Periodic Reporting for period 3 - EXPANSE (EXposome Powered tools for healthy living in urbAN SEttings)
Berichtszeitraum: 2023-01-01 bis 2023-12-31
By the year 2030, over 80% of the population in Europe will be living in cities that are complex and made up of various social and environmental factors. These factors include where we live and work, what we eat, our social connections, and the substances we come into contact with in our environment. Collectively, these factors are referred to as the "Urban Exposome." They have the potential to impact our health, and by understanding and studying the effects of the Urban Exposome on major health issues like cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, the EXPANSE project aims to answer a crucial question: How can we improve our health while living in modern cities? This question is important not only for urban planners and policymakers but also for the citizens of Europe. By identifying and addressing the factors that influence our health in urban environments, we can work towards maximizing our well-being and improving population health.
EXPANSE is an ambitious research project that aims to advance our understanding of the "Exposome" and its impact on health. The Exposome refers to the various factors in our environment that can affect our well-being, such as where we live, what we're exposed to, and our lifestyle choices. To achieve this goal, EXPANSE is bringing together data from over 55 million people living in Europe. They are collecting information on the Exposome, health, and other characteristics for more than 2 million individuals. In addition, they are conducting personalized assessments of the Exposome for 4,000 people living in five "Urban Labs." A key aspect of EXPANSE is the use of a cutting-edge technique called ultra-high-resolution mass-spectrometry to analyze 10,000 blood samples. This method allows researchers to screen for various chemicals that may come from external sources.
The project also focuses on understanding how the Exposome and health change over a person's lifetime, examining data from both birth cohorts and adult populations.
To ensure the ethical and social acceptability of their work, EXPANSE is incorporating an ethics-by-design approach, taking into account the social and ethical implications of their research. They are also developing research tools and resources that will be openly accessible through the EXPANSE toolbox. EXPANSE encourages collaboration and engagement with citizens, policymakers, and private companies through their hub. This collaborative approach aims to facilitate the discovery and accessibility of the research tools and findings. EXPANSE is part of the European Human Exposome Network comprised of 9 projects selected from this same call.
through their hub. This collaborative approach aims to facilitate the discovery and accessibility of the research tools and findings. EXPANSE is part of the European Human Exposome Network comprised of 9 projects selected from this same call.
EXPANSE is an ambitious research project that aims to advance our understanding of the "Exposome" and its impact on health. The Exposome refers to the various factors in our environment that can affect our well-being, such as where we live, what we're exposed to, and our lifestyle choices. To achieve this goal, EXPANSE is bringing together data from over 55 million people living in Europe. They are collecting information on the Exposome, health, and other characteristics for more than 2 million individuals. In addition, they are conducting personalized assessments of the Exposome for 4,000 people living in five "Urban Labs." A key aspect of EXPANSE is the use of a cutting-edge technique called ultra-high-resolution mass-spectrometry to analyze 10,000 blood samples. This method allows researchers to screen for various chemicals that may come from external sources.
The project also focuses on understanding how the Exposome and health change over a person's lifetime, examining data from both birth cohorts and adult populations.
To ensure the ethical and social acceptability of their work, EXPANSE is incorporating an ethics-by-design approach, taking into account the social and ethical implications of their research. They are also developing research tools and resources that will be openly accessible through the EXPANSE toolbox. EXPANSE encourages collaboration and engagement with citizens, policymakers, and private companies through their hub. This collaborative approach aims to facilitate the discovery and accessibility of the research tools and findings. EXPANSE is part of the European Human Exposome Network comprised of 9 projects selected from this same call.
through their hub. This collaborative approach aims to facilitate the discovery and accessibility of the research tools and findings. EXPANSE is part of the European Human Exposome Network comprised of 9 projects selected from this same call.
The EXPANSE project made significant progress in several areas:
Pan-European maps of key exposure in the Urban exposome have been produced and are used in EXPANSE work packages and user stakeholders in health analyses.
A nested case-control study in which the internal exposome will be related to EXPANSE's priority health outcomes (i.e. cardio metabolic pulmonary health) is currently being executed, with first data expected in 2024.
Existing OMICs data available in cohorts participating in EXPANSE are used to assess the impact of the urban exposome on the internal exposome. A first focus is on the effect of light at night and Nitrogen dioxide on DNA-methylation.
Epidemiological analyses linking the EXPANSE exposures to cardio metabolic pulmonary health outcomes have been conducted to measure the impact of the urban exposome on people’s health.
Residential relocation was used as a natural experiment to understand how changing neighborhoods affects the external exposome and health outcomes like body weight in children.
An Agent-Based Model for the city of Amsterdam has been developed, which allows us to evaluate the effects of real and hypothetical interventions on the urban environment.
A panel study has been initiated in five countries. Participants are using newly designed air pollution sensors, tracking devices, a gamified mobile phone application, and self-collection kits for biological samples.
To ensure data accessibility and harmonization, we have established a metadata catalog. This facilitates the organization and sharing of data within the EXPANSE project and the wider European Human Exposome Network.
EXPANSE has developed a series of scalable and interpretable approaches to analyze and integrate Exposome data, including clustering approaches for exposure profiling, stability enhanced regression, graphical, and structural causal models that are being used in the project.
