ArticleParasites & vectors2022
Regional seropositivity for Borrelia burgdorferi and associated risk factors: findings from the Rhineland Study, Germany.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk Factors for Tick-Borne Diseases in Germany: A Scoping Review.Zoonoses and public health · 2026Article
- Lyme borreliosis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
- Prevalence and Risk Factors ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Modelling the impact of climate and the environment on the spatiotemporal dynamics of Lyme borreliosis in Germany.EBioMedicine · 2025Article
- Seropositivity of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. in Germany-an analysis across four German National Cohort (NAKO) study sites.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Identifying Potential Lyme Disease Cases Using Self-Reported Worldwide Tweets: Deep Learning Modeling Approach Enhanced With Sentimental Words Through Emojis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Borrelia multiplex: a bead-based multiplex assay for the simultaneous detection of Borrelia specific IgG/IgM class antibodies.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Seroepidemiology ofMicroorganisms · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLyme borreliosis is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in Europe, and numbers might increase due to climate change. However, borreliosis is not notifiable in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. Hence, little is known about the current human seroprevalence in NRW. However, the proportion of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-infected ticks has increased in a NRW nature reserve. The literature suggests increasing age and male sex as risk factors for seropositivity, whereas the influence of socioeconomic status is controversial. Thus, we aimed to determine regional seropositivity for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (B. burgdorferi s.l.) and its risk factors in the Rhineland Study population in Bonn, NRW, and to compare it with previous surveys to evaluate potential effects of climate change.
methodsWe assessed seropositivity in 2865 Rhineland Study participants by determining immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies for B. burgdorferi s.l. using a two-step algorithm combining enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests and line immunoblots. We calculated the odds of being classified as IgG or IgM positive as a function of age, sex, and educational level using binomial logistic regression models. We applied varying seropositivity classifications and weights considering age, sex and education to compensate for differences between the sample and regional population characteristics.
resultsIgG antibodies for B. burgdorferi s.l. were present in 2.4% and IgM antibodies in 0.6% of the participants (weighted: 2.2% [IgG], 0.6% [IgM]). The likelihood of IgG seropositivity increased by 3.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5-5.2%) per 1 year increase in age. Men had 1.65 times the odds for IgG seropositivity as women (95% CI 1.01-2.73), and highly educated participants had 1.83 times the odds (95% CI 1.10-3.14) as participants with an intermediate level of education. We found no statistically significant link between age, sex, or education and IgM seropositivity. Our weighted and age-standardized IgG seroprevalence was comparable to the preceding serosurvey German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS) for NRW.
conclusionsWe confirmed that increasing age and male sex are associated with increased odds for IgG seropositivity and provide evidence for increased seropositivity in the highly educated group. B. burgdorferi s.l. seropositivity remained constant over the past decade in this regional German population.
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