Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz
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Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz · Jul 2016
Review[Celiac disease : Pathogenesis, clinics, epidemiology, diagnostics, therapy].
Celiac disease is induced by the consumption of gluten containing cereals (wheat, spelt, barley, rye). With a prevalence of ~ 1 %, it is the most common non-infectious chronic inflammatory intestinal disease worldwide. It manifests in all age groups, either classically with abdominal pain, diarrhoea and growth failure or weight loss, more commonly with indirect consequences of malabsorption, such as anaemia and osteoporosis, or with associated autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroiditis or dermatitis herpetiformis. ⋯ These include the consequences of malabsorption, cancers (especially intestinal T‑cell lymphoma), and likely also the promotion of autoimmune diseases. The therapy of celiac disease, a strict gluten-free diet, is difficult to maintain and not always effective. Alternative, supporting pharmacological therapies are urgently needed and are currently in development.
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Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz · Apr 2016
Review Meta Analysis[Influenza pandemic deaths in Germany from 1918 to 2009. Estimates based on literature and own calculations].
Estimation of the number of deaths as a consequence of the influenza pandemics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (i.e. 1918-1919, 1957-1958, 1968-1970 and 2009) is a challenge worldwide and also in Germany. After conducting a systematic literature search complemented by our own calculations, values and estimates for all four pandemics were collated and evaluated. ⋯ We have proposed plausible estimates of pandemic-related excess number of deaths for the last four pandemics as well as excess mortality in Germany. The heterogeneity among pandemics is large with a variation factor of more than 1000. Possible explanations include characteristics of the virus or host (immunity), social conditions, status of the healthcare system and medical advances.
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Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz · Mar 2016
Review[Quality of biomaterials in liquid- and tissue-biobanking].
During the last years, many biobanks that collect and provide biomaterials as well as associated phenotypical data have been established on national and international levels. However, due to the heterogeneity in structure and process landscape between biobanks, quality issues arise, which might affect equivalence of sample quality and thus usability of biomaterials for scientific research projects as well as interoperability of biobanks. ⋯ General infrastructural requirements as well as the influence of preanalytical variables affecting sample quality and usability are described and opportunities and drawbacks of different quality assurance procedures are discussed. As there is increasing consensus on national and international levels that evidence-based standardization and harmonization of biobank structures and workflows are urgently needed for quality-assured biobanking, recent activities in the development and implementation of an ISO Standard for biobanks will be illustrated in the last section of this article.
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Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz · Feb 2016
[Social inequality and health: Status and prospects of socio-epidemiological research in Germany].
Social differences in morbidity and mortality have always been a central topic in public health research. In recent years, there has been a growing research interest that has clearly resonated with the general public and the political arena as well. ⋯ On this basis, selected challenges and prospects of socio-epidemiological research are demonstrated. The reason why the analysis of social differences in morbidity and mortality will continue to be a key task of public health research in the national and international context in the future is also explained.