Publications

ZORA Publication List

Publications

• 2026

  • Journal Article

    • Tuor, S.-M., Matthes, K. L., Lang, P., Fehr, J., van Wijhe, M., & Staub, K. (2026). Diphtheria in Switzerland, 1877–2022: long-term epidemiology and the impact of mid-20th-century vaccination programs Vaccine, 91, 129064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.129064
    • Bendel, H., & Matthes, K. L. (2026). Why historical data matter for understanding the long-term effects of measles International Journal of Public Health, 71, 1610290. https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2026.1610290
    • Sejdiu, D., de Vos, J. M., Berndt, R., Matthes, K. L., Walker-Meikle, K., Aeschbacher, S., & Schuenemann, V. J. (2026). Genomic insights into the evolutionary dynamics of Phytophthora infestans lineages after the Irish Potato Famine BMC Biology, online. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-026-02711-7
    • Lüthi, A., Matthes, K. L., Floris, J., & Staub, K. (2026). The Very Old in 19th-Century Switzerland: Examining Verified Outliers at the Top of the Historical Age Distribution Journal of Population Ageing, Epub ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-026-09588-y
    • Steiner, S., Matthes, K. L., Middelkamp, P. W., Riou, J., Hauser, A., & Staub, K. (2026). Sex and gender differences in morbidity and mortality from influenza-like illness during pandemics and throughout the 20th century in Switzerland Infectious Diseases, 58, 800–812. https://doi.org/10.1080/23744235.2026.2644272
    • Hinselmann, R., Matthes, K. L., Staub, K., & Le Vu, M. (2026). Association between pre-birth waist circumference and neonatal size and health in mother-newborn pairs in Lausanne, 1917–1921 PLoS ONE, 21, e0352179. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352179
    • Stoican, K., Dössegger, A., Stanga, Z. G., Staub, K., & Gilgen-Ammann, R. (2026). Trends in physical fitness performance and body mass index of Swiss military conscripts, 2006–2024: a cross-sectional study BMJ Open, 16, e116950. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2026-116950
    • Woodert, M., Morante, G. B., Krenn, V., Cordey, C., Torres‐Tamayo, N., Staub, K., Webb, N., & Haeusler, M. (2026). Historical birth records from 1896 to 1944 from the Basel maternity hospital, Switzerland, reveal significant obstetric selection pressures The Anatomical Record, Epub ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.70259
    • Abrams, L., Bramajo, O., Van Raalte, A., Myrskylä, M., & Mehta, N. (2026). Insights into US life expectancy stagnation from birth cohort mortality dynamics Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 123, e2519356123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2519356123
    • Bramajo, O., O’Grady, B., Chakraborty, M., & Mehta, N. K. (2026). Age-specific trends in limitations of daily activities in American adults aged 50–84 by race and ethnicity, 2000–2018 PLoS ONE, 21, e0340694. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0340694
    • Watson, L. M., Frémondière, P., Staub, K., Mitteroecker, P., Fischer, B., Haeusler, M., & Webb, N. M. (2026). Over the edge: Empirical evidence for the cliff‐edge model of obstetric selection The Anatomical Record, ar.70159. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.70159
    • Schneider, E., Jaramillo Echeverri, J., Purcell, M., A’Hearn, B., Arthi, V., Blum, M., Brainerd, E., Capuno, J., Cermeño, A. L., Challú, A., Cho, Y.-J., Cole, T., Corpuz, J., Depauw, E., Droller, F., Von Fintel, D., Floris, J., Galofré-Vilà, G., Harris, B., … Staub, K. (2026). The decline of child stunting in 122 countries: a systematic review of child growth studies since the 19th century BMJ Global Health, 11, e018607. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-018607
    • Rubini, E., Trentin, M., Maffi, P., Aammar, B., Gaievskyi, S., Bahattab, A., Lamine, H., Kordi-Kaiser, M., Staub, K., & Ragazzoni, L. (2026). Challenges in healthcare facilities’ response to past outbreaks: a systematic review of reviews BMC Health Services Research, 26, 141. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13934-9
    • Nagaroor, A., Le Vu, M., Matthes, K. L., & Staub, K. (2026). Determinants of Early Neonatal Weight Loss in Historical Swiss Maternity Hospital Records American Journal of Human Biology, 38, e70349. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70349
    • Bramajo, O., Abrams, L. R., & Mehta, N. K. (2026). Evolution of birth-cohort patterns in lifestyle-associated cancer mortality across high-income countries International Journal of Epidemiology, 55, dyag198. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyag198
    • Bramajo, O., Chakraborty, M., Lisabeth, L., & Mehta, N. (2026). Changes in Life Expectancy After Stroke Among Americans Aged 50 and Above by Sex, 1996–2018 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 74, 2583–2594. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.70585

  • Published Research Report

    • Le Vu, M., Matthes, K. L., & Staub, K. (2026). PREPSHIELD - D2.1 - Forward-looking health crisis scenarios Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21025539

