Worsened Financial Situation During the COVID-19 Pandemic Was Associated With Depressive Symptomatology Among University Students in Germany: Results of the COVID-19 International Student Well-Being Study.

Previous findings suggest that university students are at an elevated risk to experience financial hardship and to suffer from depressive symptoms. This vulnerability may have substantially increased during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic which might have affected students' socio-economic situation but possibly also their mental well-being. We examined whether the financial situation changed during the COVID-19 pandemic among German university students, and whether changes were associated with mental well-being.

Presentation, patterns of care, and outcomes of patients with prostate cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: A population-based registry study.

Background: Although prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), little is known about its management and survival. The objective of the current study was to describe the presentation, patterns of diagnosis, treatment, and survival of patients with PCa in 10 countries of SSA.

Methods: In this observational registry study with data collection from 2010 to 2018, the authors drew a random sample of 738 patients with PCa who were registered in 11 population-based cancer registries.

Lung Cancer Attributed Mortality Among 316,336 Early Stage Breast Cancer Cases Treated by Radiotherapy and/or Chemotherapy, 2000-2015: Evidence From the SEER Database.

Objective: To estimate the risk of death from lung cancer in patients treated for breast cancer (BC) in relation to the general population.

Methods: BC data, covering 2000 to 2015, were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-18 (SEER-18) cancer registry database. A comparison of lung cancer attributed mortality between BC patients and the general population was performed using standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and SMRs conditional on survival length (cSMRs).

Relevance of intra-hospital patient movements for the spread of healthcare-associated infections within hospitals - a mathematical modeling study.

The aim of this study is to analyze patient movement patterns between hospital departments to derive the underlying intra-hospital movement network, and to assess if movement patterns differ between patients at high or low risk of colonization. For that purpose, we analyzed patient electronic medical record data from five hospitals to extract information on risk stratification and patient intra-hospital movements. Movement patterns were visualized as networks, and network centrality measures were calculated.

Modelling pathogen spread in a healthcare network: Indirect patient movements.

Inter-hospital patient transfers (direct transfers) between healthcare facilities have been shown to contribute to the spread of pathogens in a healthcare network. However, the impact of indirect transfers (patients re-admitted from the community to the same or different hospital) is not well studied. This work aims to study the contribution of indirect transfers to the spread of pathogens in a healthcare network.

Risk estimation for air travel-induced malaria transmission in central Europe - A mathematical modelling study.

Background: Aim of our study was to identify conditions under which malaria transmission caused by imported infectious mosquitoes or travellers could occur at large central European airports, and if such transmission could be sustained by indigenous mosquitoes.

Methods: We developed a deterministic and a stochastic compartmental Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered-Susceptible (humans)/Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious (mosquitoes) model with two mosquito (imported Anopheles gambiae, indigenous A. plumbeus) and three human (travellers, airport personnel exposed/not exposed to imported A.

Vaccinations and Infections Are Associated With Unrelated Antibody Titers: An Analysis From the German Birth Cohort Study LISA.

The evidence for non-specific effects (NSE) of vaccinations on all-cause morbidity and mortality among children is growing. However, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms is still limited. One hypothesis is that NSE are mediated by antibody titers.

Implementation of preventive measures against tick-borne infections in a non-endemic area for tick-borne encephalitis-Results from a population-based survey in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Lyme borreliosis (LB) and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are the most common tick-borne diseases in Germany. While for LB only non-specific prevention strategies exist, TBE can be additionally prevented by vaccination. It is unclear to which extent non-specific prevention strategies are applied by individuals living in non-endemic areas for TBE in Germany, and whether TBE vaccination status affects their implementation.

Immune Status in Children Before Liver Transplantation-A Cross-Sectional Analysis Within the ChilsSFree Multicentre Cohort Study.

Both, markers of cellular immunity and serum cytokines have been proposed as potential biomarkers for graft rejection liver transplantation. However, no good prognostic model is available for the prediction of acute cellular rejection. The impact of underlying disease and demographic factors on immune status pediatric liver transplantation (pLTx) is still poorly understood.

Bacterial community structure and effects of picornavirus infection on the anterior nares microbiome in early childhood.

Background: Little is known regarding the nasal microbiome in early childhood and the impact of respiratory infection on the infants' nasal microbial composition. Here we investigated the temporal dynamics and diversity of the bacterial composition in the anterior nares in children attending daycare centers.

Results: For our investigation, we considered 76 parental-taken nasal swabs of 26 children (aged 13 to 36 months) collected over a study period of 3 months.

Epidemiologic estimates of hepatitis E virus infection in European countries.

Objectives: Reliable epidemiologic estimates of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection and evidence on factors determining country-differences are sparse. We systematically assessed and extracted research data on three HEV infection markers and identified factors influencing HEV-positivity to generated adjusted EU/EEA country-specific estimates by a meta-analysis.

Methods: Reports on HEV published 2005-2015 for EU/EEA countries were obtained from PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane databases.

Predictive Factors for Survival in Children Receiving Liver Transplants for Wilson's Disease: A Cohort Study Using European Liver Transplant Registry Data.

Liver transplantation (LT) is a rescue therapy for life-threatening complications of Wilson's disease (WD). However, data on the outcome of WD patients after LT are scarce. The aim of our study was to analyze a large pediatric WD cohort with the aim of investigating the longterm outcome of pediatric WD patients after LT and to identify predictive factors for patient and transplant survival.

