Toward Capturing the Exposome: Exposure Biomarker Variability and Coexposure Patterns in the Shared Environment

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Toxicology
• Human Cohort Studies

Background:

• The exposome, encompassing environmental exposures, significantly influences human health.
• Understanding factors contributing to exposome variation is crucial for public health research.
• Shared household environments and partner's sex are potential influences on chemical exposures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of shared household and partner's sex on the variation of 128 endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) exposures among couples.
• To quantify the variance in EDC exposures attributable to shared household environments.
• To analyze sex-specific differences and coexposure patterns within couples.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 501 couples trying for pregnancy was studied.
• 128 persistent and nonpersistent EDCs were measured.
• Statistical analyses included sex-specific differences, variance explained by shared household, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (rs).

Main Results:

• Sex influenced 8 EDCs, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs).
• Shared households explained substantial variance for PFASs (43%) and blood metals (41%), but less than 20% for other EDC classes.
• Coexposure patterns were similar between sexes, with higher correlations for persistent than nonpersistent chemicals.

Conclusions:

• Individual environmental factors appear to be a major driver of exposome covariation, rather than shared household environments.
• Findings have significant analytical and sampling implications for exposomics research.
• Further research is needed to elucidate the complex interplay of factors shaping individual exposomes.