Air pollution during New Year's fireworks and daily mortality in the Netherlands.

Short-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular and respiratory mortality and morbidity. Little is known about associations between air pollution caused by firework events and daily mortality. We investigated whether particulate matter from fireworks during New Year's celebrations was associated with daily mortality.

Basal or stress-induced cortisol and asthma development: the TRAILS study.

We examined the association between: 1) cortisol levels and asthma or asthma development; 2) cortisol levels upon stress and asthma. In addition, we performed a post hoc meta-analysis on results from the literature. Cortisol, cortisol upon stress, asthma (doctor diagnosis of asthma and/or symptoms and/or treatment in the past 12 months) and asthma development (asthma at a specific survey while not having asthma at the previous survey(s)) were assessed in the TRAILS study (n=2230, mean age at survey 1 11 years, survey 2 14 years and survey 3 16 years).

Gender differences in asthma development and remission during transition through puberty: the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) study.

Background: During puberty, a gender shift in asthma prevalence occurs, with a preponderance of boys before puberty. The mechanisms underlying this gender shift are unclear.

Objectives: We assessed associations of pubertal stages and transition through puberty with (1) the prevalence, incidence, and remission of asthma in male and female subjects; (2) total IgE levels; and (3) peak expiratory flow (PEF) fall during a shuttle run test (SRT).