Person:
Fiddicke, Ulrike

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Fiddicke
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Ulrike
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Now showing 1 - 10 of 14
  • Publication
    A pilot study on the feasibility of European harmonized Human Biomonitoring: Strategies towards a common approach, challenges and opportunities
    (2015) Casteleyn, Ludwine; Dumez, Birgit; Becker, Kerstin; Den Hond, Elly; Schoeters, Greet; Castaño, Argelia; Koch, Holger Martin; Angerer, Jürgen; Esteban, Marta; Exley, Karen; Sepai, Ovnair; Bloemen, Louis; Fiddicke, Ulrike; Horvath, Milena; Knudsen, Lisbeth E.; Joas, Anke; Joas, Reinhard; Biot, Pierre; Koppen, C.; Dewolf, M.-C.; Katsonouri, Andromachi; Hadjipanayis, Adamos; Cerna, Milena; Krskova, A.; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Nielsen, Jeanette K.S.; Jensen, J.F.; Rudnai, Peter; Közepesy, S.; Mulcahy, M.F.R.; Mannion, R.; Gutleb, Arno C.; Fischer, M.E.; Ligocka, Danuta; Jakubowski, M.; Reis, M.Fátima; Namorado, S.; Lupsa, Ioana-Rodica; Schwedler, Gerda; Gurzau, Anca Elena
    In 2004theEuropeanCommissionandMemberStatesinitiatedactivitiestowardsaharmonizedap-
    proach forHumanBiomonitoringsurveysthroughoutEurope.Themainobjectivewastosustainen-
    vironmental healthpolicybybuildingacoherentandsustainableframeworkandbyincreasingthe
    comparability ofdataacrosscountries.Apilotstudy totestcommonguidelinesforsettingupsurveys
    wasconsideredakeystepinthisprocess.Throughabottom-upapproachthatincludedallstakeholders,
    a jointstudyprotocolwaselaborated.
    FromSeptember2011tillFebruary2012,17Europeancountriescollecteddatafrom1844mother-
    child pairsintheframeofDEMOnstrationofastudytoCoordinateandPerformHumanBiomonitoring
    on aEuropeanScale(DEMOCOPHES). Mercury inhairandurinarycadmiumandcotininewereselected
    as biomarkersofexposurecoveredbysufficient analyticalexperience.PhthalatemetabolitesandBi-
    sphenol Ainurinewereaddedtotakeintoaccountincreasingpublicandpoliticalawarenessfor
    emerging typesofcontaminantsandtotestlessadvancedmarkers/markerscoveredbylessanalytical
    experience.Extensiveeffortstowardschemo-analyticalcomparabilitywereincluded.
    The pilotstudyshowed thatcommonapproachescanbefoundinacontextofconsiderablediffer-
    ences withrespecttoexperienceandexpertize,socio-culturalbackground,economicsituationandna-
    tional priorities.ItalsoevidencedthatcomparableHumanBiomonitoringresultscanbeobtainedinsuch
    context.AEuropeannetworkwasbuilt,exchanging information,expertise andexperiences,andpro-
    viding trainingonallaspectsofasurvey.Akeychallengewas finding therightbalancebetweenarigid
    structure allowingmaximalcomparabilityanda flexibleapproachincreasingfeasibilityandcapacity
    building. NextstepsinEuropeanharmonizationinHumanBiomonitoringsurveysincludetheestab-
    lishment ofajointprocessforprioritizationofsubstancestocoverandbiomarkerstodevelop,linking
    biomonitoring surveyswithhealthexaminationsurveysandwithresearch,andcopingwiththediverse
    implementations ofEUregulationsandinternationalguidelineswithrespecttoethicsandprivacy.
    ©2014ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.
