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Aims: We provide an overview of nationwide environmental data available for Denmark and its linkage potentials to individual-level records with the aim of promoting research on the potential impact of the local surrounding environment on human health., Background: Researchers in Denmark have unique opportunities for conducting large population-based studies treating the entire Danish population as one big, open and dynamic cohort based on nationally complete population and health registries. So far, most research in this area has utilised individual- and family-level information to study the clustering of disease in families, comorbidities, risk of, and prognosis after, disease onset, and social gradients in disease risk. Linking environmental data in time and space to individuals enables novel possibilities for studying the health effects of the social, built and physical environment., Methods: We describe the possible linkage between individuals and their local surrounding environment to establish the exposome - that is, the total environmental exposure of an individual over their life course., Conclusions: The currently available nationwide longitudinal environmental data in Denmark constitutes a valuable and globally rare asset that can help explore the impact of the exposome on human health ., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Traditional exposure studies provide valuable insights for epidemiology, toxicology, and risk assessment. Throughout their lives, individuals are exposed to thousands of stressors in the environment which are not static, but influenced by environmental, temporal, spatial, and even socio-demographic factors. Existing exposure studies have usually focused on specific stressors for a constrained period of time. In response, the concept of the exposome has been raised, which is defined as the totality of exposure experienced from conception until death. The EU FP7-ENVIRONMENT research project HEALS was launched with the aim of incorporating a series of novel technologies, data analysis, and modelling tools to efficiently support exposome studies in Europe. The authors have developed a framework of modelling tools for estimating the long-term external exposure of selected population groups to multiple stressors through different pathways. As the starting point, the stressors, including electromagnetic fields (EMF) and ultraviolet light (UV) through dermal uptake, phthalates (DEHP, DIDP, and DINP) through inhalation, as well as chromium, mercury, and lead through food intake, have been selected. The simulation for multiple stressors has been realised by developing a probabilistic model that integrates the micro-environment approach, time-activity patterns, and a life course trajectory model. The methodology has been applied to a selected sample of subjects enrolled in the Italian Twin Registry (ITR). The results show that long-term exposures to multiple stressors are affected by factors including age, gender, geographical location, and education level. The methods developed in this paper extended the temporal and spatial scales of exposure modelling in Europe. Moreover, the application of our methods provided a novel approach and crucial input data for future work on environment-wide association studies., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Elevated temperature and air pollution have been associated with increased mortality. Exposure to heat and air pollution, as well as the density of vulnerable groups varies within cities. The objective was to investigate the extent of neighbourhood differences in mortality risk due to heat and air pollution in a city with a temperate maritime climate., Methods: A case-crossover design was used to study associations between heat, air pollution and mortality. Different thermal indicators and air pollutants (PM10, NO2, O3) were reconstructed at high spatial resolution to improve exposure classification. Daily exposures were linked to individual mortality cases over a 15year period., Results: Significant interaction between maximum air temperature (Tamax) and PM10 was observed. During "summer smog" days (Tamax>25°C and PM10>50μg/m(3)), the mortality risk at lag 2 was 7% higher compared to the reference (Tamax 15°C and PM10 15μg/m(3)). Persons above age 85 living alone were at highest risk., Conclusion: We found significant synergistic effects of high temperatures and air pollution on mortality. Single living elderly were the most vulnerable group. Due to spatial differences in temperature and air pollution, mortality risks varied substantially between neighbourhoods, with a difference up to 7%., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Adverse health effects from exposure to air pollution are a global challenge and of widespread concern. Recent high ambient concentration episodes of air pollutants in European cities highlighted the dynamic nature of human exposure and the gaps in data and knowledge about exposure patterns. In order to support health impact assessment it is essential to develop a better understanding of individual exposure pathways in people's everyday lives by taking account of all environments in which people spend time. Here we describe the development, validation and results of an exposure method applied in a study conducted in Scotland. A low-cost particle counter based on light-scattering technology - the Dylos 1700 was used. Its performance was validated in comparison with equivalent instruments (TEOM-FDMS) at two national monitoring network sites (R(2)=0.9 at a rural background site, R(2)=0.7 at an urban background site). This validation also provided two functions to convert measured PNCs into calculated particle mass concentrations for direct comparison of concentrations with equivalent monitoring instruments and air quality limit values. This study also used contextual and time-based activity data to define six microenvironments (MEs) to assess everyday exposure of individuals to short-term PM2.5 concentrations. The Dylos was combined with a GPS receiver to track movement and exposure of individuals across the MEs. Seventeen volunteers collected 35 profiles. Profiles may have a different overall duration and structure with respect to times spent in different MEs and activities undertaken. Results indicate that due to the substantial variability across and between MEs, it is essential to measure near-complete exposure pathways to allow for a comprehensive assessment of the exposure risk a person encounters on a daily basis. Taking into account the information gained through personal exposure measurements, this work demonstrates the added value of data generated by the application of low-cost monitors., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This paper presents the design and development of an open source web-based Geographical Information System allowing users to visualise, customise and interact with spatial data within their web browser. The developed application shows that by using solely Open Source software it was possible to develop a customisable web based GIS application that provides functions necessary to convey health and environmental data to experts and non-experts alike without the requirement of proprietary software., (© 2012 Evans and Sabel; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.)

The aetiology of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is uncertain. While around 10% is assumed to be inherited, the relative influence of genetic versus physical or social environmental factors (or some combination of the two) has yet to be determined. A previous study identified significant clustering of ALS at the time of birth in south-east Finland and this could support either a genetic or an environmental hypothesis. We know that south-east Finland is an environmentally degraded area, but the population in this region may also be genetically susceptible to this condition. We therefore extend this research by comparing the lifetime residential histories of 1000 ALS cases and 1000 controls matched by birth date, sex and municipality of birth. By focusing on those who originated in the south-east, and comparing the subsequent residential mobility of these two groups, we test whether remaining in south-east Finland is more common among cases than controls and, hence, whether there may be an environmental or genetic influence on ALS associated with that region. Our results indeed suggest that the cases were more likely to remain in south-east Finland after birth, compared to the geographically matched controls. This suggests that moving away is protective, and points towards a risk factor after birth being implicated in the aetiology of the disease.

The International Initiative on Spatial Lifecourse Epidemiology (ISLE) convened its first International Symposium on Lifecourse Epidemiology and Spatial Science at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, Netherlands, 16-20 July 2018. Its aim was to further an emerging transdisciplinary field: Spatial Lifecourse Epidemiology. This field draws from a broad perspective of scientific disciplines including lifecourse epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, community health, spatial science, health geography, biostatistics, spatial statistics, environmental science, climate change, exposure science, health economics, evidence-based public health, and landscape ecology. The participants, spanning 30 institutions in 10 countries, sought to identify the key issues and research priorities in spatial lifecourse epidemiology. The results published here are a synthesis of the top 10 list that emerged out of the discussion by a panel of leading experts, reflecting a set of grand challenges for spatial lifecourse epidemiology in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]