The Berlin Brandenburg Air Study Phase 2 – a natural experiment investigating health effects from changes in airport-related exposures in children (BEAR Phase 2)

• Applicants: Josef Cyrys, Ph.D.; Dr. Vanessa Jana Soppa; Privatdozentin Dr. Miriam Wiese-Posselt
• Subject Area: Toxicology, Laboratory Medicine ; Epidemiology and Medical Biometry/Statistics ; Public Health, Healthcare Research, Social and Occupational Medicine
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 461082230

The effects of ambient ultrafine particles (UFP), particularly UFP from aviation (AC-UFP), on human health are still insufficiently understood. Limited knowledge exists regarding the acute and chronic health effects of exposure to AC-UFP. First studies indicate an association between AC-UFP and short- and long-term effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular system in children and adolescents. Children appear particularly vulnerable to UFP-mediated effects due to ongoing lung and immune system development, incomplete detoxification mechanisms, higher inhalation rates per body weight, and metabolic differences. The Berlin-Brandenburg Air study is a natural experiment investigating since January 2020 acute, medium and long-term health effects of UFP on children living in the vicinity of the operating Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) (opening November 2020), the former operating Airport Tegel (TLX) (closure in November 2020) and in control areas. The focus of this proposed extension of the BEAR study is placed on cardiovascular health. A possible harbinger of cardiovascular diseases is the degree of arterial stiffness, independent of other risk factors. Arterial stiffness, which is negatively associated with the exposure to UFP, independently predicts overall mortality in vulnerable and general populations. It is a key factor in vascular aging and a standalone predictor of cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, and stroke. Additionally, risk factors for coronary heart disease, like hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, renal disease, and smoking, are linked to increased arterial stiffness. To investigate a possible effect of AC-UFP on arterial stiffness in children all study participants will be measured at least two times points. As the children included in the first study phase will now be older, valid measurements of arterial stiffness can be carried out. In addition we will further investigate subclinical effects of total UFP and AC-UFP on the respiratory and cognitive system in children. We will extend the assessment of lung and cognitive growth into young adolescence, a time period in life that is characterized by rapid growth. This will greatly enhance our ability to derive lung and cognitive growth functions and their association with total and AC-UFP. In parallel with the investigations of the children we will continue the ongoing measurement campaign in order to assess short-, medium- and long-term exposure to source-specific UFP for schoolchildren in the vicinity of the BER Airport, as well as in the area of the former TXL Airport and control areas in Berlin, where we expect no impact of airport-related UFP on total UFP exposure. The results of BEAR will, for the first time, describe short- and long-term effects of AC-UFP on the pulmonary and cardiovascular health, as well as cognitive performance of elementary school children.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Dr. Barbara Hoffmann