Heat-related emergency medical service operations: the relevance of the heat definition.

Heat is associated with an increase in Emergency Medical Service (EMS) operations. However, different heat definitions in research, including outside air temperature (T), Heat Index (HI) and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), impair the assessment of heat onthe frequency of EMS operations. Therefore, this study aims to compare (1) the relationship between different heat definitions and the frequency of days defined as heat events, (2) the percentage change in the number of EMS operations per heat definition, and (3) the goodness of model fit of each heat definition.

Establishment, operation and development of the electronic Pollen Information Network (ePIN) in Bavaria, Germany.

Current data of actual airborne pollen concentrations is of high value for allergy sufferers and medical practitioners, as allergen avoidance is an important therapeutic approach to allergic rhinitis. In addition, pollen concentrations are important indicators for monitoring climate change, providing information on changes in plant growth, plant reactions to climate change and the arrival of neophytes. The importance of pollen monitoring as well as technical developments and the emergence of electronic pollen monitors led to the establishment of the electronic Pollen Information Network (ePIN) in Bavaria, Germany.

Survey Health Data on Allergic Rhinitis (AR) and Asthmatic Symptoms and Blood Samples (IgE Sensitizations) in Preschool Children: An Observational Study.

Background: Aim of the study was to investigate the association of IgE sensitizations in serum and self-reported allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthmatic symptoms.

Methods: Between 2015 and 2018, parents of 1190 children in Günzburg, Germany participated in the study by completing a questionnaire. Settings were the Health-Monitoring-Units (HMU) during the obligatory school entry examinations and a medical examination for all German children at the age of 60-64 months (U9).

Risky leisure noise exposure during the transition to adulthood and the impact of major life events - results of the OHRKAN cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the influence of four major life events (leaving home, full-time employment, married/cohabiting, parenthood) and socio-demographic variables on risky total leisure noise (TLN) during transition to adulthood with a special focus on visiting discotheques and listening to portable listening devices (PLDs).

Design: Longitudinal analysis of the OHRKAN cohort. Risky TLN covering 22 activities was defined as exceeding 85 dB(A) averaged over a 40-hour week.

[Medical clinical diagnostics for indoor mould exposure - Update 2023 (AWMF Register No. 161/001)].

This article is an abridged version of the updated AWMF mould guideline "Medical clinical diagnostics in case of indoor mould exposure - Update 2023", presented in July 2023 by the German Society of Hygiene, Environmental Medicine and Preventive Medicine (Gesellschaft für Hygiene, Umweltmedizin und Präventivmedizin, GHUP), in collaboration with German and Austrian scientific medical societies, and experts. Indoor mould growth is a potential health risk, even if a quantitative and/or causal relationship between the occurrence of individual mould species and health problems has yet to be established. There is no evidence for a causal relationship between moisture/mould damage and human diseases, mainly because of the ubiquitous presence of fungi and hitherto inadequate diagnostic methods.

Monitoring of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in human blood samples collected in three regions with known PFAS releases in the environment and three control regions in South Germany.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known as persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals. The present paper describes the analysis of 969 human blood samples collected in South Germany aiming to determine whether there are statistic significant differences in internal PFAS burden between three regions with known PFAS releases in the environment (study regions) and three regions without known PFAS releases in the environment (control regions). Nine environmental relevant PFAS were analyzed, including the perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) substitute 3H-perfluoro-3-[(3-methoxy-propoxy)propanoic acid] ammonium salt (ADONA).

Human biomonitoring follow-up study on PFOA contamination and investigation of possible influencing factors on PFOA exposure in a German population originally exposed to emissions from a fluoropolymer production plant.

Background: In the past, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was produced and applied as an emulsifier in a fluoropolymer production plant in the Altötting district, southern Bavaria (Germany). This chemical was released directly into the environment, resulting in the contamination of the local drinking water. During a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey in 2018, increased median PFOA blood serum levels, compared to a normally exposed control group with no known source of PFOA exposure from Munich, Germany, were detected in the resident population (23.

[Patient Care in German Outpatient Clinics for Environmental Medicine Illustrated by the Examples of Hamburg and Munich University Hospitals].

People can be affected by various environmental factors (e. g., odor, noise) which can lead to medical complaints or illnesses.

Risky listening behaviour to music via headphones and its determinants - 7.5 years OHRKAN cohort study.

Objective: To examine risky leisure noise exposure from listening to music via headphones and to identify potential determinants with special focus on portable listening devices (PLDs) among adolescents over a period of 7.5-years.

Design: Data were collected by questionnaires at four equidistant time points (O1-O4).

[Health protection and climate change require ambitious limit values for air pollutants in Europe : Opinion on the revision of the Directive on Air Quality and Clean Air for Europe of the Environmental Public Health commission of the Robert Koch Institute and the Federal Environment Agency].

Based on scientific findings, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended stricter guideline values for air quality in 2021. Significant reductions in the annual mean values of particulate matter (particle size 2.5 µm or smaller, PM) and long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO) and ozone (O) were put forward.

Ten-year results of leisure noise exposure among adolescents and young adults-findings from the OHRKAN cohort study.

Objective: To observe total leisure noise (TLN) exposure and to investigate determinants of risky TLN exposure among adolescents and young adults over a ten-year observation period.

Design: OHRKAN is a longitudinal study with five equidistantly distributed questionnaires (waves) over ten years. Risky TLN exposure was defined as exceeding ≥85dB(A) averaged over 40h per week.

