Time trends of cause-specific mortality among resettlers in Germany, 1990 through 2009.

Resettlers (in German: (Spät-)Aussiedler) form one of the biggest migrant groups in Germany. It is known that migrants have different mortality patterns compared to the autochthon population. In this paper, we combined data from three resettler cohorts and examined differences in mortality from non-communicable diseases among resettlers in Germany and the German population.

DNA methylation signatures in peripheral blood strongly predict all-cause mortality.

DNA methylation (DNAm) has been revealed to play a role in various diseases. Here we performed epigenome-wide screening and validation to identify mortality-related DNAm signatures in a general population-based cohort with up to 14 years follow-up. In the discovery panel in a case-cohort approach, 11,063 CpGs reach genome-wide significance (FDR<0.

Exome-wide association study reveals novel susceptibility genes to sporadic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an important cause of heart failure with a strong familial component. We performed an exome-wide array-based association study (EWAS) to assess the contribution of missense variants to sporadic DCM.

Methods And Results: 116,855 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) were analyzed in 2796 DCM patients and 6877 control subjects from 6 populations of European ancestry.

The 3-Year Cost-Effectiveness of a Nurse-Based Case Management versus Usual Care for Elderly Patients with Myocardial Infarction: Results from the KORINNA Follow-Up Study.

Objectives: To assess the 3-year cost-effectiveness of a nurse-based case management intervention in elderly patients with myocardial infarction from a societal perspective.

Methods: The intervention consisted of one home visit and quarterly telephone calls in the first year, and semi-annual calls in the following 2 years. The primary effect measures were quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), on the basis of the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L) and adjusted life-years from patients' self-rated health states according to the visual analogue scale (VAS-ALs).

Effects of statins on the immunoglobulin G glycome.

Background: Statins are among the most widely prescribed medications worldwide and usually many individuals involved in clinical and population studies are on statin therapy. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) glycosylation has been associated with numerous cardiometabolic risk factors.

Methods: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association of statin use with N-glycosylation of IgG.

Study protocol to investigate the environmental and genetic aetiology of atopic dermatitis: the Indonesian Prospective Study of Atopic Dermatitis in Infants (ISADI).

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common skin disorder in young children worldwide, with a high impact on morbidity and quality of life. To date, no prospective study has been published on the incidence and potential predictors of AD in South East Asian populations. The Indonesian Prospective Study of Atopic Dermatitis in Infants (ISADI) will address the genetic, metabolic and dietary characteristics of mothers and their offspring, as well as potential determinants of AD within the first year of infant life.

Improvement of myocardial infarction risk prediction via inflammation-associated metabolite biomarkers.

Objective: The comprehensive assaying of low-molecular-weight compounds, for example, metabolomics, provides a unique tool to uncover novel biomarkers and understand pathways underlying myocardial infarction (MI). We used a targeted metabolomics approach to identify biomarkers for MI and evaluate their involvement in the pathogenesis of MI.

Methods And Results: Using three independent, prospective cohorts (KORA S4, KORA S2 and AGES-REFINE), totalling 2257 participants without a history of MI at baseline, we identified metabolites associated with incident MI (266 cases).

Physical activity levels, duration pattern and adherence to WHO recommendations in German adults.

Background: Intensity and duration of physical activity are associated with the achievement of health benefits. Our aim was to characterize physical activity behavior in terms of intensity, duration pattern, and adherence to the WHO physical activity recommendations in a population-based sample of adults from southern Germany. Further, we investigated associations between physical activity and sex, age, and body mass index (BMI), considering also common chronic diseases.

Connecting genetic risk to disease end points through the human blood plasma proteome.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with intermediate phenotypes, like changes in metabolite and protein levels, provide functional evidence to map disease associations and translate them into clinical applications. However, although hundreds of genetic variants have been associated with complex disorders, the underlying molecular pathways often remain elusive. Associations with intermediate traits are key in establishing functional links between GWAS-identified risk-variants and disease end points.

Systematic Evaluation of Pleiotropy Identifies 6 Further Loci Associated With Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Genome-wide association studies have so far identified 56 loci associated with risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Many CAD loci show pleiotropy; that is, they are also associated with other diseases or traits.

Objectives: This study sought to systematically test if genetic variants identified for non-CAD diseases/traits also associate with CAD and to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the extent of pleiotropy of all CAD loci.

Predicting glycated hemoglobin levels in the non-diabetic general population: Development and validation of the DIRECT-DETECT prediction model - a DIRECT study.

Aims/hypothesis: To develop a prediction model that can predict HbA1c levels after six years in the non-diabetic general population, including previously used readily available predictors.

Methods: Data from 5,762 initially non-diabetic subjects from three population-based cohorts (Hoorn Study, Inter99, KORA S4/F4) were combined to predict HbA1c levels at six year follow-up. Using backward selection, age, BMI, waist circumference, use of anti-hypertensive medication, current smoking and parental history of diabetes remained in sex-specific linear regression models.

Proinflammatory Cytokines Predict the Incidence and Progression of Distal Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy: KORA F4/FF4 Study.

Objective: Experimental and epidemiological studies have implicated inflammatory processes in the pathogenesis of distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN), but prospective studies are lacking. We hypothesized that biomarkers of inflammation predict the development and progression of DSPN in a population-based cohort.

Research Design And Methods: This study was based on participants aged 62-81 years from the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) F4/FF4 cohort, with a mean follow-up of 6.

