| 1. |
- Flexeder, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Second-hand smoke exposure in adulthood and lower respiratory health during 20 year follow up in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey
- 2019
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In: Respiratory Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1465-9921 .- 1465-993X. ; 20
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Early life exposure to tobacco smoke has been extensively studied but the role of second-hand smoke (SHS) for new-onset respiratory symptoms and lung function decline in adulthood has not been widely investigated in longitudinal studies. Our aim is to investigate the associations of exposure to SHS in adults with respiratory symptoms, respiratory conditions and lung function over 20 years. We used information from 3011 adults from 26 centres in 12 countries who participated in the European Community Respiratory Health Surveys I-III and were never or former smokers at all three surveys. Associations of SHS exposure with respiratory health (asthma symptom score, asthma, chronic bronchitis, COPD) were analysed using generalised linear mixed-effects models adjusted for confounding factors (including sex, age, smoking status, socioeconomic status and allergic sensitisation). Linear mixed-effects models with additional adjustment for height were used to assess the relationships between SHS exposure and lung function levels and decline. Reported exposure to SHS decreased in all 26 study centres over time. The prevalence of SHS exposure was 38.7% at baseline (1990-1994) and 7.1% after the 20-year follow-up (2008-2011). On average 2.4% of the study participants were not exposed at the first, but were exposed at the third examination. An increase in SHS exposure over time was associated with doctor-diagnosed asthma (odds ratio (OR): 2.7; 95% confidence interval (95%-CI): 1.2-5.9), chronic bronchitis (OR: 4.8; 95%-CI: 1.6-15.0), asthma symptom score (count ratio (CR): 1.9; 95%-CI: 1.2-2.9) and dyspnoea (OR: 2.7; 95%-CI: 1.1-6.7) compared to never exposed to SHS. Associations between increase in SHS exposure and incidence of COPD (OR: 2.0; 95%-CI: 0.6-6.0) or lung function (beta: - 49 ml; 95%-CI: -132, 35 for FEV1 and beta: - 62 ml; 95%-CI: -165, 40 for FVC) were not apparent. Exposure to second-hand smoke may lead to respiratory symptoms, but this is not accompanied by lung function changes.
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| 2. |
- Jarvis, Debbie, et al.
(author)
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Prevalence of asthma-like symptoms with ageing
- 2018
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In: Thorax. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 0040-6376 .- 1468-3296. ; 73:1, s. 37-48
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Change in the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms in populations of ageing adults is likely to be influenced by smoking, asthma treatment and atopy.METHODS: The European Community Respiratory Health Survey collected information on prevalent asthma-like symptoms from representative samples of adults aged 20-44 years (29 centres in 13 European countries and Australia) at baseline and 10 and 20 years later (n=7844). Net changes in symptom prevalence were determined using generalised estimating equations (accounting for non-response through inverse probability weighting), followed by meta-analysis of centre level estimates.FINDINGS: Over 20 years the prevalence of 'wheeze' and 'wheeze in the absence of a cold' decreased (-2.4%, 95% CI -3.5 to -1.3%; -1.5%, 95% CI -2.4 to -0.6%, respectively) but the prevalence of asthma attacks, use of asthma medication and hay fever/nasal allergies increased (0.6%, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.11; 3.6%, 95% CI 3.0 to 4.2; 2.7%, 95% CI 1.7 to 3.7). Changes were similar in the first 10 years compared with the second 10 years, except for hay fever/nasal allergies (increase seen in the first 10 years only). Decreases in these wheeze-related symptoms were largely seen in the group who gave up smoking, and were seen in those who reported hay fever/nasal allergies at baseline.INTERPRETATION: European adults born between 1946 and 1970 have, over the last 20 years, experienced less wheeze, although they were more likely to report asthma attacks, use of asthma medication and hay fever. Decrease in wheeze is largely attributable to smoking cessation, rather than improved treatment of asthma. It may also be influenced by reductions in atopy with ageing.
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| 3. |
- Jelenkovic, Aline, et al.
(author)
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Zygosity Differences in Height and Body Mass Index of Twins From Infancy to Old Age : A Study of the CODATwins Project
- 2015
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In: Twin Research and Human Genetics. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1832-4274 .- 1839-2628. ; 18:5, s. 557-570
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A trend toward greater body size in dizygotic (DZ) than in monozygotic (MZ) twins has been suggested by some but not all studies, and this difference may also vary by age. We analyzed zygosity differences in mean values and variances of height and body mass index (BMI) among male and female twins from infancy to old age. Data were derived from an international database of 54 twin cohorts participating in the COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins), and included 842,951 height and BMI measurements from twins aged 1 to 102 years. The results showed that DZ twins were consistently taller than MZ twins, with differences of up to 2.0 cm in childhood and adolescence and up to 0.9 cm in adulthood. Similarly, a greater mean BMI of up to 0.3 kg/m(2) in childhood and adolescence and up to 0.2 kg/m(2) in adulthood was observed in DZ twins, although the pattern was less consistent. DZ twins presented up to 1.7% greater height and 1.9% greater BMI than MZ twins; these percentage differences were largest in middle and late childhood and decreased with age in both sexes. The variance of height was similar in MZ and DZ twins at most ages. In contrast, the variance of BMI was significantly higher in DZ than in MZ twins, particularly in childhood. In conclusion, DZ twins were generally taller and had greater BMI than MZ twins, but the differences decreased with age in both sexes.