Changes in risk perceptions during the 2014 Ebola virus disease epidemic: results of two consecutive surveys among the general population in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Background: The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak 2014 received extensive news media coverage, which faded out before the outbreak ended. News media coverage impacts risk perception; it is, however, unclear if the components of risk perception (affective and cognitive responses) change differently over time.

Methods: In an online panel, we asked participants (n = 1376) about EVD risk perceptions at the epidemic's peak (November 2014) and after news media coverage faded out (August 2015).

Poor knowledge of vaccination recommendations and negative attitudes towards vaccinations are independently associated with poor vaccination uptake among adults - Findings of a population-based panel study in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to (a) assess knowledge of official vaccination recommendations and attitudes towards vaccinations among adults and (b) examine their association with vaccination uptake among adults.

Methods: This study was part of the HaBIDS study (Hygiene and Behaviour Infectious Diseases Survey), which is an online panel established in March 2014 in Lower Saxony, Germany with males and females aged between 15 and 69 years (n = 2379). Every few months, participants completed questionnaires on different aspects of infectious diseases.

Development and validation of a diagnostic model for early differentiation of sepsis and non-infectious SIRS in critically ill children - a data-driven approach using machine-learning algorithms.

Background: Since early antimicrobial therapy is mandatory in septic patients, immediate diagnosis and distinction from non-infectious SIRS is essential but hampered by the similarity of symptoms between both entities. We aimed to develop a diagnostic model for differentiation of sepsis and non-infectious SIRS in critically ill children based on routinely available parameters (baseline characteristics, clinical/laboratory parameters, technical/medical support).

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial conducted at a German tertiary-care pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Influence of demographic changes on the impact of vaccination against varicella and herpes zoster in Germany - a mathematical modelling study.

Background: Epidemiological studies suggest that reduced exposure to varicella might lead to an increased risk for herpes zoster (HZ). Reduction of exposure to varicella is a consequence of varicella vaccination but also of demographic changes. We analyzed how the combination of vaccination programs and demographic dynamics will affect the epidemiology of varicella and HZ in Germany over the next 50 years.

The Risk of Hospitalizations with Injury Diagnoses in a Matched Cohort of Children and Adolescents with and without Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Germany: A Database Study.

Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neuropsychiatric disorder in children and adolescents worldwide, and children with ADHD have elevated risk of injuries. Our aim was to assess the risk of hospitalizations with injury diagnoses and their various subtypes in children and adolescents with newly diagnosed ADHD compared to those without ADHD, as well as to study sex effects on this risk in the setting of the German health care system.

Methods: The German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database, in which 20 million insured from four statutory health insurances in Germany are included, was used to set up a matched cohort study of 3- to 17-year-old children and adolescents with and without ADHD.

Perceptions of Zika virus risk in Germany in 2016.

Background: Risks associated with Zika virus (ZIKV) transmission in the Americas have been discussed widely in the media as several European athletes declined to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Since risk perceptions of individuals in unaffected areas are unknown, we assessed the risk perceptions of ZIKV and related behaviour in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a specific focus on pregnant women and their partners.

Methods: In May 2016, we surveyed 1,037 participants aged 15-69 years of an online panel (addressing hygiene and preventive behaviour regarding infections) in Lower Saxony with respect to their risk perceptions related to ZIKV.

Cost-effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccination in Germany.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in addition to the current cervical cancer screening programme in Germany using a dynamic transmission model.

Methods: Based on a mathematical model simulating the transmission dynamics and the natural history of HPV infection and associated diseases (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, cervical cancer, and genital warts), we estimated the epidemiological and economic consequences of HPV vaccination with both the quadrivalent and bivalent vaccines. In our base case analysis, we assessed the cost-effectiveness of vaccinating 12-year-old girls with a 3-dose schedule.

Factors associated with attrition in a longitudinal online study: results from the HaBIDS panel.

Background: Knowing about predictors of attrition in a panel is important to initiate early measures against loss of participants. We investigated attrition in both early and late phase of an online panel with special focus on preferences regarding mode of participation.

Methods: We used data from the HaBIDS panel that was designed to investigate knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding infections in the German general population.

Association between Embolic Stroke Patterns, ESUS Etiology, and New Diagnosis of Atrial Fibrillation: A Secondary Data Analysis of the Find-AF Trial.

. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important cause of embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS). Imaging-patterns like multiple infarcts, simultaneous involvement of different circulations, infarcts of different ages, and isolated cortical infarcts are likely to indicate cardioembolic stroke.

Comparison of response patterns in different survey designs: a longitudinal panel with mixed-mode and online-only design.

Background: Increasing availability of the Internet allows using only online data collection for more epidemiological studies. We compare response patterns in a population-based health survey using two survey designs: mixed-mode (choice between paper-and-pencil and online questionnaires) and online-only design (without choice).

Methods: We used data from a longitudinal panel, the Hygiene and Behaviour Infectious Diseases Study (HaBIDS), conducted in 2014/2015 in four regions in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Alcohol Drinking in University Students Matters for Their Self-Rated Health Status: A Cross-sectional Study in Three European Countries.

Background: Alcohol drinking was linked to self-rated health in different populations, but the observed association was inconsistent. We studied the association among university students across three European countries with different patterns of drinking.

Methods: We analyzed data from three universities, one from each country: Germany (beer dominant), Bulgaria (wine dominant), and Poland (unclassified among youths, spirits dominant in adults) ( = 2103).