Soppa, VanessaLucht, SarahOgurtsova, KatherineBuschka, AnnaLópez Vicente, Mònica, 1988-Guxens Junyent, MònicaWeinhold, KayWinkler, UlfWiedensohler, AlfredHeld, AndreasLüchtrath, SabineCyrys, JosefKecorius, SimonasGastmeier, PetraWiese-Posselt, MiriamHoffmann, Barbara2024-06-172024-06-172023Soppa V, Lucht S, Ogurtsova K, Buschka A, López-Vicente M, Guxens M, et al. The Berlin-Brandenburg air study-A methodological study paper of a natural experiment investigating health effects related to changes in airport-related exposures. Int J Public Health. 2023 Nov 17;68:1606096. DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2023.16060961661-8556http://hdl.handle.net/10230/60486Objectives: This paper presents the study design of the Berlin-Brandenburg Air study (BEAR-study). We measure air quality in Berlin and Brandenburg before and after the relocation of aircraft (AC) traffic from Tegel (TXL) airport to the new Berlin-Brandenburg airport (BER) and investigate the association of AC-related ultrafine particles (UFP) with health outcomes in schoolchildren. Methods: The BEAR-study is a natural experiment examining schoolchildren attending schools near TXL and BER airports, and in control areas (CA) away from both airports and associated air corridors. Each child undergoes repeated school-based health-examinations. Total particle number concentration (PNC) and meteorological parameters are continuously monitored. Submicrometer particle number size distribution, equivalent black carbon, and gas-phase pollutants are collected from long-term air quality monitoring stations. Daily source-specific UFP concentrations are modeled. We will analyze short-term effects of UFP on respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurocognitive outcomes, as well as medium and long-term effects on lung growth and cognitive development. Results: We examined 1,070 children (as of 30 November 2022) from 16 schools in Berlin and Brandenburg. Conclusion: The BEAR study increases the understanding of how AC-related UFP affect children's health.application/pdfeng© 2023 Soppa, Lucht, Ogurtsova, Buschka, López-Vicente, Guxens, Weinhold, Winkler, Wiedensohler, Held, Lüchtrath, Cyrys, Kecorius, Gastmeier, Wiese-Posselt and Hoffmann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2023.1606096Air pollutionChildren’s environmental healthExposure assessmentMethodological studyParticulate matterinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess