The German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) was conducted from May 2003 to May 2006 by the Robert Koch Institute in 167 communities representative of Germany By collecting comprehensive and nationally representative data on the health status of children and adolescents aged 0 to 17 years, the study aimed to fill a longstanding evidence gap Data from 17,641 study participants will be analysed in a timely and systematic manner by the Robert Koch Institute Initially mainly descriptive analyses as presented in the current special issue on the KiGGS study, provide information on the distribution of main health characteristics according to sociodemographic key variables, including age, sex, region of residence (former East/West Germany), social status, and migrant background We report here the rationale for a standard set of stratifying variables and the operationalisation of composite variables Furthermore, we illustrate the public health relevance of the observed group differences using the example of an important health indicator: parents' evaluation of their children's general state of health

/pdf/messung-soziodemographischer-merkmale-im-kinder-und-5beb3b7uee.pdf

Messung soziodemographischer Merkmale im Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurvey (KiGGS) und ihre Bedeutung am Beispiel der Einschätzung des allgemeinen Gesundheitszustands

To cite this article: Buters JTM, Weichenmeier I, Ochs S, Pusch G, Kreyling W, Boere AJF, Schober W, Behrendt H. The allergen Bet v 1 in fractions of ambient air deviates from birch pollen counts. Allergy 2010; 65: 850–858.



Abstract

Background:  Proof is lacking that pollen count is representative for allergen exposure, also because allergens were found in nonpollen-bearing fractions of ambient air.



Objective:  We monitored simultaneously birch pollen and the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 in different size fractions of ambient air from 2004 till 2007 in Munich, Germany.



Methods:  Air was sampled with a ChemVol® high-volume cascade impactor equipped with stages for particulate matter (PM)>10 μm, 10 μm>PM>2.5 μm, and 2.5 μm>PM>0.12 μm. Allergen was determined with a Bet v 1-specific ELISA. Pollen count was assessed with a Burkard pollen trap. We also measured the development of allergen in pollen during ripening.



Results:  About 93 ± 3% of Bet v 1 was found in the PM > 10 μm fraction, the fraction containing birch pollen. We did not measure any Bet v 1 in 2.5 μm > PM > 0.12 μm. Either in Munich no allergen was in this fraction or the allergen was absorbed to diesel soot particles that also deposit in this fraction. Pollen released 115% more Bet v 1 in 2007 than in 2004. Also within 1 year, the release of allergen from the same amount of pollen varied more than 10-fold between different days. This difference was explained by a rapidly increasing expression of Bet v 1 in pollen in the week just before pollination. Depending on the day the pollen is released during ripening, its potency varies.



Conclusion:  In general, pollen count and allergen in ambient air follow the same temporal trends. However, because a 10-fold difference can exist in allergen potency of birch pollen, symptoms might be difficult to correlate with pollen counts, but perhaps better with allergen exposure.

The allergen Bet v 1 in fractions of ambient air deviates from birch pollen counts.

Allergische Erkrankungen

Background: The release of the aeroallergen Bet v 1 from pollen is a major determinant in the etiology of allergic airway disease due to birch pollen. Objective:

Year-to-year variation in release of Bet v 1 allergen from birch pollen: evidence for geographical differences between West and South Germany.

Social inequalities in health exist globally and are a major public health concern. This study focus on a systematic investigation into the associations between health indicators, living conditions and parental educational level as indicator of the social status of 6-year-old children living in West and East Germany in the decade after re-unification. Explanations of observed associations between parental education and health indicators were examined. All boys and girls entering elementary school and living in predefined areas of East and West Germany were invited to participate in a series of cross-sectional surveys conducted between 1991 and 2000. Data of 28,888 German children with information on parental education were included in the analysis. Information about educational level of the parents, individual living conditions, symptoms and diagnoses of infectious diseases and allergies were taken from questionnaire. At the day of investigation, atopic eczema was diagnosed by dermatologists, blood was taken for the determination of allergen-specific immuno-globulin E, height and weight was measured and lung function tests were done in subgroups. Regression analysis was applied to investigate the associations between the health indicators and parental educational level as well as the child's living conditions. Gender, urban/rural residency and year of survey were used to control for confounding. Average response was 83% in East Germany and 71% in West Germany. Strong associations between health indicators and parental education were observed. Higher educated parents reported more diagnoses and symptoms than less educated. Children of higher educated parents were also more often sensitized against grass pollen or house dust mites, but had higher birth weights, lower airway resistance and were less overweight at the age of six. Furthermore, most of the health indicators were significantly associated with one or more living conditions such as living as a single child, unfavourable indoor air, damp housing condition, maternal smoking during pregnancy or living near a busy road. The total lung capacity and the prevalence of an atopic eczema at the day of investigation were the only health indicators those did not show associations with any of the predictor variables. Despite large differences in living conditions and evidence that some poor health outcomes were directly associated with poor living conditions, only few indicators demonstrated poorer health in social disadvantaged children. These were in both parts of Germany increased levels of overweight, higher airway resistance and, in East Germany only, reduced height in children with lower educated parents compared to those of higher education. In both East and West Germany, higher prevalence of airway symptoms was associated with a damp housing condition, and lower birth weight, reduced height and increased airway resistance at the age of six were associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy. The latter explained to a large extent the difference in birth weight and airway resistance between the educational groups.

/pdf/preschool-children-s-health-and-its-association-with-33dkggkzkf.pdf

Preschool children's health and its association with parental education and individual living conditions in East and West Germany

Aim: Aim of the study is to examine the hypotheses of a steeper increase in allergies and allergic sensitisations in East than in West German children between 1991 and 2000. Method: Between 1991 and 2000 we yearly repeated cross-sectional studies (SAWO: Study on school beginners) and asked 36,645 parents about diagnoses and symptoms of allergies in their six-year old children (response: 79%). The study was done in Leipzig, Halle, Merseburg, Magdeburg, small towns in the Altmark region, Duisburg, Essen, Koln and Borken during spring. An allergological investigation was included 1991, 1994,1997 and 2000. Dermatologists diagnosed a prevalent atopic eczema, administered a skin prick test (n = 7,229) and blood was taken for the determination of specific IgE antibodies against common allergens (n = 7,714, RAST). Odds Ratios (OR) for trend were calculated separately for the data from East and West Germany and are given along with their 95% confidence intervals. Results: Allergies and their symptoms (exception: atopic eczema) were less prevalent in East German children born before the reunification than in West German ones. In East as well as in West Germany bronchial asthma was diagnosed more often in 2000 than in 1991 (OR East: 2.42 [1.78-3.28] West: 2.07 [1.43-3.00]). In contrast the prevalence of atopic eczemas was more than halved between 1991 and 2000. Of all symptoms and diagnoses of allergies only hay fever and its symptoms showed an upward trend in East Germany which was steeper than the trend in West Germany (OR East: 4.41 [3.17-6.13] West: 1.74 [1.19-2.57]). This can partly be explained by a parallel trend in sensitisation against grass pollen. Conclusion: The spatial and temporal pattern of the allergic diseases bronchial asthma, hay fever and atopic eczema in six-year old children from Germany is different. The expected steeper increase of allergies in East than in West Germany could only be shown for hay fever.

Die Schulanfängerstudie in West- und Ostdeutschland (SAWO): Trends von Allergien und Sensibilisierungen 1991-2000

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Die Schulanfängerstudie in West- und Ostdeutschland (SAWO): Trends von Allergien und Sensibilisierungen 1991-2000