  • Publication
    Towards harmonized biobanking for biomonitoring: A comparison of human biomonitoring-related and clinical biorepositories
    (2020) Lermen, Dominik; Gwinner, Frederik; Fiddicke, Ulrike; Bartel-Steinbach, Martina; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike
    Human biomonitoring (HBM) depends on high-quality human samples to identify status and trends in exposure and ensure comparability of results. In this context, much effort has been put into the development of standardized processes and quality assurance for sampling and chemical analysis, while effects of sample storage and shipment on sample quality have been less thoroughly addressed. To characterize the currently applied storage and shipment procedures within the consortium of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU), which aims at harmonization of HBM in Europe, a requirement analysis based on data from an online survey was conducted. In addition, the online survey was addressed to professionals in clinical biobanking represented by members of the European, Middle Eastern and African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) to identify the current state-of-the-art in terms of sample storage and shipment. Results of this survey conducted in these two networks were compared to detect processes with potential for optimization and harmonization. In general, many similarities exist in sample storage and shipment procedures applied by ESBB members and HBM4EU partners and many requirements for ensuring sample quality are already met also by HBM4EU partners. Nevertheless, a need for improvement was identified for individual steps in sample storage, shipment, and related data management with potential impact on sample and data quality for HBM purposes. Based on these findings, recommendations for crucial first steps to further strengthen sample quality, and thus foster advancement in HBM on a pan-European level are given. © Dominik Lermen et al., 2020
  • Publication
    New human biomonitoring methods for chemicals of concern̶the German approach to enhance relevance
    (2017) Fiddicke, Ulrike; Leng, Gabriele; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Angerer, Jürgen; Wolz, Birgit
  • Publication
    The exposure of German children and young adults to chemicals of concern
    (2013) Apel, Petra; Conrad, André; Fiddicke, Ulrike; Schröter-Kermani, Christa; Schulz, Christine; Seiwert, Margarete
  • Publication
    Interpreting biomarker data from the COPHES-DEMOCOPHES twin projects: Using lifestyle and environmental data to understand biomarker differences among countries
    (2013) Den Hond, Elly; Govarts, Eva; Koppen, Gudrun; Willems, Hanny; Joas, Reinhard; Casteleyn, Ludwine; Joas, Anke; Biot, Pierre; Aerts, Dominique; Angerer, Jürgen; Berglund, Marika; Bloemen, Louis; Castaño, Argelia; Fiddicke, Ulrike; Crettaz, Pierre; Esteban, Marta; Exley, Karen; Fabianova, Eleonora; Fischer, Marc; Gutleb, Arno Christian; Hadjipanayis, Adamos; Halzlova, Katarina; Horvat, Milena; Jakubowski, Marek; Katsonouri, Andromachi; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Koch, Holger; Krskova, Andrea; Lehmann, Andreas; Ligocka, Danuta; Lupsa, Ioana-Rodica; Mazej, Darja; Mulcahy, Maurice; Namorado, Sónia; Nielsen, Jeanette; Schwedler, Gerda
    In 2011 and 2012, the COPHES/DEMOCOPHES twin projects performed a first ever harmonized human biomonitoring survey in 17 European countries. In more than 1800 mother-child pairs, cadmium, cotinine and certain phthalate metabolites were measured in urine, and total mercury in hair samples. The presentation provides an overview of the analyses that studied whether it was feasible to interpret the observed differences in biomarker values among different countries, using external databases on environmental quality and lifestyle.
    Despite the fact that harmonised biomonitoring data was available from 17 different European countries, the assessment was hampered by a lack of consistent data on lifestyle and environmental quality. This implied that most analyses could only be performed for about half to two thirds of the participating countries. Nonetheless, it was feasible to relate aggregated fish consumption data to mercury in hair, to relate the strength of anti-smoking legislation to urinary cotinine levels, and to find a borderline significant relationship between cadmium levels in air or food and urinary cadmium levels across DEMOCOPHES countries. However, the challenge to integrate environmental exposure and lifestyle data with biomarker data is to have data available on a similar geographical resolution and therefore remains a pitfall for human biomonitoring to achieve its true potential for evidence-based policy making.
