“The study showed that long-term exposure to air pollutants PM2.5 and NO2 increases the risk of developing asthma by t13% in the adult population. At the same time, the study highlighted the combined effect of low levels of greenery and high urbanization in both children and adults. Consistent results were observed even when combining all mentioned environmental risks,” explains one of the co-authors, Andrea Dalecká from the RECETOX centre.
The study emphasizes the importance of evaluating exposure to various environmental risks together. The exposome approach differs from traditional methods by assessing the simultaneous impact of multiple exposures, thus providing a comprehensive view of the risks arising from the urban environment in which society grows and lives. This concept is particularly important in urban planning and policy-making aimed at improving the living environment. Additionally, this approach can identify risk groups of individuals, allowing targeted preventive measures in public health.
“The strength of the study lies primarily in the harmonization of data from 14 cohort studies (6 children and 8 adults) and utilization of advanced statistical techniques suitable for analysing different exposure profiles, the so-called K-mean cluster. The exposome approach also contributed to creating an overall environmental risk score,” adds another author of the study, Ondřej Mikeš from the RECETOX centre.
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under agreement No 874627 (EXPANSE) and No 857560 (CETOCOEN Excellence). RECETOX Research Infrastructure (No LM2023069) financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101314 External Link
* Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm; Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Stockholm, Stockholm Department of Cardiology, Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm; Department of Clinical Sciences and Education, Södersjukhuset; Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm; IUF – Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf; Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg; Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich; Genomes for Life-GCAT Lab, CORE Program, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona; Grup de Recerca en Impacte de Les Malalties Cròniques I Les Seves Trajectòries (GRIMTra) (IGTP), Badalona; ISGlobal, Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública; RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno; Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu; Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Tartu, Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków; Collegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce; Scientific Research, Epidemiology and R&D Centre, Holycross Cancer Centre, Kielce, Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Primary Prevention, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences; Utrecht University, Utrecht; Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, University of Groningen; University Medical Center Groningen; Beatrix Children’s Hospital, Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergology, Groningen; University of Groningen; University Medical Center Groningen; Groningen Research Institute for Asthma and COPD (GRIAC), Groningen; Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam UMC; Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil; University of Basel, Basel.