A digital Research Environment is actively used by the consortium to securely share and analyze data.
EXPANSE has an active User Stakeholder Panel actively giving input and feedback to guarantee the uptake of the data and insights generated by EXPANSE beyond the project itself.
EXPANSE is interacting with the other EHEN project in Working Groups and conferences.
External and internal communication of the EXPANSE project is performed via websites, newsletters, conferences and articles.
Pan-European maps of key exposure in the Urban exposome have been produced and are used in EXPANSE work packages and user stakeholders in health analyses.
A nested case-control study in which the internal exposome will be related to EXPANSE's priority health outcomes (i.e. cardio metabolic pulmonary health) is currently being executed, with first data expected in 2024.
Existing OMICs data available in cohorts participating in EXPANSE are used to assess the impact of the urban exposome on the internal exposome. A first focus is on the effect of light at night and Nitrogen dioxide on DNA-methylation.
Epidemiological analyses linking the EXPANSE exposures to cardio metabolic pulmonary health outcomes have been conducted to measure the impact of the urban exposome on people’s health.
Residential relocation was used as a natural experiment to understand how changing neighborhoods affects the external exposome and health outcomes like body weight in children.
An Agent-Based Model for the city of Amsterdam has been developed, which allows us to evaluate the effects of real and hypothetical interventions on the urban environment.
A panel study has been initiated in five countries. Participants are using newly designed air pollution sensors, tracking devices, a gamified mobile phone application, and self-collection kits for biological samples.
To ensure data accessibility and harmonization, we have established a metadata catalog. This facilitates the organization and sharing of data within the EXPANSE project and the wider European Human Exposome Network.
EXPANSE has developed a series of scalable and interpretable approaches to analyze and integrate Exposome data, including clustering approaches for exposure profiling, stability enhanced regression, graphical, and structural causal models that are being used in the project.
A digital Research Environment is actively used by the consortium to securely share and analyze data.
EXPANSE has an active User Stakeholder Panel actively giving input and feedback to guarantee the uptake of the data and insights generated by EXPANSE beyond the project itself.
EXPANSE is interacting with the other EHEN project in Working Groups and conferences.
External and internal communication of the EXPANSE project is performed via websites, newsletters, conferences and articles.
The following key results from EXPANSE project are expected to be delivered by the end of the project.
The Exposome toolbox is available for a large group of stakeholders like city planners, health officials, researchers to understand the impact of the exposome on health outcomes in and urban environment:
1) Exposome Maps tool will give access to maps showing various exposures in urban areas across Europe.
2) A proof of concept for the EXPOSOME Navigator tool will be developed allowing individuals to learn about their environment and how it can impact their health. It will be based on a mobile phone application called "EXPANSEEKER," which is currently used in EXPANSE Urban Labs.
3) The Reference Exposome. This tool will provide reference values and distributions for a wide range of exposures relevant to the urban environment.
An EXPANSE meta-data catalogue will provide information about key factors in the project's datasets. It will be a useful resource for stakeholders to find out what information is available and how to access it.
A dataset containing metabolomics and exposomics data from 10,000 samples collected from European cohorts will be created. This dataset will significantly contribute to our understanding of the internal exposome, its relationship with the urban environment, and its impact on health.
A dataset with detailed information from individuals participating in the EXPANSE urban labs, including geospatial tracking, physical activity, and other exposome-related data, will be available.
Novel statistical methods developed within EXPANSE will enable researchers to analyze data using EXPANSE resources and similar datasets outside the project. These methods will be shared through freely accessible repositories, conferences, and exposome short course series.
A practical way to include ethical thinking in discussions about exposome research has been developed with input from citizens.
An open-source agent-based model framework will be developed to help stakeholders assess the impact of different interventions on the urban exposome, including its effects on health.
The Exposome toolbox is available for a large group of stakeholders like city planners, health officials, researchers to understand the impact of the exposome on health outcomes in and urban environment:
1) Exposome Maps tool will give access to maps showing various exposures in urban areas across Europe.
2) A proof of concept for the EXPOSOME Navigator tool will be developed allowing individuals to learn about their environment and how it can impact their health. It will be based on a mobile phone application called "EXPANSEEKER," which is currently used in EXPANSE Urban Labs.
3) The Reference Exposome. This tool will provide reference values and distributions for a wide range of exposures relevant to the urban environment.
An EXPANSE meta-data catalogue will provide information about key factors in the project's datasets. It will be a useful resource for stakeholders to find out what information is available and how to access it.
A dataset containing metabolomics and exposomics data from 10,000 samples collected from European cohorts will be created. This dataset will significantly contribute to our understanding of the internal exposome, its relationship with the urban environment, and its impact on health.
A dataset with detailed information from individuals participating in the EXPANSE urban labs, including geospatial tracking, physical activity, and other exposome-related data, will be available.
Novel statistical methods developed within EXPANSE will enable researchers to analyze data using EXPANSE resources and similar datasets outside the project. These methods will be shared through freely accessible repositories, conferences, and exposome short course series.
A practical way to include ethical thinking in discussions about exposome research has been developed with input from citizens.
An open-source agent-based model framework will be developed to help stakeholders assess the impact of different interventions on the urban exposome, including its effects on health.