land/built environment [normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), distance to water, impervious surfaces], and ambient temperature (the mean and standard deviation of warm and cool season temperature).

Nocebo-associated treatment discontinuation with subcutaneous anti-osteoporotic drugs. A systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-arm dropouts in randomized-controlled trials.

Objective: Nocebo is a concept of therapeutics referring to unpleasant symptoms attributed by a patient to a drug, due to negative anticipation. Patients receiving oral anti-osteoporotic drugs in randomized controlled trials (RCT) can experience adverse events leading to dropout, implying that nocebo contributes to treatment discontinuation for these drugs. In this study we aim to investigate the nocebo effect of subcutaneous anti-osteoporotic drugs with a higher compliance rate than orally administered drugs.

The Effect of Vitamin E Supplementation on Serum Aminotransferases in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Νon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common cause of end-stage liver disease in developed countries. Oxidative stress plays a key role during the course of the disease and vitamin E supplementation has shown to be beneficial due to its antioxidative properties. We aim to investigate the effect of vitamin E supplementation on serum aminotransferase levels in patients with NAFLD.

The quality of OpenStreetMap food-related point-of-interest data for use in epidemiological research.

We assessed the quality of food-related OpenStreetMap (OSM) data in urban areas of five European countries. We calculated agreement statistics between point-of-interests (POIs) from OSM and from Google Street View (GSV) in five European regions. We furthermore assessed correlations between exposure measures (distance and counts) from OSM data and administrative data from local data sources on food environment data in three European countries.

Associations between exposure to blue spaces and natural and cause-specific mortality in Greece: An ecological study.

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to natural environments, such as green space, may have a beneficial role in health. However, there is limited evidence regarding the effects of exposure to blue spaces and mortality. We investigated the association of exposure to blue spaces with natural and cause-specific mortality in Greece using an ecological study design METHODS: Mortality and socioeconomic data were obtained from 1,035 municipal units (MUs) from the 2011 census data.

Association of Non-Dipping Blood Pressure Patterns with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Cross-Sectional Study among a Population with Diabetes in Greece.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is present in 20-50% of cases with diabetes. The pathophysiology of DPN is not yet clear regarding hypertension (HTN). The aim of this study was to assess the association between the stages of DPN and HTN in a Greek population with diabetes.

Meta-analysis of placebo-arm dropouts in osteoporosis randomized-controlled trials and implications for nocebo-associated discontinuation of anti-osteoporotic drugs in clinical practice.

Unlabelled: Dropout from placebo arms in randomized-controlled trials is a surrogate for nocebo responses, resulting from patients' negative expectations to treatment. Among 16,460 placebo-treated patients in oral anti-osteoporotic drug trials, nocebo dropouts were 8% on average, being higher in older patients. This implies that nocebo may contribute to the osteoporosis treatment gap in clinical practice.

Investigating the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and greenness with mortality from neurological, cardio-metabolic and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in Greece.

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with increased natural-cause mortality, but the evidence on diagnoses-specific mortality outcomes is limited. Few studies have examined the potential synergistic effects of exposure to pollutants and greenness. We investigated the association between exposure to air pollution and greenness with nervous system related mortality, cardiometabolic and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) mortality in Greece, using an ecological study design.

Associations of air pollution and greenness with mortality in Greece: An ecological study.

Background: Epidemiological studies have documented the adverse effects of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) on health, while there has been less research on the effects of nitrogen dioxide (NO), black carbon (BC) and especially ozone (O). Furthermore, there is limited evidence for the synergistic effects of exposure to pollutants and greenness. We investigated the association of long-term exposure to air pollution and greenness with natural-cause, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality in Greece using an ecological study design.

Cadmium exposure and risk of breast cancer: A dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Background: Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that has been implicated in breast cancer etiology, albeit with inconsistent results.

Objective: To investigate the shape of the relation between cadmium exposure and breast cancer incidence and mortality in cohort studies.

Data Sources: Following a literature search through April 14, 2020, we carried out a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis to investigate the shape of the relation between cadmium exposure (assessed either through diet or urine excretion) and disease incidence and mortality.

Potassium Intake and Blood Pressure: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background Epidemiologic studies, including trials, suggest an association between potassium intake and blood pressure (BP). However, the strength and shape of this relationship is uncertain. Methods and Results We performed a meta-analysis to explore the dose-response relationship between potassium supplementation and BP in randomized-controlled trials with a duration ≥4 weeks using the recently developed 1-stage cubic spline regression model.

Air pollution and Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis up to 2018.

Background: Recent epidemiological findings investigate effects of exposure to air pollution on neurodegenerative disease. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the association between air pollution exposure and Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: We performed an extensive literature search in PubMed and Google Scholar databases and further searched for unpublished results in conference abstracts until November 2018.

Is aircraft noise exposure associated with cardiovascular disease and hypertension? Results from a cohort study in Athens, Greece.

Background: We followed up, in 2013, the subjects who lived near the Athens International Airport and had participated in the cross-sectional multicountry HYENA study in 2004-2006.

Objective: To evaluate the association of exposure to aircraft and road traffic noise with the incidence of hypertension and other cardiovascular outcomes.

Methods: From the 780 individuals who participated in the cross-sectional study, 537 were still living in the same area and 420 accepted to participate in the follow-up.