The Gothenburg center of the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) study hosted this year’s annual meeting on 14–15 May 2025.

RHINE partners gathered in Gothenburg this May for the 2025 annual meeting, sharing updates and exchanging ideas on current and future research. Also, numerous other researchers gathered, as the meeting was a combined annual meeting for the RHINE and RHINESSA studies as well as for the EPHOR and Life-GAP international research projects.

The first day of the meeting focused on RHINESSA, the multigenerational extension of the RHINE study. The second day highlighted the original RHINE cohort, a longitudinal study that has followed participants for over 30 years. The most recent data collection, carried out between 2020 and 2023, is already being used in several ongoing projects.

Current analyses using RHINE data cover a wide range of topics, including night shift work and respiratory health, smoking cessation trends, indoor dampness, sexual function and obstructive sleep apnea, environmental exposures and their association with COVID-19 infection, as well as links between environmental exposures and chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Other projects investigate prognostic patterns of wheezing and the relationship between voice problems and chronic cough.

Looking ahead, one important focus is the further development of an occupational exposure matrix based on RHINE data. This will enable more detailed analyses of work-related exposures as well as support future research on socioeconomic risk factors for development of chronic diseases.

These research activities reflect both the continuity of RHINE’s focus and the growing potential of its long-term dataset.

The meeting provided a valuable opportunity for discussion, reflection, and collaboration among centers. As work progresses, RHINE remains an important platform for advancing knowledge on respiratory health across the Nordic region.

The meeting ended with a wrap-up and plenary discussion on future analyses, led by Professor Ane Johannessen from the University of Bergen, coordinator of the RHINE study from the fourth stage onward, together with Professor Christer Janson from Uppsala University, who coordinated the RHINE study during its first three stages. The next annual RHINE meeting will be held in Bergen, Norway, in 2026.

The Aarhus RHINE study centre in Denmark hosted this year’s Annual Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) meeting on 15-16 April 2024. Partners from each study center gathered to discuss ongoing research and share insights in the field of respiratory health. RHINE study coordinator, Professor Ane Johannessen, initiated the meeting with an overview of the RHINE dataset, setting the stage for subsequent discussions and presentations.

The meeting covered several key topics related to respiratory health. One major focus was the impact of air pollution and exposure to green spaces on respiratory outcomes. Another critical discussion centered on the microbiome’s role in influencing respiratory health. Additionally, the meeting explored the effects of sleep disturbances and nicotine products on respiratory diseases, alongside other relevant health outcomes and environmental exposures.

Discussions extended to collaborative efforts with the RHINESSA and ECRHS studies, highlighting the benefits of integrating diverse research initiatives. The meeting also outlined future research directions, particularly focusing on the strategic use of the RHINE dataset to explore various respiratory-related outcomes.

This year’s meeting reinforced the strong collaboration among partners to further respiratory health research. The RHINE consortium looks forward to the next annual meeting, to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden.