The Exposure and Health Examination Survey mother-child(ren) cohort profile: applying the exposome to the comprehension of child’s health and development joining singletons and twins data

Abstract The Exposure and Health Examination Survey (EXHES) cohort aims to elucidate the impact of environmental exposures (the external exposome) and their biological markers (the internal exposome) on childhood health conditions, asthma and allergies, obesity, and cognitive development in particular. Utilizing singletons and twins helped differentiate environmental effects from genetic influences due to the shared genetic background in twins. The EXHES cohort includes 2356 mother-child pairs across 10 European countries, comprising 1945 singletons and 411 twins, with data collected during the crucial first 1000 days of life. Data were gathered through epidemiological questionnaires and biomarkers, including blood, urine, hair, and breast milk from mothers, and cord blood, placenta, and cord tissues from children. Findings confirm that twin pregnancies are linked with increased risks of pregnancy complications, preterm birth, cesarean delivery, low birthweight, maternal health problems during pregnancy and a lower risk of macrosomia. Moreover, mothers of twins were more likely to have asthma, while higher maternal education was associated with a lower likelihood of twin births. The EXHES cohort provides a robust framework to be adopted in other studies for comparing singletons and twins to better understand how the exposome affects early child development and health outcomes. This approach offers new insights into the interplay between environmental and biological factors in shaping long-term health.

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Journal
Exposome
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/exposome/osaf009
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.20

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article

The Exposure and Health Examination Survey mother-child(ren) cohort profile: applying the exposome to the comprehension of child’s health and development joining singletons and twins data

Milena Horvat, Velia Malizia, Zdravko Špirić, Ingrid Falnoga et al.
1 citations
Exposome
Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
1.20
article

The Exposure and Health Examination Survey mother-child(ren) cohort profile: applying the exposome to the comprehension of child’s health and development joining singletons and twins data

Milena Horvat, Velia Malizia, Zdravko Špirić, Ingrid Falnoga, Janja Snoj Tratnik, Gilles Kayem, Joanna Jerzyńska, Sofia Tagliaferro, Stefania La Grutta, Elisabete Ramos, Catherine Gabriel, Neža Palir, Mohamed Yassir Errahmani, S Karakitsios, Joaquim Rovira, Alberto Gotti, Darja Mazej, Giuseppe Sarno, Sandra Baldacci, Ilaria Stanisci, Olivia Burton, Michael Kabesch, Igor Prpić, Reena Perchard, Anthoula Chatzimpaloglou, Edward Johnstone, Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, Agnieszka Jankowska, Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Kinga Polańska, Giovanni Viegi, Sara Maio, N. Papaioannou
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Abstract The Exposure and Health Examination Survey (EXHES) cohort aims to elucidate the impact of environmental exposures (the external exposome) and their biological markers (the internal exposome) on childhood health conditions, asthma and allergies, obesity, and cognitive development in particular. Utilizing singletons and twins helped differentiate environmental effects from genetic influences due to the shared genetic background in twins. The EXHES cohort includes 2356 mother-child pairs across 10 European countries, comprising 1945 singletons and 411 twins, with data collected during the crucial first 1000 days of life. Data were gathered through epidemiological questionnaires and biomarkers, including blood, urine, hair, and breast milk from mothers, and cord blood, placenta, and cord tissues from children. Findings confirm that twin pregnancies are linked with increased risks of pregnancy complications, preterm birth, cesarean delivery, low birthweight, maternal health problems during pregnancy and a lower risk of macrosomia. Moreover, mothers of twins were more likely to have asthma, while higher maternal education was associated with a lower likelihood of twin births. The EXHES cohort provides a robust framework to be adopted in other studies for comparing singletons and twins to better understand how the exposome affects early child development and health outcomes. This approach offers new insights into the interplay between environmental and biological factors in shaping long-term health.

ExposomeVol. 5(1)
University Hospital Centre Zagreb (HR), University of Rijeka (HR), Inserm (FR), Universidade do Porto (PT), Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine (PL), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR), Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (GB), Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia (IT), University of Manchester (GB), Jožef Stefan Institute (SI), University Hospital Regensburg (DE), Sorbonne Université (FR), Hôpital Armand-Trousseau (FR), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montpellier (FR), Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR), Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (ES), Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica (IT), Copernicus Memorial Hospital (PL), Medical University of Lodz (PL), National Institute on Population Medical Genetics (BR), National Hellenic Research Foundation (GR), European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (IT), Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IT), Istituto di Farmacologia Traslazionale (IT), Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (FR), Green Infrastructure Center (US), National Research Council (IT), Kinderklinik Regensburg (DE), Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Physiology (CZ), Universitat Rovira i Virgili (ES), University of Regensburg (DE)
European Commission, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca
Openalex Percentile: Top 18%
Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
1.20
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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