Wolfgang Straff

Road traffic noise and hypertension--accounting for the location of rooms.

OBJECTIVE The association between the exposure to road traffic noise and the prevalence of hypertension was assessed accounting for background air pollution and the location of rooms with respect to the road. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out inviting all subjects aged 35-74 years for participation that lived on 7 major trunk roads in 3-4 storey terraced apartment buildings and in parallel side streets that were completely shielded from noise due to the rows of houses along the major roads. The study was performed on 1770 subjects that did not have a self-reported medical doctor diagnosis of hypertension before they moved into their current residence. Noise levels at the facade of the front and the rear side of the houses were drawn from available noise maps of the area. A large set of covariates were considered to adjust the results for confounding. RESULTS Significant increases between road traffic noise and hypertension were found with respect to the 24h A-weighted average noise indicator L(DEN). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) per noise level increment of 10 dB(A) was 1.11 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-1.23). Stronger significant estimates of the noise effect were found in subjects with long residence time (OR=1.20, CI=1.05-1.37), and with respect to the exposure of the living room during daytime (OR=1.24, CI=1.08-1.41) compared with the exposure of the bedroom during night-time (OR=0.91, CI=0.78-1.06). CONCLUSION Chronic exposure to road traffic noise is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure. Daytime noise exposure of the living room had a stronger impact on the association than night-time exposure of the bedroom.

Klimawandel und Pollenallergie: Städte und Kommunen sollten bei der Bepflanzung des öffentlichen Raums Rücksicht auf Pollenallergiker nehmen

ZusammenfassungDer Klimawandel führt zu Veränderungen im Pollenflug. Besonders betroffen sind davon die Pollen von Haselnuss, Erle und Birke, die früher und tendenziell in höheren Konzentrationen auftreten. Dieser Trend wird durch die Neuanpflanzung von Birken in Städten gefördert.Bisher gibt es in Deutschland keine Empfehlung zur Neupflanzung von Bäumen im öffentlichen Raum, die Rücksicht auf die Belange von Pollenallergikern nimmt. Vorgelegt wird ein Vorschlag, welche Baumsorten bei Anpflanzungen in Städten zu vermeiden sind, um einer weiteren Erhöhung der Menge an Baumpollen vorzubeugen. Beigefügt ist auch eine Auflistung allergologisch unbedenklicher Baumsorten, die zur Anpflanzung geeignet sind.SummaryClimate change leads to changes in pollen flight. The pollen of hazelnut, alder and birch in particular tend to appear earlier and in higher concentrations. This trend is promoted by the plantation of new birches in town.Until now, there is no recommendation in Germany regarding the new plantation of trees in public spaces that takes into account the needs of pollen allergy sufferers. A proposal which trees to avoid in plantations in cities to prevent the further increase of tree pollen is presented. Also attached is a list of allergologically safe trees that are suitable for cultivation.

Predictive value of human biomonitoring in environmental medicine: Experiences at the outpatient unit of environmental medicine (UEM) of the University Hospital Aachen, Germany

There is little data on the distribution of biomonitoring parameters in patients at outpatient Units of Environmental Medicine (UEM). We evaluated the biomonitoring parameters of 646 UEM outpatients from our University Hospital 1988-1998. Few patients were exposed to specific substances. Data of patients who were not obviously exposed was analysed statistically (geometric mean, standard deviation, median, 95th percentile). Results were compared with reference values in literature. Normal distribution of biomonitoring parameters was rare. 95th percentiles for arsenic, chromium, selenium, zinc, phenol and toluene were below standard, 95th percentiles for copper and mercury above, and 95th percentiles for lead, cadmium, pentachlorophenol, lindane, and beta-hexachlorocyclohexane were within the published range of reference values. Thallium as well as most volatile organic compounds analyzed were below detection levels. Aluminum and fluorine exposure was rarely analysed. In view of these results, it is concluded that the indication for biomonitoring needs to be stringent as levels of biomonitoring parameters are generally not risen in patients of the UEM.

Potential health risk of allergenic pollen with climate change associated spreading capacity: Ragweed and olive sensitization in two German federal states.

BACKGROUND Global climate changes may influence the geographical spread of allergenic plants thus causing new allergen challenges. OBJECTIVE Allergy patients from two German federal states were compared for their status quo sensitization to ragweed, an establishing allergen, olive, a non-established allergen, and the native allergens birch, mugwort, and ash. METHODS Between 2011 and 2013, 476 adult allergy patients per region were recruited. Patients completed a questionnaire, participated in a medical interview, and underwent skin prick testing and blood withdrawal for analysis of specific IgE to allergen components (ISAC technology). Data on regional pollen load from 2006 to 2011 were acquired from the German Pollen Information Service Foundation. RESULTS Prick test reactivity to ragweed and ash, respectively, was lower in Bavaria than in NRW (ragweed: p=0.001, aOR=0.54; ash: p=0.001, aOR=0.59), whereas prick test reactivity to olive was higher (p=0.000, aOR=3.09). Prick test reactivity to birch and mugwort, respectively, did not significantly differ. 1% (1/127) of patients with prick test reactivity to ragweed showed sIgE to Amb a 1, and 65% (86/132) of olive-but-not-ash reactive patients showed sIgE to Ole e 1 (NRW: 67%, Bavaria: 65%; p=0.823, OR=0.91). Regional differences in sensitization pattern were neither explainable by cross-reactivity to pollen pan-allergens nor non-exposure variables nor by reported plant population or pollen data. CONCLUSIONS Spread of ragweed and particularly olive may result in prompt occurrence of allergic symptoms. Early identification of invasive allergens due to climate change does need time and spatial close meshed measurement of respective indicator allergens and sensitization pattern.

Road Traffic, Location of Rooms and Hypertension

We compared the prevalence of hypertension in subjects that lived on main roads with those that lived in side streets. An odds ratio of 1.310 (95% CI = 1.052-1.631) was found for those who lived on the main roads. In this traffic-exposed subgroup, subjects that had the living and the bedroom facing the road an odds ratio of 1.736 (CI = 0.673-1.882) was found in comparison with those who had both rooms on the rear side of the house. In subjects that lived on side streets the location of the rooms was meaningless (OR = 1.102, CI = 0.648-1.874).

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Particle-bound Bet v 1 Allergen in PM10

Flow cytometry is a method widely used to quantify suspended solids such as cells or bacteria in a size range from 0.5 to several tens of micrometers in diameter. In addition to a characterization of forward and sideward scatter properties, it enables the use of fluorescent labeled markers like antibodies to detect respective structures. Using indirect antibody staining, flow cytometry is employed here to quantify birch pollen allergen (precisely Bet v 1)-loaded particles of 0.5 to 10 µm in diameter in inhalable particulate matter (PM10, particle size ≤10 µm in diameter). PM10 particles may act as carriers of adsorbed allergens possibly transporting them to the lower respiratory tract, where they could trigger allergic reactions. So far the allergen content of PM10 has been studied by means of enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and scanning electron microscopy. ELISA measures the dissolved and not the particle-bound allergen. Compared to scanning electron microscopy, which can visualize allergen-loaded particles, flow cytometry may additionally quantify them. As allergen content of ambient air can deviate from birch pollen count, allergic symptoms might perhaps correlate better with allergen exposure than with pollen count. In conjunction with clinical data, the presented method offers the opportunity to test in future experiments whether allergic reactions to birch pollen antigens are associated with the Bet v 1 allergen content of PM10 particles >0.5 µm.