14 Mar 2022 | 10.00 - 11.00Online
For unknown reasons, T1D incidence has stabilised in the last decade, particularly in the Nordic countries. Environmental triggers and specific co-morbidities that are often implicated in T1D, e.g., enterovirus infection, diet, and obesity, cannot explain this trend. However, the time trend of human exposure levels to two widely-used industrial chemicals, perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOS and PFOA), does follow T1D incidence.
In a mother-child cohort, we recently found that high prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) associated with postnatal progression to islet autoantibody positivity and decreased levels of the same lipids previously found to be associated with progression to T1D. These and other recent and ongoing investigations suggest that early-life exposure to various environmental chemicals contributes to the pathogenesis of T1D as well as potentially to other diseases via the impact said exposures have on the interplay between genetic background, the gut microbiome, and lipid metabolism, which, in turn, impact host metabolism and immune system status.
Should you have any further questions or will encounter any problems, please feel free to reach out to the Exposome Support Office.
Matej Orešič
Professor, Ph.D.
School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
Turku Bioscience Centre, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Exposome-NL is a Dutch consortium of over fifty scientists from different disciplines, universities and medical centres. Together the scientists will systematically sequence the environmental factors influencing our health.
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