15/12/2025
Wieder eine Publikation zu Daten der LEAD-Studie:
Longitudinal variability of blood eosinophils impact lung function decline in the general population.
Lim, C. J. M., Helk, O., Breyer-Kohansal, R., Breyer, M. K., Wouters, E. F. M., & Hartl, S. (2025). ERJ open research, 11(6), 00368-2025. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00368-2025
Blood eosinophils (BEC) help indicate lung inflammation. In 6,932 Austrian adults over four years, most had stable BEC within a normal range (-30 to +60 cells/µL). Most participants stayed in their original BEC group, with 83.7% staying low-normal and 67.3% staying high. Some individuals however, showed significant changes beyond this range. Increasing BEC was linked to the greatest lung function decline, while decreasing BEC showed slight improvement. BEC is not a static biomarker. Its variability over time predicts lung function decline, independent of an existing respiratory diagnosis. Since current guidelines use single BEC measurements, our findings suggest regular monitoring could better track disease progression and improve treatment decisions.
The Austrian LEAD (Lung, hEart, sociAl, boDy) study (NCT 01727518)
LEAD is the first longitudinal, single-centre, epidemiological study of the Austrian general population.