Respiratory Epidemiology & Public Health
Montserrat Study
Researchers have recently completed fieldwork on the West Indian island of Montserrat, to look at the link between respiratory health and exposure to volcanic ash. Following an eruption by the Soufrière Hills volcano (pictured) in 1995, the island’s population are regularly exposed to levels of ash in the air that would be considered unsafe in the UK.
Professor Peter Burney, Group Leader
Senior researchers:
Dr Deborah Jarvis, Reader in Public Health Medicine
Dr Seif Shaheen, Asthma UK Senior Research Fellow
The Respiratory Epidemiology and Public Health group comprises a team of researchers with an international reputation in the field of epidemiology of allergic disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and incorporating expertise in medicine, public health, nutrition, genetic epidemiology and statistics. As well as working on the broad epidemiological patterns of disease, the Group has a particular interest in the effects of early life (including in utero exposure), nutrition, sex hormones and indoor, outdoor and occupational environment on disease incidence, severity and prognosis. They are also examining the influence of genes on susceptibility to environmental causes of disease.
The Group has recently taken over the coordinating role for the Burden of Lung Disease (BOLD) Initiative - an international survey of the prevalence of COPD and its economic burden, with funding from the Wellcome Trust. This is set to be a world-wide platform for the ongoing study of the disease.
Click here for our postgraduate study brochure 
A large part of our research programme is core-funded by the Department of Health
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Research in the news:
A study by the Group has found that household cats can trigger allergic reactions in more than a quarter of the population, and can cause breathing difficulties in people with some of the most common allergies. "People need to be aware that cats are a problem for more people than we realised," said Sue Chinn, lead author. "If they're thinking of getting a pet and a cat is just one of their options, they might want to pause before choosing." Click here for the BBC news story
A study of five to 10-year-old schoolchildren carried out by the Group in the Greenwich area of London found that those who drank apple juice at least once a day were half as likely to suffer from wheezing as those drinking it less than once a month (wheezing is one of the most important signs that a child is at increased risk of asthma). The apple juice involved did not have to be fresh apple juice - long-life juices made from concentrate were also effective. Click here for the BBC news story
The Group has strong links with a number of European asthma research programmes:
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The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) is a longitudinal study of more than 10,000 people in 25 countries, mainly in Western Europe, who were recruited as young adults in 1990 and followed-up in 2000. Professor Burney is the project leader, and Dr Jarvis is a steering committee member. |
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The Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN) is a Network of Excellence funded by the European Commission, established to enhance the quality and relevance of asthma research. Professor Burney is co-chair of its research committee, and Dr Jarvis is co-chair of the Gender Group. |
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EuroPrevall is an EU-funded project which aims to characterise food allergy across Europe, develop methods to improve diagnosis, and explore the economic costs of food allergy. Our Group is co-ordinating EuroPrevall’s epidemiological studies. |
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GABRIEL is a research programme co-ordinated by Professor Bill Cookson, looking at genes and environment in relation to asthma. The programme will analyse a large number of potentially important genes in the ECRHS population as well as in two other European adult studies that have used the same questionnaires, EGEA in France and SAPALDIA in Switzerland. This is a major opportunity to assess the role of genes in the development and expression of atopic diseases. |
Additional Collaborators:
- Professor Sue Chinn (Visitor)