• 2025

  • Journal Article

    • Friedauer, C., Matthes, K. L., Lang, P., & Staub, K. (2025). Reconstructing the spread of measles in the 20th century: an epidemiological analysis of the period prior to the introduction of vaccination in Switzerland American Journal of Epidemiology, 194, 3556–3565. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaf167
    • Haag, N., Le Vu, M., Jaeggi, A. V., Baud, D., Desseauve, D., Haeusler, M., Staub, K., & Matthes, K. L. (2025). Association between a mismatch of maternal/neonatal body size and obstetrical interventions in Switzerland in the 1920s: a cross-sectional study Schweizerische Medizinische Wochenschrift, 155, 4546. https://doi.org/10.57187/s.4546
    • Le Vu, M., Matthes, K. L., Schneider, E. B., Moerlen, A., Hösli, I., Baud, D., & Staub, K. (2025). Maternal Influenza-Like Illness and Neonatal Health During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in a Swiss City Annals of Internal Medicine, 178, 1632–1641. https://doi.org/10.7326/annals-24-03796
    • Radivojevic, N., Puhan, M., Staub, K., & Ballouz, T. (2025). Reconstruction of the Discourse on Influenza During Pandemics Between 1889 and 1980 in the Predecessor Journal of Swiss Medical Weekly - A Narrative Review and Bibliometric Analysis Public Health Reviews, 46, 1608522. https://doi.org/10.3389/phrs.2025.1608522
    • Gubelmann, C., Stanga, Z., Staub, K., & Marques-Vidal, P. (2025). Impact of obesity and physical fitness on hypertension: a mediation analysis including over 380 000 Swiss young male conscripts from 2007 to 2022 BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 11, e002455. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2025-002455
    • Slekiene, J., Gamma, A. E., Wade, P., Robateau, D., Oketch, J. A., & Palacios, S. (2025). Psychosocial and context factors associated with breastfeeding and complementary feeding changes in Belize: a mixed methods approach BMC Public Health, 25, 2321. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22854-6
    • Urban, C., Vrancken, B., Patrono, L. V., Düx, A., Le Vu, M., Matthes, K. L., Burkhard-Koren, N. M., Widulin, N., Schnalke, T., Carraro, S., Rühli, F., Lemey, P., Staub, K., Calvignac-Spencer, S., & Schuenemann, V. J. (2025). An ancient influenza genome from Switzerland allows deeper insights into host adaptation during the 1918 flu pandemic in Europe BMC Biology, 23, 179. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02282-z
    • Matthes, K. L., Le Vu, M., & Staub, K. (2025). Fertility dynamics through historical pandemics and COVID-19 in Switzerland, 1871–2022 Population Studies, 79, 463–478. https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2025.2462291
    • Matthes, K. L., & Staub, K. (2025). Is height loss in adulthood associated with health in later life among the 1946 UK Birth Cohort (NSHD) participants? Aging and Health Research, 5, 100224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahr.2025.100224
    • Ziegler, E., Matthes, K. L., Middelkamp, P. W., Schünemann, V., Althaus, C. L., Rühli, F., & Staub, K. (2025). Retrospective modelling of the disease and mortality burden of the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic in Zurich, Switzerland Epidemics, 50, 100813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epidem.2025.100813
    • Bramajo, O. (2025). The role of birth cohorts in recent mortality trends among Mexicans aged 60 plus in urban and rural areas Canadian Studies in Population, 52, 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42650-025-00088-6

  • Book Section

    • Floris, J., & Staub, K. (2025). Measuring Food Requirements and Deprivation In M. Cox & C. Morelon (Eds.), Hunger Redraws the Map. Food, State, and Society in the Era of the First World War (pp. 280–318). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009441278.011

  • Conference or Workshop item

    • Braggion, A., Chiolero, A., Fahr, A., & Staub, K. (2025). Benefits and challenges of communicating long-term data in public health, SSPH+ Workshop - Final Report online. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16961076