Genome-wide association analyses for lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease identify new loci and potential druggable targets.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by reduced lung function and is the third leading cause of death globally. Through genome-wide association discovery in 48,943 individuals, selected from extremes of the lung function distribution in UK Biobank, and follow-up in 95,375 individuals, we increased the yield of independent signals for lung function from 54 to 97. A genetic risk score was associated with COPD susceptibility (odds ratio per 1 s.

A whole-blood transcriptome meta-analysis identifies gene expression signatures of cigarette smoking.

Cigarette smoking is a leading modifiable cause of death worldwide. We hypothesized that cigarette smoking induces extensive transcriptomic changes that lead to target-organ damage and smoking-related diseases. We performed a meta-analysis of transcriptome-wide gene expression using whole blood-derived RNA from 10,233 participants of European ancestry in six cohorts (including 1421 current and 3955 former smokers) to identify associations between smoking and altered gene expression levels.

Genome-wide methylation data mirror ancestry information.

Background: Genetic data are known to harbor information about human demographics, and genotyping data are commonly used for capturing ancestry information by leveraging genome-wide differences between populations. In contrast, it is not clear to what extent population structure is captured by whole-genome DNA methylation data.

Results: We demonstrate, using three large-cohort 450K methylation array data sets, that ancestry information signal is mirrored in genome-wide DNA methylation data and that it can be further isolated more effectively by leveraging the correlation structure of CpGs with -located SNPs.

Rare and low-frequency coding variants alter human adult height.

Height is a highly heritable, classic polygenic trait with approximately 700 common associated variants identified through genome-wide association studies so far. Here, we report 83 height-associated coding variants with lower minor-allele frequencies (in the range of 0.1-4.

Serum levels of interleukin-22, cardiometabolic risk factors and incident type 2 diabetes: KORA F4/FF4 study.

Aims: Interleukin-22 (IL-22) has beneficial effects on body weight, insulin resistance and inflammation in different mouse models, but its relevance for the development of type 2 diabetes in humans is unknown. We aimed to identify correlates of serum IL-22 levels and to test the hypothesis that higher IL-22 levels are associated with lower diabetes incidence.

Methods: Cross-sectional associations between serum IL-22, cardiometabolic risk factors and glucose tolerance status were investigated in 1107 persons of the population-based KORA F4 study.

Perceived risk of diabetes seriously underestimates actual diabetes risk: The KORA FF4 study.

Objective: Early detection of diabetes and prediabetic states is beneficial for patients, but may be delayed by patients´ being overly optimistic about their own health. Therefore, we assessed how persons without known diabetes perceive their risk of having or developing diabetes, and we identified factors associated with perception of diabetes risk.

Research Design And Methods: 1,953 participants without previously known diabetes from the population-based, German KORA FF4 Study (59.

Early life travelling does not increase risk of atopic outcomes until 15 years: results from GINIplus and LISAplus.

Background: Westernized lifestyle has been blamed for allergy epidemics. One of its characteristics is increased distances and frequency of travelling from early life onwards. Early life travelling to places which substantially differ from home environment in terms of climate, vegetation and food could increase the exposure to further unknown allergens and hence promote the development of allergies, but no epidemiological study has investigated this speculation.

Room for depressed and exhausted mood as a risk predictor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality beyond the contribution of the classical somatic risk factors in men.

Background And Aims: Depressed mood and exhaustion (DEEX) have gained attention as a risk predictor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies to estimate its ranking in prediction models are sparse.

Methods: The study included 3428 men aged 45-74 years who participated in one of three population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg surveys conducted between 1984 and 1995.

Thermal Control, Weather, and Aging.

Purpose Of The Review: The purpose of this review is to highlight the latest developments in the field of weather and health with a focus on the elderly. The current state of knowledge is summarized and open questions and emerging fields of research are discussed.

Recent Findings: It is expected that climate change will lead to higher global average surface temperatures and more extreme climatic conditions.

Evidence for large-scale gene-by-smoking interaction effects on pulmonary function.

Background: Smoking is the strongest environmental risk factor for reduced pulmonary function. The genetic component of various pulmonary traits has also been demonstrated, and at least 26 loci have been reproducibly associated with either FEV 1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 second) or FEV 1 /FVC (FEV 1 /forced vital capacity). Although the main effects of smoking and genetic loci are well established, the question of potential gene-by-smoking interaction effect remains unanswered.

A joint ERS/ATS policy statement: what constitutes an adverse health effect of air pollution? An analytical framework.

The American Thoracic Society has previously published statements on what constitutes an adverse effect on health of air pollution in 1985 and 2000. We set out to update and broaden these past statements that focused primarily on effects on the respiratory system. Since then, many studies have documented effects of air pollution on other organ systems, such as on the cardiovascular and central nervous systems.

Are sleep duration, midpoint of sleep and sleep quality associated with dietary intake among Bavarian adults?

Background/objectives: Only few epidemiologic studies examined sleep characteristics in relation to dietary behaviour. Our aim was to analyse associations of sleep duration, midpoint of sleep and sleep quality with dietary intake among the Bavarian population.

Subjects/methods: Within the cross-sectional Bavarian Food Consumption Survey II, 1050 subjects aged 13-81 years were recruited.

An Analysis of Two Genome-wide Association Meta-analyses Identifies a New Locus for Broad Depression Phenotype.

Background: The genetics of depression has been explored in genome-wide association studies that focused on either major depressive disorder or depressive symptoms with mostly negative findings. A broad depression phenotype including both phenotypes has not been tested previously using a genome-wide association approach. We aimed to identify genetic polymorphisms significantly associated with a broad phenotype from depressive symptoms to major depressive disorder.