A Scoping Review on the Characteristics of Human Exposome Studies

Abstract

Embraced as a breaking through methodological framework, the exposome is accompanied by novel exposure assessment methods and data processing tools or models. However, systematic mapping of the landscape of exposome studies, including their characteristics, components, tools and language has not been done so far. We conducted a scoping review to answer the question: "Which main domains of the human exposome have been included in the literature and which metrics of exposure(s)/ outcome(s) have been used?" We performed a comprehensive search of human studies containing the word "exposom*" and published up to March 8, 2019. We screened 1133 records and 82 studies were included in the analysis. Most studies took place in Europe. Data analysis showed the non-systematic use of the exposome term. Most studies had a longitudinal design (n = 30, 37%), were conducted on adults (n = 40, 51%), and had a clearly defined health outcome in methodology (n = 48, 61%). Omics tools, such as metabolomics were used in 38 studies (49%), while environment-wide association analysis was used in 9 studies (11%). Thirty-seven (48%) studies included all three exposome domains (general external, specific external and internal) while 33 (42%) studies included two. Despite the large number of environmental components that comprise each of the exposome domains, only a subset has been currently studied. An optimized consideration of the components from all exposome domains, as well as the standardization of the exposure and outcome assessment methods is warranted to advance the utility of the human exposome concept.

Exposome-based public health interventions for infectious diseases in urban settings

“…unhealthy eating, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, occupation, socioeconomic status, disinfectant use, anxiety, other personal environmental exposures, etc.) and their potential clustering into focused exposure groups (e.g., climate, natural and built environment, air pollutants, diet, infectious agents, lifestyle, behaviors) ( Haddad et al, 2019 ).…”

Exposome changes in primary school children following the wide population non-pharmacological interventions implemented due to COVID-19 in Cyprus: A national survey

“…The pandemic and its impact on lifestyle and behaviours can be better understood using comprehensive frameworks such as the one of the human exposome, which has been previously used in the assessment of chronic health outcomes due to environmental exposures [33] . In this national survey, we employed the exposome concept and its tools to evaluate the impact of the population-wide lockdown and other restrictive measures on lifestyle and behaviours of children.…”

Exposome changes in primary school children following the wide population non-pharmacological interventions implemented due to COVID-19 in Cyprus: a national survey

“…The pandemic and its impact on lifestyle and behaviours can be better understood using comprehensive frameworks such as the one of the human exposome which has been previously used in the assessment of chronic health outcomes due to environmental exposures (23). In this national survey, we employed the exposome concept and its tools to evaluate the impact of the population-wide lockdown and other restrictive measures on lifestyle and behaviours of children.…”