Health-related quality of life in rural children living in four European countries: the GABRIEL study

Objective: Measuring children's health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is of growing importance given increasing chronic diseases. By integrating HRQOL questions into the European GABRIEL study, we assessed differences in HRQOL between rural farm and non-farm children from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland to relate it to common childhood health problems and to compare it to a representative, mostly urban German population sample (KIGGS). Methods: The parents of 10,400 school-aged children answered comprehensive questionnaires including health-related questions and the KINDL-R questions assessing HRQOL. Results: Austrian children reported highest KINDL-R scores (mean: 80.9; 95% CI [80.4, 81.4]) and Polish children the lowest (74.5; [73.9, 75.0]). Farm children reported higher KINDL-R scores than non-farm children (p=0.002). Significantly lower scores were observed in children with allergic diseases (p<0.001), with sleeping difficulties (p<0.001) and in overweight children (p=0.04). The German GABRIEL sample reported higher mean scores (age 7-10years: 80.1, [79.9, 80.4]; age 11-13years: 77.1, [74.9, 79.2]) compared to the urban KIGGS study (age 7-10years: 79.0, [78.7-79.3]; age 11-13years: 75.1 [74.6-75.6]). Socio-demographic or health-related factors could not explain differences in HRQOL between countries. Conclusions: Future increases in chronic diseases may negatively impact children's HRQO

Meta-analysis identifies seven susceptibility loci involved in the atopic March

Eczema often precedes the development of asthma in a disease course called the a 'atopic march'. To unravel the genes underlying this characteristic pattern of allergic disease, we conduct a multi-stage genome-wide association study on infantile eczema followed by childhood asthma in 12 populations including 2,428 cases and 17,034 controls. Here we report two novel loci specific for the combined eczema plus asthma phenotype, which are associated with allergic disease for the first time; rs9357733 located in EFHC1 on chromosome 6p12.3 (OR 1.27; P=2.1 × 10 a'8) and rs993226 between TMTC2 and SLC6A15 on chromosome 12q21.3 (OR 1.58; P=5.3 × 10 a'9). Additional susceptibility loci identified

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Health-related quality of life does not explain the protective effect of farming on allergies

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies report a protective effect of farming against allergic diseases. Some specific underlying exposures contributing to this effect have recently been described in the GABRIEL survey. So far, psycho-social factors have not been included in these analyses. METHODS: In order to assess the potential influence of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) on the protective effect of farming, 8259 school aged children from the European GABRIEL study answered questions concerning farming and allergic diseases, as well as validated questions about HRQOL. RESULTS: Farm children reported higher HRQOL than non farm children. However, HRQOL did not modify the protective effect of farming against allergies. Children with allergic diseases reported significantly lower HRQOL scores suggesting that the higher HRQOL of farm children was in part explained by the lower prevalence of these diseases among farm children. CONCLUSION: Although farm children reported higher HRQOL scores than did non-farm children, HRQOL did not explain the protective effect of farming against allergic diseases. The relationship between allergic diseases and HRQOL is likely bidirectional and needs to be assessed prospectively

Prevalence of wheezing and atopic diseases in Austrian schoolchildren in conjunction with urban, rural or farm residence

A large number of studies have consistently shown that children growing up on a farm have a reduced prevalence of allergic disorders. The GABRIEL Advanced Study was conducted in five rural areas of southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Poland to shed light on the protective 'farm effect' on asthma and atopic disease. Whereas, the GABRIEL Advanced Study focussed on rural children only, the present study incorporates data from Innsbruck town children also.; A screening questionnaire was developed to identify children with and without atopic disease within their living environment. Children were stratified into farm children, rural children and Innsbruck-town children. Within the farming environment, regular exposure to the following key factors of interest was predefined: the animal shed, the hay loft and farm milk. Wheezing in the past 12 months (W12), doctor-diagnosed (dd)-asthma, dd-allergic rhinitis and dd-atopic dermatitis were evaluated by using standardized questions from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) RESULTS: Farm children with regular exposure showed a lower risk for W12 (odds ratios (OR) = 0.3; 95 %; confidence interval (CI) 0.2-0.5), dd-asthma (OR = 0.4; 95 % CI 0.2-0.9) and dd-hay fever (OR 0.2; 95 % CI 0.1-0.4). The protective effect of regular exposure extended to rural children but included W12 and dd-hay fever only. Multivariate logistic regression analysis for children being regularly exposed revealed protective attributes for the animal shed, the hay loft and farm milk.; These data show that regular exposure to a farming environment protects against wheezing, asthma and hay fever. Regarding wheezing and hay fever, this effect was not restricted to children living on a farm but also notable in rural children with regular farm contact