Integrating human biomonitoring exposure data into a primary care morbidity database: a feasibility study

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• A per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution hotspot in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, prompted health investigations.
• Human biomonitoring (HBM) studies collected exposure data from over 10,000 participants.
• Linking HBM data with primary care health registries offers a novel environmental health analysis tool.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of linking per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure data from HBM studies to health outcomes in the Intego primary care registry.
• To describe the data integration process, analysis plan, and challenges of combining HBM and electronic health record data.

Main Methods:

• Integration of HBM data from a PFAS study (796 individuals) into the Intego primary care morbidity database.
• Adherence to strict privacy regulations and quality standards during data integration.
• Description of the methodology for future, larger-scale environmental health impact assessments.

Main Results:

• Successful integration of HBM data into the Intego database was established.
• The current sample size precluded drawing conclusions on PFAS health impacts.
• Future studies with larger datasets (over 10,000 residents) are anticipated.

Conclusions:

• A novel approach for assessing environmental health hazards in primary care settings has been introduced.
• The outlined methods support larger-scale projects and long-term environmental health monitoring.
• This integrated data approach shows promise for future public health research.