Nadine Janssen began her voluntary scientific year in the Department of Health Economics on 1 September 2026.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Nadine!

As part of her PhD research, Ida Butovetsky has published her first article in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. In the paper, ‘Socioeconomic Status, Alcohol Use, and Mortality: Results From a Prospective Cohort Study’, she examines the association between socioeconomic status, alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality. The study utilises data from the SHIP-START cohort, which originally comprised 4,307 participants, as well as mortality data from the follow-up period up to January 2023.

The results show a social gradient in all-cause mortality. In particular, people on low incomes had an increased risk of death, even when other risk factors were taken into account. Increased mortality was also observed among individuals who were currently abstinent but had previously consumed alcohol, as well as among those with high alcohol consumption. Furthermore, there was evidence of statistical interaction effects between socio-economic status and alcohol consumption. Overall, the observed socio-economic differences in mortality could not be fully explained by the risk factors investigated.

The article is freely available as an open-access publication (link: https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.70402).

Dr Isa Steiner took up her post as a research assistant on the TransVer project in the Department of Health Economics on 16 August 2026.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Strasbourg and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Münster.
Before joining us in Oldenburg, she completed her PhD at the Hamburg Centre for Health Economics on the topic ‘Balancing Quality of Life and Costs for Patients Receiving Biologic Therapies’ and worked in the Hospital Research Division at the AOK Scientific Institute.

We look forward to working with her!

In an interview with the Oldenburg-based local broadcaster oeins, Stefanie Beinert discusses the so-called gender health gap and gender-specific differences in medical research and care. She places particular emphasis on her research into gender differences in chronic pain.

Among other things, the discussion addresses how medicine’s historically strong focus on the male body can still contribute to differences in research, diagnosis and treatment today, and why greater attention needs to be paid to gender-specific differences.

You can find out more on this topic in the full interview on oeins.

The study Association of long-term exposure to air pollution, the built environment and air temperature with the incidence of prediabetes phenotypes, and prediabetes remission and progression to type 2 diabetes: a longitudinal study in the KORA cohort, published in Diabetologia, examines the long-term association between environmental factors and the development, and where applicable, the remission of various prediabetes phenotypes. The analyses are based on long-term data from the KORA cohort in southern Germany. 

The results show that long-term exposure to air pollution and unfavourable characteristics of the built environment are associated with an increased risk of certain forms of prediabetes. Furthermore, higher levels of environmental exposure were associated with a lower likelihood of pre-diabetes regressing to normal glucose tolerance. The study thus highlights the importance of environmental factors in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

The article is freely available as an open-access publication (link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-026-06814-2).

The study The economic burden of dementia in Europe: COIN-Eu dementia, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, examines the economic burden of dementia in Europe from a societal perspective. Using a standardised analysis of European cost studies, cross-country estimates were produced for direct costs, costs arising from productivity losses and the costs of informal care, in order to provide a comparable picture of the economic impact of the condition.

For 30 high-income European countries, this results in annual societal costs of around 221.4 billion euros, or an average of 25,218 euros per person with dementia. The importance of informal care provided by family members and other close relatives is particularly evident: at around 58 per cent, it accounts for the largest share of the total costs. 

The findings highlight the considerable social and economic burden posed by dementia and, at the same time, demonstrate the importance of adequately capturing and evaluating informal care in health economic analyses and future care strategies. 

The article is freely available as an open-access publication (link: https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877261465575).

The study “Social inequalities in cancer in Germany: a call to action”, published in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, highlights the significance of social inequalities throughout the entire cancer journey in Germany. The paper shows that a lower socio-economic status is associated with increased risk factors, lower uptake of screening, later diagnosis and poorer survival rates.

The findings are based on a synthesis of existing scientific evidence, such as studies using data from cancer registries, health insurance funds, cohort studies and population-based health surveys, as well as the assessments of over 30 experts in cancer epidemiology and inequality research. This reveals significant data gaps and structural challenges that hinder comprehensive analysis and targeted measures. 

The authors therefore call for improved data availability, greater consideration of equity in health policy, and more targeted interventions for vulnerable groups to reduce avoidable inequalities in cancer care.

The article is freely available as an open-access publication (link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-026-06438-4).

Anna Homann, MSc., joined the Health Economics Department on 1 February 2026 as a research assistant. She holds a bachelor's degree in War Studies from King's College London and a Master of Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. We look forward to working with her!

The study "Longitudinal associations of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution, residential greenness, and air temperature with type 2 diabetes subphenotypes: results from the KORA cohort study", published in the journal Environment International, investigates the relationship between environmental factors and different forms of type 2 diabetes.

Based on data from the KORA study from 2006 to 2008 and 2013 to 2014, people with type 2 diabetes were categorised into three subtypes. A distinction was made between insulin deficiency-related, age-associated and insulin-resistant diabetes.

The results show that higher exposure to particulate matter and soot particles is associated with an increased risk of insulin-resistant diabetes. In addition, combinations of air pollution, greater temperature fluctuations, lower average temperatures and low levels of greenery increased the risk of age-associated and insulin-resistant diabetes.

The study makes an important contribution to understanding the role of environmental factors in the development of diabetes and provides starting points for targeted prevention strategies.

The article was published as an open access article and is freely accessible (link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.110043).