Air Pollution and Polyclonal Elevation of Serum Free Light Chains: An Assessment of Adaptive Immune Responses in the Prospective Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study.

Background: Residential exposure to air pollution (AP) has been shown to activate the immune system (IS). Although innate immune responses to AP have been studied extensively, investigations on the adaptive IS are scarce.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between short- to long-term AP exposure and polyclonal free light chains (FLC) produced by plasma cells.

Long-term exposure to ambient source-specific particulate matter and its components and incidence of cardiovascular events - The Heinz Nixdorf Recall study.

Background: Few studies have examined the risk of long-term exposure to source-specific airborne pollutants on incidence of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events.

Objectives: We aimed to estimate the effect of long-term exposure to source-specific air pollution and particulate matter (PM) components on incidence of stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD), and total cardiovascular events (CVE) in the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study (HNR).

Methods: We used baseline (2000-2003) and 14-year follow-up data of the HNR Study, an ongoing population-based prospective cohort study in Western Germany.

All-source and source-specific air pollution and 10-year diabetes Incidence: Total effect and mediation analyses in the Heinz Nixdorf recall study.

Background: An increasing number of studies have been published recently on the association between ambient air pollution (AP) and incident diabetes mellitus (DM), but studies investigating source-specific AP toxicity and potential mediating pathways are rare. We investigated the associations of all-source, traffic-specific, and industry-specific outdoor AP exposure with 10-year incidence of DM and potential mediation via inflammation-associated biomarkers.

Methods: Data from participants of the prospective Heinz Nixdorf Recall cohort study who attended the baseline (t; 2000-2003), 5-year follow-up (t; 2006-2008), and 10-year follow-up (t; 2011-2015) examinations was used.

Health effects of ultrafine particles: a systematic literature review update of epidemiological evidence.

Objectives: Due to their small size, ultrafine particles (UFP) are believed to exert higher toxicity than larger particles. As numerous studies on health effects of UFP have been published since the last systematic review in 2013, we aim to systematically review the new literature.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE and the specialized LUDOK database for studies published between 01.

Indoor and outdoor road traffic noise and incident diabetes mellitus: Results from a longitudinal German cohort study.

Unlabelled: Road traffic noise affects a large number of people in urbanized areas. Recent epidemiological evidence indicates that environmental noise exposure may not only be associated with cardiovascular but also with cardio-metabolic outcomes. This prospective cohort study investigated the effect of outdoor and indoor residential road traffic noise on incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Long-term exposure to airborne particulate matter and NO and prevalent and incident metabolic syndrome - Results from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study.

Introduction: Recently, epidemiological studies have found a link between air pollution (AP) and individual components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), a condition predisposing to cardiometabolic diseases. However, very few studies have explored a possible association between air pollution and MetS.

Objective: We analyzed the effects of long-term exposure to airborne particulate matter and NO on prevalence and incidence of MetS.

Air Pollution and Glucose Metabolism: An Analysis in Non-Diabetic Participants of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study.

Background: Despite the importance of understanding the connection between air pollution exposure and diabetes, studies investigating links between air pollution and glucose metabolism in nondiabetic adults are limited.

Objective: We aimed to estimate the association of medium-term air pollution exposures with blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among nondiabetics.

Methods: This study included observations from nondiabetic participants (n=7,108) of the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study at baseline (2000–2003) and follow-up examination (2006–2008).

Air pollution and diastolic function in elderly women - Results from the SALIA study cohort.

Background: Studies linking particulate matter (PM) with heart failure (HF) show inconsistent results. However, the association of air pollution with diastolic function, an important determinant of heart failure, has not been studied yet and is addressed in the presented study.

Methods: 402 women (69-79 years) of the clinical follow-up (2007-2010) of the ongoing population-based prospective SALIA (Study on the influence of Air pollution on Lung function, Inflammation and Ageing) cohort were examined using Doppler echocardiography: Of the 291 women with preserved ejection fraction, the ratio of peak early diastolic filling velocity and peak early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (E/E') was collected in 264 and left atrial volume index (LAVI) in 262 women.