BAMSE Project

Long COVID linked to air pollution exposure in young adults – new study

Young people living in highly polluted areas were 28% more likely to suffer from long COVID.

Ambient air pollution exposure linked to long COVID among young adults: a nested survey in a population-based cohort in Sweden

Ambient long-term PM2.5 exposure may affect the risk of long COVID in young adults, supporting efforts for continuously improving air quality.

www.thelancet.com

COVID-19 immunity in young Swedish adults investigated

(2021-10-26) Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have analysed the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and memory cells of the immune system in young adults. The results, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, show that over one in four had antibodies due to the infection. Fewer of these individuals had measurable levels of memory B and T cells compared with other age groups. The researchers will now study long COVID in young adults and the effects of vaccination on immunity. More...

BAMSE - Study about life stile, environment and health

BAMSE-projekt logo

The BAMSE (Swedish abbreviation for Children, Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiology) study is an ongoing longitudinal, population-based prospective birth cohort including 4,089 children born between 1994 and 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden. The cohort was initially designed to study risk factors for asthma, allergic diseases and lung function in childhood, and to study factors of importance for prognosis at already established disease.

Questionnaires on respiratory symptoms and medication were answered at age of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 years. Response rates ranged from 96-82% at each occasion with very minor selection bias over the years. Exposure to air pollutants and other environmental factors has been mapped since birth.

At the 8 and 16 year follow-up, spirometry and FeNO measurements were performed and at the latter, impulse oscillometry was measured. Blood samples (including plasma) from around 2,500 children were taken at 4, 8 and 16 years and have been analyzed for different IgE-ab and biomarkers. Genome-wide genetic, global methylation and transcriptomic data exist on a subset of the children.

Covid-19 follow up

During the present corona pandemic, we aim to investigate the how immunity to this new virus develops in young adults, and to assess the importance of different risk factors for Covid-19 disease. In particular, we will study the role of environmental factors such as air pollution exposure, lifestyle factors like smoking and obesity, as well as immunological and genetic factors. We also plan to investigate the consequences of having had Covid-19 for immunity and immune system, lung function and lung disease, as well as quality of life and mental illness.

Data collection will take place in three stages.

Phase 1: web survey and home sampling for antibodies to coronavirus
Phase 2: clinical examination with measurement of blood pressure, lung function and blood sampling for immunological biomarkers
Phase 3: web survey and home sampling for antibodies to coronavirus as in Phase 1

The project gives a unique opportunity to study short-term and long-term medical and psychological consequences of undergoing coronavirus infection, thanks to recently collected data, blood tests and lung function measurements from 2016-2019 to compare with. At the last follow-up, advanced immunological analyzes were conducted that can provide an understanding of why some young adults are more severely affected by Covid-19 infection. We also have the opportunity to investigate whether the risk factors that are considered to be of significance to older individuals, ie. obesity, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, smoking and air pollution, also affect the disease in young adults.

24 years follow upp

The 24 years follow up was conducted in 2017 - 2019. The participants are now 22-24 years of age, and the follow-up includes questionnaire data, lung function measurements and blood sampling for different –omics analyses. In addition, complimentary data will be sought from national registers on medical diagnoses, drug prescription and health care utilization.

The response rate was 75% (from the original cohort) for the questionnaire and 56% and our clinic has examined 2200 participants!

With this next follow-up, we aim to lay the foundation for research on chronic allergic and respiratory diseases for decades to come using state-the-art biobank and experimental platforms, and detailed individual information on health and exposure. This project will provide knowledge about potential strategies to prevent childhood allergy, asthma from becoming chronic severe diseases in adulthood. In addition, our results may allow for identification of new candidates for drug development.

Publications

Documents

BAMSE Prins Daniel Erik Melén

Awards

HRH Prins Daniels award for promissing young scientists
2015 the Prins Daniels award for promissing young scientists from The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation went to Erik Melén, Associate professor, Institute of Environmental Medicine and PI for the BAMSE-project

Scientific workshop in the Stockholm archipelago

Around 60 international and national experts, BAMSE researchers and project staff met on the idyllic island Finnhamn in the Stockholm archipelago for a 2 days workshop in late August 2018.

Funding sources

The BAMSE study is supported by grants from the European Research Council (TRIBAL, grant agreement 757919), the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, Formas, the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, the Swedish Asthma and Allergy research foundation and Region Stockholm (ALF project, and for cohort and database maintenance).