title: The potential of spatial information in human biomonitoring by example of two German environmental epidemiology studies.
abstract: This study aimed at statistically investigating the association between the internal exposure of children and young adults to uranium (U) and epidemiologically relevant external determinants of exposure. The investigation was performed with data from two studies within the framework of the German health-related environmental monitoring program: The German Environmental Survey for Children (GerES IV) conducted by the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) with data on 1,780 children 3-14 years of age and their home environment and the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB, section: human specimens) with data on 2,253 students 20-29 years of age. Both studies provided data on the U levels in human urine for all probands. GerES IV furthermore provided an extensive environmental and demographic database on, e.g., U levels in drinking water. The data from GerES IV and ESB were linked by GIS to spatially relevant exposure information, including background values of U in stream sediments and in upper and lower soils, U levels in mosses and particulate matter in the lower atmosphere, precipitation and elevation as well as forest density. Bivariate correlation analysis and two decision tree models showed moderate but significant associations between U in human urine and U levels in drinking water, stream sediments and upper and lower soils. Future investigations considering additional epidemiologically relevant data sets may differentiate the results. Furthermore, the sample design of future environmental epidemiology studies should take the spatial evaluation of the data into greater account.
authors.affiliation: Chair of Landscape Ecology, University of Vechta, PO-Box 1553, 49364, Vechta, Germany. gschmidt@iuw.uni-vechta.de
authors.forename: Gunther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pesch
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.forename: Marike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kolossa-Gehring
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feigenspan
authors.forename: Lorenz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dobler
authors.forename: Gerhard A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Wiesmüller
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Birke
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Utermann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D012987:Soil; D014501:Uranium