• 2024

  • Journal Article

    • Skrivankova, V. W., Schreck, L. D., Berlin, C., Panczak, R., Staub, K., Zwahlen, M., Schulzke, S. M., Egger, M., & Kuehni, C. E. (2024). Sociodemographic and regional differences in neonatal and infant mortality in Switzerland in 2011–2018: the Swiss National Cohort Swiss Medical Weekly, 154, 3682. https://doi.org/10.57187/s.3682
    • Suter, J., Devos, I., Matthes, K. L., & Staub, K. (2024). The health and demographic impacts of the “Russian flu” pandemic in Switzerland in 1889/1890 and in the years thereafter Epidemiology and Infection, 152, e174. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0950268824001651
    • Matthes, K. L., Floris, J., Merzouki, A., Junker, C., Weitkunat, R., Rühli, F., Keiser, O., & Staub, K. (2024). Spatial pattern of all cause excess mortality in Swiss districts during the pandemic years 1890, 1918 and 2020 Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology, 51, 100697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sste.2024.100697
    • Boser, L., & Staub, K. (2024). How the influenza pandemic 1918/19 affected teacher education and schools in several ways − a case study from Switzerland Paedagogica Historica, 60, 1047–1064. https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2023.2238623
    • Staub, K., Ballouz, T., & Puhan, M. (2024). An Unwanted but Long-Known Company: Post-Viral Symptoms in the Context of Past Pandemics in Switzerland (and Beyond) Public Health Reviews, 45, 1606966. https://doi.org/10.3389/phrs.2024.1606966
    • Le Vu, M., Matthes, K. L., Brabec, M., Riou, J., Skrivankova, V. W., Hösli, I., Rohrmann, S., & Staub, K. (2024). Health of singleton neonates in Switzerland through time and crises: a cross-sectional study at the population level, 2007-2022 BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 24, 218. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-024-06414-1
    • Gubelmann, C., Stanga, Z., Staub, K., & Marques-Vidal, P. (2024). Trends of physical fitness related to weight status: An analysis including over 412,000 Swiss young male conscripts from 2007 to 2022 Preventive Medicine Reports, 38, 102591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2024.102591
    • Matthes, K. L., & Staub, K. (2024). The Need to Analyse Historical Mortality Data to Understand the Causes of Today’s Health Inequalities International Journal of Public Health, 69, 1607739. https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2024.1607739

  • Conference or Workshop item

    • Weber, W., Wyss, V., Högger, F., Schäfer, L., Floris, J., & Staub, K. (2024). From Past Pandemics to Future Health Crises: A Systematic Design Framework for Building a Healthier Future 383–395. https://www.mdu.se/konferens-och-event/dtrs14

  • Scientific Publication in Electronic Form

    • Staub, K. (2024). Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses – Recognised in the 1940s, but then forgotten? online. https://doi.org/10.57187/oped.64

• 2023

  • Journal Article

    • Sedlakova, J., Daniore, P., Horn Wintsch, A., Wolf, M., Stanikić, M., Haag, C., Sieber, C., Schneider, G., Staub, K., Ettlin, D. A., Grübner, O., Rinaldi, F., & von Wyl, V. (2023). Challenges and best practices for digital unstructured data enrichment in health research: A systematic narrative review PLOS Digital Health, 2, e0000347. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000347
    • Guarnieri Lopez, M., Matthes, K. L., Sob, C., Bender, N., & Staub, K. (2023). Associations between 3D surface scanner derived anthropometric measurements and body composition in a cross-sectional study European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 77, 972–981. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01309-4
    • Staub, K. (2023). Letting the Past Speak to the Present (and the Future) American Journal of Public Health, 113, 1040–1042. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307389
    • Salvisberg, V., Le Vu, M., Floris, J., Matthes, K. L., & Staub, K. (2023). Health of neonates born in the maternity hospital in Bern, Switzerland, 1880–1900 and 1914–1922 PLoS ONE, 18, e0289157. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289157
    • Bernhard, M., Leuch, C., Kordi, M., Gruebner, O., Matthes, K. L., Floris, J., & Staub, K. (2023). From pandemic to endemic: Spatial-temporal patterns of influenza-like illness incidence in a Swiss canton, 1918-1924 Economics and Human Biology, 50, 101271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101271
    • Floris, J., Matthes, K. L., Le Vu, M., & Staub, K. (2023). Intergenerational transmission of height in a historical population: from taller mothers to larger offspring at birth (and as adults) PNAS Nexus, 2, pgad208. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad208
    • Matthes, K. L., Le Vu, M., Bhattacharyya, U., Galliker, A., Kordi, M., Floris, J., & Staub, K. (2023). Reinfections and Cross-Protection in the 1918/19 Influenza Pandemic: Revisiting a Survey Among Male and Female Factory Workers International Journal of Public Health, 68, 1605777. https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2023.1605777
    • Strässle, M., Grossmann, J., Eppenberger, P., Faas, A., Jerkovic, I., Floris, J., Öhrström, L., Akgül, G., Aldakak, L., Rühli, F., Bender, N., & Staub, K. (2023). Short-termed changes in quantitative ultrasound estimated bone density among young men in an 18-weeks follow-up during their basic training for the Swiss Armed Forces PeerJ, 11, e15205. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15205
    • Ziegler, E., Postma, E., Matthes, K. L., Floris, J., & Staub, K. (2023). Health and lifespan of Swiss men born in an alpine region in 1905–1907 The History of the Family, 28, 339–359. https://doi.org/10.1080/1081602x.2022.2100806
    • Matthes, K. L. (2023). Long-term mortality effects of century crises: A warning from the past for the decades after COVID-19? Swiss Medical Weekly, 153, 40057. https://doi.org/10.57187/smw.2023.40057

Pagination