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| 4. |
- Kuiper, Ingrid Nordeide, et al.
(author)
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Lung health in adulthood after childhood exposure to air pollution and greenness
- 2018
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In: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 52
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: Little is known on childhood exposure to air pollution and adult chronic respiratory outcomes.Aim: To investigate associations between air pollution and greenness in childhood and adult lung health.Methods: In selected centres of the RHINESSA study (age 18-52) we analysed the outcomes respiratory symptoms (≥3 symptoms), severe wheeze (wheeze last year with breathlessness, no cold) and late onset asthma (>10 years). We calculated mean annual exposures of PM2.5, PM10, NO2 (µg/m³) and greenness (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, 100m buffer) from offspring's birth till age 18, categorised into mean exposure <10 years and 11-18 years. We performed multilevel logistic regression clustered by family, stratified by centre and adjusted for childhood passive smoke and parental asthma.Results: 12% had ≥3 respiratory symptoms, 7.7% severe wheeze, and 9.4% late onset asthma. Overall estimates: greenness was associated with less respiratory symptoms, PM2.5 and NO2 with more late onset asthma. Exposure <10 years: Greenness was associated with less wheeze in Tartu (OR 0.29, 95%CI 0.11-0.73). PM2.5 (OR 1.22, 95%CI 1.00-1.48) and NO2 (OR 1.06, 95%CI 1.01-1.11) were risk factors for late onset asthma in Bergen. PM10 was a risk factor for respiratory symptoms (OR 1.21, 95%CI 1.04-1.41) in Uppsala and late onset asthma (OR 1.23, 95%CI 1.02-1.45) in Bergen. Exposure 11-18 years: Greenness was protective for respiratory symptoms (OR 0.29, 95%CI 0.10-0.86) and wheeze (OR 0.39, 95%CI 0.19-0.80) in Tartu.Conclusions: Childhood exposure to greenness was associated with less respiratory symptoms, while air pollutants were associated with more respiratory symptoms (some centres) and late onset asthma.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Moitra, Subhabrata, et al.
(author)
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Effect of asthma on the development of obesity among adults : Results of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS)
- 2018
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In: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 52
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Introduction: Obesity has been associated with asthma, however the reverse relation has recently been observed among children.Objective: To investigate whether asthma contributes to obesity incidence in adults.Methods: The ECRHS is a cohort study with two follow-ups around, 10-years (ECRHS-II) and 20-years (ECRHS-III) after enrolment. Participants with obesity (BMI>30kg/m2) at baseline were excluded (n=957), leaving 8618 non-obese subjects who participated in at least one follow-up. Asthmatics were described if the subjects reported ever having asthma and had an asthma attack or woke up by an attack of shortness of breath in last 12 months or on current asthma medication. We evaluated the association between: (1) asthma at baseline (ECRHS-I) and obesity at ECRHS-II; and (2) newly reported asthma at ECRHS-II and obesity at ECRHS-III.Results: 10.2% of asthmatics at baseline developed obesity after 10 years compared to 7.7% of non-asthmatics (Age, sex & country-adjusted relative risk: 1.26; 95% confidence interval: 1.03-1.55). Further adjustment for BMI at baseline slightly reduced this risk (RR:1.2; 95%CI: 1.0-1.4). Obesity risk was highest for those developing asthma in adulthood (RR:1.37; 95%CI: 1.01-1.86) compared to those with childhood onset asthma (RR: 1.13; 95%CI: 0.83-1.53). Asthmatics who were non-atopic at baseline had a higher risk of developing obesity at 1st follow up (RR: 1.47; 95%CI: 1.15-1.86). Similar trend was observed in newly reported asthmatics in ECRHS-II and increased obesity risk at the final follow up ECRHS-III (RR: 1.22; 95%CI: 0.86-1.73).Conclusion: These results suggest that asthmatics are at a higher risk of developing obesity.
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| 7. |
- Peralta, Gabriela P., et al.
(author)
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Body mass index trajectories during adult life and lung function decline
- 2018
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In: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 52
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Body mass index (BMI) has been associated with lung function. Whether distinct BMI trajectories during adult life affect lung function differently is unknown. We assessed associations of BMI trajectories from 34 to 54 years with lung function decline over the same period of time in the ECRHS cohort.BMI trajectories were developed using Group-Based Trajectory Modeling on data collected at least twice between ECRHS I and ECRHS III (n=9327). Associations of these trajectories with lung function decline were assessed using mixed linear regression models (adjusted for sex, age, age2, height, smoking status and baseline lung function) in a subgroup (n=3534) with lung function data at ECRHS I and III. As sex-specific analyses showed similar findings, males and females were combined.Four parallel trajectories were identified: ‘normal’, ‘overweight’, ‘obese’ and ‘morbidly obese’ (Fig. 1). Those with higher BMI trajectories had greater decline of FEV1 and FVC than those with ‘normal BMI’ trajectory (Fig. 2).Overweight and obese trajectories of BMI during adult life were associated with greater lung function decline in the ECRHS cohort.
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| 8. |
- Pesce, Giancarlo, et al.
(author)
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Time and age trends in smoking cessation in Europe
- 2019
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In: PLOS ONE. - : PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE. - 1932-6203. ; 14:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Smoking is the main risk factor for most of the leading causes of death. Cessation is the single most important step that smokers can take to improve their health. With the aim of informing policy makers about decisions on future tobacco control strategies, we estimated time and age trends in smoking cessation in Europe between 1980 and 2010. Methods Data on the smoking history of 50,228 lifetime smokers from 17 European countries were obtained from six large population-based studies included in the Ageing Lungs in European Cohorts (ALEC) consortium. Smoking cessation rates were assessed retrospectively, and age trends were estimated for three decades (1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2010). The analyses were stratified by sex and region (North, East, South, West Europe). Results Overall, 21,735 subjects (43.3%) quit smoking over a total time-at-risk of 803,031 years. Cessation rates increased between 1980 and 2010 in young adults (16-40 years), especially females, from all the regions, and in older adults (41-60 years) from North Europe, while they were stable in older adults from East, South and West Europe. In the 2000s, the cessation rates for men and women combined were highest in North Europe (49.9 per 1,000/ year) compared to the other regions (range: 26.5-32.7 per 1,000/ year). A sharp peak in rates was observed for women around the age of 30, possibly as a consequence of pregnancy-related smoking cessation. In most regions, subjects who started smoking before the age of 16 were less likely to quit than those who started later. Conclusions Our findings suggest an increasing awareness on the detrimental effects of smoking across Europe. However, East, South and West European countries are lagging behind North Europe, suggesting the need to intensify tobacco control strategies in these regions. Additional efforts should be made to keep young adolescents away from taking up smoking, as early initiation could make quitting more challenging during later life.
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| 9. |
- Russell, Melissa, et al.
(author)
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The association of vigorous physical activity with 10-year adult asthma incidence
- 2018
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In: European Respiratory Journal. - : EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 52
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Introduction: Studies investigating the effect of physical activity on asthma incidence have often been limited to one sex, and given mixed results.Aim: To investigate the association of vigorous physical activity with asthma incidence in middle-aged, predominantly European adults.Methods: Participants from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey with no history of asthma were included (n=2532). The association between baseline vigorous physical active (>1 hour and >2 times per week) and (1) self-report of newly doctor diagnosed asthma and (2) time to first asthma attack, over the following 10 years, was analysed using mixed effects logistic regression and cox regression respectively. To reduce potential reverse causation, incident asthma cases in the 2 years after baseline were excluded. Associations were adjusted for baseline sex, age, smoking, BMI, occupation, heart disease and education.Results: At baseline the mean age was 43 years and 47% were female. There were 44 (1.7%) incident doctor diagnosed asthma cases and 38 (1.5%) new cases of asthma attack reported. There was evidence that being vigorously physically active at baseline was associated with an increased odds of newly doctor diagnosed asthma (odds ratio 1.93, 95% Confidence Interval 1.04, 3.57, p=0.036). There was no association with time to first asthma attack.Conclusion: The health benefits of physical activity are well documented. However, our data do not support the presupposition that vigorous physical activity would reduce asthma incidence. We observed an increased risk of report of doctor diagnosed asthma with vigorous physical activity in this general adult population, as has been observed with athletes.
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| 10. |
- Silventoinen, Karri, et al.
(author)
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Education in twins and their parents across birth cohorts over 100 years : an individual-level pooled analysis of 42 twin cohorts
- 2017
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In: Twin Research and Human Genetics. - Stockholm : Karolinska Institutet, Dept of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. - 1832-4274 .- 1839-2628.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences made from twin studies in general. We analyzed whether there were differences in individual, maternal and paternal education between MZ and DZ twins in a large pooled dataset. Information was gathered on individual education for 218,362 adult twins from 27 twin cohorts (53% females; 39% MZ twins), and on maternal and paternal education for 147,315 and 143,056 twins respectively, from 28 twin cohorts (52% females; 38% MZ twins). Together, we had information on individual or parental education from 42 twin cohorts representing 19 countries. The original education classifications were transformed to education years and analyzed using linear regression models. Overall, MZ males had 0.26 (95% CI [0.21, 0.31]) years and MZ females 0.17 (95% CI [0.12, 0.21]) years longer education than DZ twins. The zygosity difference became smaller in more recent birth cohorts for both males and females. Parental education was somewhat longer for fathers of DZ twins in cohorts born in 1990-1999 (0.16 years, 95% CI [0.08, 0.25]) and 2000 or later (0.11 years, 95% CI [0.00, 0.22]), compared with fathers of MZ twins. The results show that the years of both individual and parental education are largely similar in MZ and DZ twins. We suggest that the socio-economic differences between MZ and DZ twins are so small that inferences based upon genetic modeling of twin data are not affected.
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