The German COPD cohort comprises patients with advanced and less advanced COPD. This is particularly useful for studying the time course of COPD in relation to comorbidities. Baseline data indicate that COSYCONET offers the opportunity to investigate our research questions in a large-scale, high-quality dataset.

This study demonstrates that controlled exposure to airborne allergens of patients with a so-called extrinsic IgE-mediated form of AD induced a worsening of cutaneous symptoms.

COPD is associated with substantially higher costs than previously reported.

BackgroundChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) influences different aspects of patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQL). While disease-specific HRQL instruments focus on symptoms and functional impairments, generic instruments cover a broader view on health. This study compares the generic EQ-5D-3 L and two disease-specific questionnaires (St.-George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ-C), COPD Assessment Test (CAT)) in a comprehensive spectrum of COPD disease grades with particular attention on comorbidities and assesses the discriminative abilities of these instruments.MethodsUsing data from the baseline visit of the German COPD cohort COSYCONET, mean HRQL scores in different COPD grades were compared by linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, education, smoking status, BMI, and low vs. high number of comorbidities or a list of several self-reported comorbid conditions. Discriminative abilities of HRQL instruments to differentiate between COPD grades were assessed by standardized mean differences.ResultsIn 2,291 subjects in COPD GOLD grades 1–4 EQ-5D-3 L utility, EQ-5D VAS, SGRQ, and CAT were found able to discriminate between COPD grades, with some limitations for the EQ-5D utility in mild disease. Both generic and disease-specific HRQL instruments reflected the burden of comorbid conditions. The SGRQ showed the best discrimination between COPD grades and was less influenced by comorbidities, while EQ-5D utility put a higher weight on comorbid conditions. For all instruments, psychiatric disorders and peripheral artery disease showed the strongest negative associations with HRQL.ConclusionAll HRQL instruments considered reflect considerable impairment of HRQL in COPD patients, worsening with increasing COPD grade and number of comorbidities. Findings may support clinical assessment, choice of HRQL instrument in future studies, and parameterization of decision-analytic models.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12890-016-0238-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objectives This is a cross‐sectional study designed with the aim to assess associations between the width of keratinized tissue and peri‐implant mucositis. Materials and methods Two hundred and thirty one dental implants in 52 patients were evaluated. The width of keratinized mucosa (KM), plaque index (mPI), gingival index (mGI), bleeding on probing index (BoP), and the probing depth (PD) were measured clinically. Reduced KM was defined as a width of KM below 2 mm and 1 mm, respectively. In the primary analysis, data were analyzed on the implant level with the help of a generalized estimating equations (GEE) model. In sensitivity analyses, an adjusted linear mixed model was performed. Results Forty four implants in 12 patients had less than 2 mm KM, and 187 implants in 40 patients had ≥ 2 mm KM. In the non‐adjusted analysis on the implant level, reduced keratinized tissue width was significantly associated with peri‐implant mucositis (OR 3.3, 95%‐CI (1.3–8.0), p = 0.009) and severity of disease (mean difference 2.5, 95%‐CI (0.8–4.2) p = 0.004). In sensitivity analyses, reduced keratinized tissue showed a significant association with severity of disease (OR 1.7, 95%‐confidence interval = 0.1–34, p = 0.040). Conclusion A reduced width of keratinized tissue around dental implants is a risk indicator for severity of peri‐implant mucositis. The overall tendency of the results indicates that a sufficient amount of KM may contribute to reduce risk for and severity of peri‐implant mucositis.