High resolution annual average air pollution concentration maps for the Netherlands.

Long-term exposure to air pollution is considered a major public health concern and has been related to overall mortality and various diseases such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Due to the spatial variability of air pollution concentrations, assessment of individual exposure to air pollution requires spatial datasets at high resolution. Combining detailed air pollution maps with personal mobility and activity patterns allows for an improved exposure assessment.

Particulate matter air pollution components and incidence of cancers of the stomach and the upper aerodigestive tract in the European Study of Cohorts of Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE).

Introduction: Previous analysis from the large European multicentre ESCAPE study showed an association of ambient particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM) air pollution exposure at residence with the incidence of gastric cancer. It is unclear which components of PM are most relevant for gastric and also upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer and some of them may not be strongly correlated with PM mass.

Air Pollution Exposure During Pregnancy and Symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder in Children in Europe.

Background: Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy may increase attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children, but findings have been inconsistent. We aimed to study this association in a collaborative study of eight European population-based birth/child cohorts, including 29,127 mother-child pairs.

Methods: Air pollution concentrations (nitrogen dioxide [NO2] and particulate matter [PM]) were estimated at the birth address by land-use regression models based on monitoring campaigns performed between 2008 and 2011.

Stabilization of cell-cell junctions by active vitamin D ameliorates uraemia-induced loss of human endothelial barrier function.

Background: Uraemia induces endothelial cell (EC) injury and impaired repair capacity, for which the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Active vitamin D (VD) may promote endothelial repair, however, the mechanism that mediates the effects of VD in chronic kidney disease are poorly understood. Thus, we investigated uraemia-induced endothelial damage and the protection against such damage by active VD.

Air pollution and incidence of cancers of the stomach and the upper aerodigestive tract in the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE).

Air pollution has been classified as carcinogenic to humans. However, to date little is known about the relevance for cancers of the stomach and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT). We investigated the association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with incidence of gastric and UADT cancer in 11 European cohorts.

Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Incidence of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in 15 European Cohorts within the ESCAPE Project.

Background: Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and breast cancer risk is inconsistent.

Objective: We examined the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in European women.

Methods: In 15 cohorts from nine European countries, individual estimates of air pollution levels at the residence were estimated by standardized land-use regression models developed within the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) and Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts – Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter (TRANSPHORM) projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤2.

Early intervention by Captopril does not improve wound healing of partial thickness burn wounds in a rat model.

The Renin Angiotensin System is involved in fibrotic pathologies in various organs such as heart, kidney and liver. Inhibition of this system by angiotensin converting enzyme antagonists, such as Captopril, has been shown beneficial effects on these pathologies. Captopril reduced the inflammatory reaction but also directly influenced the fibrotic process.

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of brain tumor: the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE).

Background: Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and brain tumor risk is sparse and inconsistent.

Methods: In 12 cohorts from 6 European countries, individual estimates of annual mean air pollution levels at the baseline residence were estimated by standardized land-use regression models developed within the ESCAPE and TRANSPHORM projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤2.5, ≤10, and 2.

Long-term exposure to particulate matter, NO and the oxidative potential of particulates and diabetes prevalence in a large national health survey.

Background: The evidence from observational epidemiological studies of a link between long-term air pollution exposure and diabetes prevalence and incidence is currently mixed. Some studies found the strongest associations of diabetes with fine particles, other studies with nitrogen dioxide and some studies found no associations.

Objectives: Our aim was to investigate associations between long-term exposure to multiple air pollutants and diabetes prevalence in a large national survey in the Netherlands.

Land use regression modelling estimating nitrogen oxides exposure in industrial south Durban, South Africa.

Background: The South Durban (SD) area of Durban, South Africa, has a history of air pollution issues due to the juxtaposition of low-income communities with industrial areas. This study used measurements of oxides of nitrogen (NO) to develop a land use regression (LUR) model to explain the spatial variation of air pollution concentrations in this area.

Methods: Ambient NO was measured over two two-week sampling periods at 32 sites using Ogawa badges.

Is There an Association Between Ambient Air Pollution and Bladder Cancer Incidence? Analysis of 15 European Cohorts.

Background: Ambient air pollution contains low concentrations of carcinogens implicated in the etiology of urinary bladder cancer (BC). Little is known about whether exposure to air pollution influences BC in the general population.

Objective: To evaluate the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and BC incidence.

Differential effects of Losartan and Atorvastatin in partial and full thickness burn wounds.

Healing of burn wounds is often associated with scar formation due to excessive inflammation and delayed wound closure. To date, no effective treatment is available to prevent the fibrotic process. The Renin Angiotensin System (RAS) was shown to be involved in fibrosis in various organs.

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic noise and incident hypertension in seven cohorts of the European study of cohorts for air pollution effects (ESCAPE).

Aims: We investigated whether traffic-related air pollution and noise are associated with incident hypertension in European cohorts.