Mental health and work-related factors in healthcare workers in a pandemic - meta-analysis.

Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, healthcare workers worldwide faced major challenges in the form of psychological stress. The aim of this systematic literature review and meta-analysis is to identify mental health consequences and associated work-related factors in healthcare workers during a pandemic and to quantify the influence of associated work-related factors on mental health consequences. A systematic literature search according to PRISMA was conducted on 5 August 2021 using the databases PubMed Central and APA PsychInfo.

A multi-layered strategy for COVID-19 infection prophylaxis in schools: A review of the evidence for masks, distancing, and ventilation.

Implications for the academic and interpersonal development of children and adolescents underpin a global political consensus to maintain in-classroom teaching during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In support of this aim, the WHO and UNICEF have called for schools around the globe to be made safer from the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Detailed guidance is needed on how this goal can be successfully implemented in a wide variety of educational settings in order to effectively mitigate impacts on the health of students, staff, their families, and society.

The validity of using a self-report single question as a means to detect hearing loss in an adolescent population.

Objective: The overall objective in the study was to compare self-reported hearing based on a single question ("how good would you currently rate your hearing?") to measure hearing loss determined by audiometry in a cohort of adolescents. Prevalence of audiometrically measured hearing loss and frequencies of self-reported poor hearing as well as factors that have an impact on self-reported hearing were examined.

Design: Baseline and 5-year follow-up data of the Ohrkan study were used.

The Relevance of Leisure Noise to Hearing Threshold Shifts: A Longitudinal Analysis Among Adolescents.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the association of total leisure noise exposure and hearing threshold shifts over 5 years among adolescents enrolled in the Ohrkan cohort study.

Method: The Ohrkan cohort of 2,148 students aged 13-19 years was recruited from 2009 to 2011 and followed up 5 years later. Complete baseline and follow-up reports on exposure and outcome were available for 989 participants.

Atopic diseases and airway-related symptoms in Bavarian children before starting primary school: Time trend analyses.

Background: After decades of rising prevalence of atopic and airway-related diseases, studies showed stagnating prevalence in western industrialised countries. Objective of this study is to analyse the time trend of prevalence of atopic diseases and airway-related symptoms among Bavarian children before starting primary school.

Materials And Methods: Five cross-sectional studies from 2004/2005, 2006/2007, 2012/2013, 2014/2015 and 2016/2017 took place in urban and rural regions in Bavaria, Germany.

Change in exposure of children to second-hand smoke with impact on children's health and change in parental smoking habits after smoking ban in Bavaria - a multiple cross-sectional study.

Background: Concerns about smoking displacement from public places to private amenities aroused following smoking ban implementation in Bavaria in 2008. We analysed children's exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) before and after the ban, its effect on children's health and prevalence of active smoking in adults.

Methods: Six cross-sectional surveys (n = 32,443) on pre-school children in Bavaria were analysed, two surveys before the smoking ban in years 2004 and 2005 (S1 and S2) and four after the ban in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2016 (S4, S6, S7 and S8).

Multiresistant Gram-Negative Pathogens—A Zoonotic Problem.

Background: Extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing, carbapenemase-producing, and colistin-resistant Enterobacterales (ESBL-E, CPE, and Col-E) are multiresistant pathogens that are increasingly being encountered in both human and veterinary medicine. In this review, we discuss the frequency, sources, and significance of the zoonotic transmission of these pathogens between animals and human beings.

Methods: This review is based on pertinent publications retrieved by a selective literature search.

Non-pharmacological interventions for pollen-induced allergic symptoms: Systematic literature review.

Background: Allergic diseases pose a health problem worldwide. Pollen are widespread aeroallergens which can cause symptoms like shortness of breath, cough, itchy eyes, or rhinitis. Apart from preventive measures and pharmacological treatment, also non-pharmacological interventions have been suggested to reduce symptoms.

Atopic diseases and airway-related symptoms in Bavarian pre-schoolers: determinants and association with immunization.

Background: Atopic diseases are among the most common chronic conditions in childhood. Causes of allergies are manifold. The aim of this paper is to evaluate risk factors for atopic diseases and unremitting wheeze and to examine if there is an association between measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination and atopic dermatitis, asthma and unremitting wheeze in Bavarian pre-schoolers.

Compensating for missing data in the OHRKAN cohort study examining total leisure noise exposure among adolescents.

Objective: Investigating determinants of total leisure noise (TLN) exposure among adolescents over 7.5 years and compensating for missing data due to loss to follow-up.

Design: In the OHRKAN cohort study, data were collected by questionnaires at four waves.

Medical care and treatment of children with asthmatic or wheezing health outcomes and urban-rural differences in Bavaria - a cross-sectional study.

Asthma is among the most common chronic conditions in children. The aim of this publication is to describe prevalence rates and factors associated with asthmatic or wheezing preschoolers and to evaluate medical care and treatment with regard to urban-rural differences. Data for this cross-sectional study were collected through a questionnaire, which was distributed to parents within the Health Monitoring Units in Bavaria (HMU), Germany.

Exposure to leisure noise and intermittent tinnitus among young adults in Bavaria: longitudinal data from a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the association between total leisure noise exposure and intermittent tinnitus among young adults.

Design: Data were obtained from the study, an ongoing prospective cohort study conducted in South Germany since 2009. Information about exposure to impulse and leisure noise, tinnitus occurrences, sociodemographic variables, and self-rated hearing ability were analysed at four time points over a period of seven and a half years.