About the Authors
- Felix C. Ringshausen
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* E-mail: Ringshausen.Felix@mh-hannover.de
Affiliation Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Albert Nienhaus
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Affiliation Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Anja Schablon
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Affiliation Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- José Torres Costa
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Affiliation Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Professor Hernâni Monteiro, Porto, Portugal
- Heiko Knoop
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Affiliation Department of Pneumology, Allergology, and Sleep Medicine, University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Frank Hoffmeyer
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Affiliation Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr-University Bochum (IPA), Bochum, Germany
- Jürgen Bünger
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Affiliation Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr-University Bochum (IPA), Bochum, Germany
- Rolf Merget
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Affiliation Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr-University Bochum (IPA), Bochum, Germany
- Volker Harth
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Affiliation Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Gerhard Schultze-Werninghaus
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Affiliation Department of Pneumology, Allergology, and Sleep Medicine, University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Gernot Rohde
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Affiliation Department of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Competing Interests
The authors have read the journal's policy and declare the following conflicts: FCR has received lecture fees from Cellestis/QIAGEN. GR is a PLOS ONE Editorial Board member. This does not alter our adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The other authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: FCR AN AS RM GSW GR. Performed the experiments: FCR HK FH JB RM VH GR. Analyzed the data: FCR AN RM GR. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: FCR HK FH JB RM VH GR. Wrote the manuscript: FCR AN. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: AS JTC HK FH JB RM GR. Met the criteria of the ICMJE and approved the final version of the manuscript: FCR AN AS JTC HK FH JB RM VH GSW GR.