All studies assessing the influence of the external exposome on human health face two fundamental methodological challenges:
Both methodological problems can introduce considerable misclassifications when assessing an individuals’ exposure. To address the need to correctly integrate the environmental context in space-time for health impact assessments, this research project aims to develop theories and methods to assess people’s daily and life-long exposures more accurately. To this end, we will establish the relevant spatial and temporal resolution to measure the “truly relevant causal geographic context” in space and time.
The environment we live in has a dominant impact on our health. It explains an estimated seventy percent of the chronic disease burden. Where we live, what we eat, how much we exercise, the air we breathe and whom we associate with; all of these environmental factors play a role. The combination of these factors over the life course is called the exposome. There is general (scientific) consensus that understanding more about the exposome will help explain the current burden of disease and that it provides entry points for prevention and ...
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