    With many thanks to the COPHES consortium funded by DG RTD under FP7 and DEMOCOPHES co-funded under Life+, as well as the Ministries of the DEMOCOPHES countries, for the support. www.eu-hbm.info

    Roel Smolders, et al.: Interpreting biomarker data from the COPHES-DEMOCOPHES twin projects: Using lifestyle and environmental data to understand biomarker differences among countries. In: Abstracts / The 9thInternational Symposium on Biological Monitoring in Occupational and Environmental Health. 2013, Manchester, S. 33

  • Publication
    Challenges to evidence synthesis and identification of data gaps in human biomonitoring
    (2021) Virgolino, Ana; Santos, Osvaldo; Fiddicke, Ulrike; Costa, Joana; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike
    The increasing number of human biomonitoring (HBM) studies undertaken in recent decades has brought to light the need to harmonise procedures along all phases of the study, including sampling, data collection and analytical methods to allow data comparability. The first steps towards harmonisation are the identification and collation of HBM methodological information of existing studies and data gaps. Systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses have been traditionally put at the top of the hierarchy of evidence, being increasingly applied to map available evidence on health risks linked to exposure to chemicals. However, these methods mainly capture peer-reviewed articles, failing to comprehensively identify other important, unpublished sources of information that are pivotal to gather a complete map of the produced evidence in the area of HBM. Within the framework of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) initiative - a project that joins 30 countries, 29 from Europe plus Israel, the European Environment Agency and the European Commission - a comprehensive work of data triangulation has been made to identify existing HBM studies and data gaps across countries within the consortium. The use of documentary analysis together with an up-to-date platform to fulfil this need and its implications for research and practice are discussed. © 2021 by the authors
  • Publication
    Human biomonitoring pilot study DEMOCOPHES in Germany: Contribution to a harmonized European approach
    (2017) Fiddicke, Ulrike; Ißleb, Sissy; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Schwedler, Gerda; Seiwert, Margarete
    Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an effective tool to assess human exposure to environmental pollutants, but comparable HBM data in Europe are lacking. In order to expedite harmonization of HBM studies on a European scale, the twin projects COPHES (Consortium to Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale) and DEMOCOPHES (Demonstration of a study to Coordinate and Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale) were formed, comprising 35 partners from 27 European countries. In COPHES a research scheme and guidelines were developed to exemplarily measure in a pilot study mercury in hair, cadmium, cotinine and several phthalate metabolites in urine of 6Ń11 year old children and their mothers in an urban and a rural region. Seventeen European countries simultaneously conducted this cross-sectional DEMOCOPHES feasibility study. The German study population was taken in the city of Bochum and in the Higher Sauerland District, comprising 120 mother-child pairs. In the present paper features of the study implementation are presented. German exposure concentrations of the pollutants are reported and compared with European average concentrations from DEMOCOPHES and with those measured in the representative German Environmental Survey (GerES IV). German DEMOCOPHES concentrations for mercury and cotinine were lower than the European average. However, 47% of the children were still exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) outside their home, which gives further potential for enhancing protection of children from ETS. Compared with samples from the other European countries German participating children had lower concentrations of the phthalate metabolites MEP and of the sum of 3 DEHP-metabolites (MEHP, 5OH-MEHP and 5oxo-MEHP), about the same concentrations of the phthalate metabolites MBzP and MiBP and higher concentrations of the phthalate metabolite MnBP. 2.5% of the German children had concentrations of the sum of 4 DEHP-metabolites and 4.2% had concentrations of MnBP that exceeded health based guidance values, indicating reasons for concern. Continuous HBM is necessary to track changes of pollutant exposure over time. Therefore Germany will continue to cooperate on the harmonisation of European human biomonitoring to support the chemicals regulation with the best possible exposure data to protect Europe's people against environmental health risks. Quelle: http://www.sciencedirect.com
  • Publication
    HBM4EU combines and harmonises human biomonitoring data across the EU, building on existing capacity
    (2021) Gilles, Liese; Fiddicke, Ulrike; Govarts, Eva; Rambaud, Loïc; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Vogel, Nina
    As part of the Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) initiative a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey is conducted in 21 countries. This survey builds on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies. The survey targets 3 age groups (i) children aged 6-11 years, (ii) teenagers aged 12-19 years and (iii) young adults aged 20-39 years and includes a total of 9493 participants (3151 children, 2953 teenagers and 3389 young adults). Depending on the age group, internal exposure to phthalates and substitute Hexamoll® DINCH, brominated and organophosphorus flame retardants, per-/poly-fluorinated compounds, cadmium, bisphenols and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are assessed. The main goal of the programme is to obtain quality controlled and comparable HBM data of exposure to chemicals, prioritized under HBM4EU, with European wide coverage to inform the development of environment and health policies. This paper describes the framework of the HBM4EU survey and the approach that has been applied to align European HBM initiatives across Europe. © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.