On December 12-14, 2022, the two PhD students Elena Rakuša and Anna-Victoria Holtz, participated in the annual PhD School, of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. A big part of the event was the presentation and exchange about the research work done. As part of this, Elena presented her work with the help of a poster. The topic of her project is "Health care utilization of dementia and cancer patients at the end of life", for which she used health insurance data. Anna presented her work on "Predicting neurodegenerative disease risk: Individual and Contextual Factors" in more detail through a presentation. However, the three days were also dedicated to getting to know each other. This took place in the form of group dialogues and other opportunities for discussion. In addition, the PhD students were provided with important information on how to obtain jobs and research stays abroad.

The article "Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter, lung function and cognitive performance: A prospective Dutch cohort study on the underlying routes" by Benjamin Aretz, Fanny Janssen, Judith M. Vonk, Michael T. Heneka, H. Marike Boezen, and Gabriele Doblhammer of 2021 is one of Elsevier's most downloaded publications with its 2642 views. Because of this, the article was honored during the Open Access Week 2022. Benjamin Aretz is doing his doctorate at the Institute for Sociology and Demography at the University of Rostock. Gabriele Doblhammer is the chair holder of empirical social research and demography at this institute. She is also head of the research group on demographic studies at the DZNE. The publishers' work contributes greatly to open-access science, which is why the article was linked to the UN's third Sustainable Development Goal. The third Sustainable Development Goal aims to ensure healthy lives and well-being for all people at all ages.

The PostDoc Retreat 2022 was organized on October 6 and 7 at the Dorint Venusberg Hotel in Bonn, Germany. The two days of the event were used to exchange information about the current research activities at the DZNE and to participate in different workshops. Anne Fink from the research group on demographic studies presented her poster on "Dementia in Parkinson's disease", which reflected a small insight into her field of work. Helpful hints for the working world were provided by workshops on career planning and orientation.

The 17th annual conference of the German Society for Epidemiology started on September 26, 2022 at the University of Greifswald. Over several days, numerous researchers had the opportunity to present their work through lectures or poster presentations. The Institute of Sociology and Demography at the University of Rostock were represented by Daniela Georges and Benjamin Aretz. Daniela Georges gave a presentation on September 27 in the field of social epidemiology entitled "The effect of international caregiving on mental health in Germany: Are there differences between non-migrants and Ethnic German Immigrants? Results from a cohort study based on the German Socio-Economic Panel 2000 to 2018". The presentation is based on a study conducted in collaboration with Gabriele Doblhammer, who is a group leader at the DZNE and chair holder of the University of Rostock. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of informal care on the mental health of Germans without a migration background and ethnic German immigrants, the largest and oldest immigrant group in Germany, in a comparative perspective. Benjamin Aretz's presentation was assigned to environmental medicine, exposure and risk assessment and is titled "The role of leukocytes in cognitive impairment caused by fine particulate matter: A population-based mediation analysis." The hypothesis that PM_2.5 (particulate matter) could lead to neuroinflammatory responses secondary to peripheral inflammation (systemic inflammation) served as the basis for this research and explains, at least in part, the cognitive impairments caused by PM_2.5. This relationship is being investigated using a population-based study design. DZNE PhD student Elena Rakuša also attended the conference to make new contacts and further her knowledge in the various epidemiological fields. 

For more information on the presentations, access the website of the 17th annual conference of the DGEpi. The complete program of the conference is also available there.