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EXPANSE_GCAT: EXposome Powered tools for healthy living in urbAN SEttings

Research Leader:

Cathryn Tonne

Institution:

ISGlobal Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

In addition to genomic inherited profile, health is shaped by environmental factors that we humans are exposed to on a daily basis: what we eat, the air we breathe, our social interactions and lifestyle choices such as smoking and exercising. The environment we live in has a significant impact on our health, explaining an estimated 70% of the (non-communicable chronic disease burden). As most of the aspects of our environment are modifiable, this provides a huge potential for disease prevention. Leading scientists in Europe and the USA have formalized this perspective as the Exposome concept. Derived from the term exposure, the Exposome is the sum of all non-genetic drivers of health and diseases. Interacting with the genome, it defines individual health at different stages throughout the life course, including fetal life.

With EXPANSE_GCAT, we will align with the European EXPANSE initiative for exposome mapping and disease evaluation impact in urban populations. EXPANSE focuses on describing the links the urban exposome, the complex interplay between the built, social, physico-chemical, food, and lifestyle aspects of the urban environment and health. Our health is shaped by environmental factors that we humans are exposed to on a daily basis: what we eat, the air we breathe, our social interactions and lifestyle choices such as smoking and exercising.

GCAT represents a population based adult cohort with a large urban composition basis. That cohort will enable well-powered analyses using state-of-the art methods linking the External and Internal Exposome with the primary Cardio Metabolic and Pulmonary diseases endpoints: AMI, Stroke, T2D, and COPD, as well as disease-specific mortality estimates.

The task is framed within WP3 in the EXPANSE project, that is bringing together large administrative, adult, and matured birth cohorts will enable well-powered analyses using state-of-the art methods linking the External and Internal Exposome with the primary CMPD endpoints: AMI, Stroke, T2D, and COPD, as well as disease-specific mortality estimates. This work will provide risk estimates based on the detailed characterization of multiple exposure patterns that will aid the identification of population groups at the highest environmental health risk in our risk prediction models, as well as elucidate the origin and mechanisms underlying environmental impacts on cardiometabolic and pulmonary disease (CMPD) incidence.

To achieve these objectives, ISGlobal is contributing the Catalan administrative cohort (ACCENT) to the WP3 analysis. As administrative cohorts provide limited data on sociodemographic characteristics, we aim at adding some details to the data to adjust for some of these covariates.