COPD; non-smoking; women; air pollution; reproductive factors; obesity; systemic inflammation; gender; susceptibility; lung function; airflow obstruction; large nested project; SAPALIDA Cohort on Healthy Aging
Schikowski Tamara, Mills Inga C., Anderson H. Ross, Cohen Aaron, Hansell Anna, Kauffmann Francine, Krämer Ursula, Marcon Alessandro, Perez Laura, Sunyer Jordi, Probst-Hensch Nicole, Künzli Nino (2014), Ambient air pollution- a cause for COPD?, in
European Respiratory Journal, (43), 250-263.
Schikowski Tamara, Schaffner Emmanuel, MeierFlurina, PhuleriaHarish C., VierkötterAndrea, Schindler Christian, Kriemler Susi, Zemp Elisabeth, Krämer Ursula, Bridevaux Pierre-Olivier, Rochat Thierry, Schwartz Joel, Künzli Nino, Probst-Hensch Nicole (2013), Improved Air Quality and Attenuated Lung Function Decline: Modification by Obesity in the SAPALDIA Cohort, in
Environmental Health Perspective, (121), 1034-1039.
Schikowski Tamara, AdamMartin, Marcon Alessandro, Cai Yutong, Vierkötter Andrea, CarsinAnne Elie, Jacquemin Benedicte, Al Kanani Zaina, Beelen Rob, Birk Matthias, Bridevaux Pierre-Olivier, Brunekeef Bert, Burney Peter, Cirach Marta, Cyrys Josef, de Hoogh Kees, de Marco Roberto, Tsai Ming-Yi, Zemp Elisabeth, Hansell Anna, Kauffmann Francine, Sunyer Jordi, Probst-Hensch Nicole, Krämer Ursula, Künzli Nino, Association of ambient air pollution with the prevalence and incidence of COPD, in
European Respiratory Journal.
1. SummaryChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disease, which clinically manifests later in life. The prevalence is increasing worldwide and this increase is particularly strong among women. Smoking - a well established cause of COPD - has been the focus of research and prevention for a long time. However, it has been recognized that a substantial proportion of COPD cases cannot be explained by smoking alone. The American Thoracic Society identified research of the causes of COPD in non-smokers and women as an important need. The role of ambient air pollution in the development of this severe disease has been poorly investigated. Moreover, gender-specific factors may be relevant for the susceptibility of women to COPD, and the role of reproductive factors, body weight, or sub-clinical systemic inflammation and interactions of these factors with ambient air pollutants have not been elucidated. The contribution of ambient air pollution on COPD development and COPD-related phenotypes in non-smoking women are the subject of this proposal. So far, the SALIA study (Germany) was the only study publishing a cross-sectional association between traffic related pollution and objectively defined COPD, while the SAPALDIA study (Switzerland) is the only longitudinal study providing first evidence that the decline of the FEV1/FVC ratio may be attenuated if air quality improves. With the given sample size, none of these population based studies is powerful alone to elucidate the relevance of air pollution in the development of COPD among non-smoking women and to investigate the interaction between pollution and individual susceptibility factors. This project proposes the complete pooling of all data from SAPALDIA and SALIA women, covering 20 years of follow-up. This unique resource of ~3’200 non-smoking women will promote knowledge in this field. Both studies have state-of-the-art expertise to assign long-term exposure to ambient air pollution from traffic and other sources to each subjects’ residence, and extensive information on life-style, socio-economic, and biologic factors as well as co-morbidities will be available from all participants to conduct multivariate analyses, and to investigate susceptibility factors.The proposed collaboration will be of high scientific and public health relevance and enhance promising research collaborations between Switzerland and Germany. The project will strengthen the scientific value of both the SAPALDIA and the SALIA study.