Questionnaire-based exposome-wide association studies for common diseases in the Personalized Environment and Genes...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health Sciences
• Genomics and Epigenetics
• Public Health

Background:

• The exposome, encompassing all environmental exposures from conception throughout life, is crucial for understanding human health and disease.
• Existing research on the exposome's impact on complex diseases is limited, hindering comprehensive health risk assessments.
• Individual genetic and epigenetic factors interact with the exposome, influencing disease susceptibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct an exposome-wide association study (ExWAS) to identify associations between various exposures and 11 common complex diseases.
• To characterize the exposome's relationship with human health using data from the Personalized Environment and Genes Study (PEGS).
• To differentiate between novel and replicated exposure-disease findings using an AI-powered literature search.

Main Methods:

• Utilized extensive questionnaire data from 9,429 participants in the North Carolina-based Personalized Environment and Genes Study (PEGS).
• Performed an exposome-wide association study (ExWAS) to analyze single exposure models against 11 common complex diseases.
• Employed an AI-based literature search tool to validate findings against existing scientific evidence.

Main Results:

• Identified significant associations between diseases and lifestyle factors, socioeconomic status, and environmental exposures including asbestos, dusts, biohazardous material, and textiles.
• Discovered disease-specific associations, such as the link between fishing with lead weights and migraines.
• Confirmed replicated findings for lifestyle factors like sleep and smoking, and identified novel associations for occupational exposures across multiple diseases.

Conclusions:

• The exposome plays a significant role in the development of common complex diseases.
• Lifestyle, socioeconomic, and occupational exposures are key components of the exposome impacting health.
• This study highlights both established and previously unrecognized environmental and occupational risk factors for various diseases.