Methods And Results: We included seven cohorts of the European study of cohorts for air pollution effects (ESCAPE). We modelled concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.

Associations between lifestyle and air pollution exposure: Potential for confounding in large administrative data cohorts.

Background: Cohorts based on administrative data have size advantages over individual cohorts in investigating air pollution risks, but often lack in-depth information on individual risk factors related to lifestyle. If there is a correlation between lifestyle and air pollution, omitted lifestyle variables may result in biased air pollution risk estimates. Correlations between lifestyle and air pollution can be induced by socio-economic status affecting both lifestyle and air pollution exposure.

Ambient air pollution and primary liver cancer incidence in four European cohorts within the ESCAPE project.

Background: Tobacco smoke exposure increases the risk of cancer in the liver, but little is known about the possible risk associated with exposure to ambient air pollution.

Objectives: We evaluated the association between residential exposure to air pollution and primary liver cancer incidence.

Methods: We obtained data from four cohorts with enrolment during 1985-2005 in Denmark, Austria and Italy.

The Influence of Meteorological Factors and Atmospheric Pollutants on the Risk of Preterm Birth.

Atmospheric pollutants and meteorological conditions are suspected to be causes of preterm birth. We aimed to characterize their possible association with the risk of preterm birth (defined as birth occurring before 37 completed gestational weeks). We pooled individual data from 13 birth cohorts in 11 European countries (71,493 births from the period 1994-2011, European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE)).

Outdoor air pollution and risk for kidney parenchyma cancer in 14 European cohorts.

Several studies have indicated weakly increased risk for kidney cancer among occupational groups exposed to gasoline vapors, engine exhaust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other air pollutants, although not consistently. It was the aim to investigate possible associations between outdoor air pollution at the residence and the incidence of kidney parenchyma cancer in the general population. We used data from 14 European cohorts from the ESCAPE study.

Can dispersion modeling of air pollution be improved by land-use regression? An example from Stockholm, Sweden.

Both dispersion modeling (DM) and land-use regression modeling (LUR) are often used for assessment of long-term air pollution exposure in epidemiological studies, but seldom in combination. We developed a hybrid DM-LUR model using 93 biweekly observations of NO at 31 sites in greater Stockholm (Sweden). The DM was based on spatially resolved topographic, physiographic and emission data, and hourly meteorological data from a diagnostic wind model.

Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and the Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A European Nested Case-Control Study.

Background: Industrialization has been linked to the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Aim: We investigated the association between air pollution exposure and IBD.

Methods: The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort was used to identify cases with Crohn's disease (CD) (n = 38) and ulcerative colitis (UC) (n = 104) and controls (n = 568) from Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK, matched for center, gender, age, and date of recruitment.

European Training and Research in Peritoneal Dialysis--A Network to Deliver Scientific Peritoneal Dialysis Training to a New Generation of Researchers.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) utilization varies across countries, and of the factors that explain the variation, the scientific and clinical knowledge of health care professionals is potentially important. In this paper, we describe a European collaboration--between 8 academic PD research programs, a small-to-medium-sized enterprise, and a large PD product manufacturer--that received significant research funding from the EU commission to establish a training network. European Training and Research in Peritoneal Dialysis (EuTRiPD) is providing training to 12 PhD students who have moved within the European Union and are completing research training.

Outdoor air pollution exposures and micronuclei frequencies in lymphocytes from pregnant women and newborns in Crete, Greece (Rhea cohort).

Background: Micronuclei (MN) are biomarkers of early genetic effects that have been used to investigate the association between environmental exposures and cancer. However, few studies have examined the association between environmental exposures during pregnancy and MN in mothers and newborns.

Objectives: We examined MN frequency in maternal blood and in cord blood, in relation to maternal air pollution exposure, and the potential interaction with maternal vitamin C intake and maternal smoking.

A New Technique for Evaluating Land-use Regression Models and Their Impact on Health Effect Estimates.

Background: Leave-one-out cross-validation that fails to account for variable selection does not properly reflect prediction accuracy when the number of training sites is small. The impact on health effect estimates has rarely been studied. The objective of this study was to develop an improved validation procedure for land-use regression models with variable selection and investigate health effect estimates in relation to land-use regression model performance.

Spatial variation of PM elemental composition between and within 20 European study areas--Results of the ESCAPE project.

An increasing number of epidemiological studies suggest that adverse health effects of air pollution may be related to particulate matter (PM) composition, particularly trace metals. However, we lack comprehensive data on the spatial distribution of these elements. We measured PM2.

Associations between particulate matter composition and childhood blood pressure--The PIAMA study.

Background: Childhood blood pressure is an important predictor of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Evidence for an association between ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure and blood pressure is increasing, but little is known about the relevance of different PM constituents.

Objectives: We investigated the association between particulate matter composition and blood pressure at age 12 years.