Exposure-Informed Care Following Toxic Environmental Exposures: A Lifestyle Medicine Approach

Exposure to environmental toxins presents substantial health risks, particularly for individuals facing heightened exposure due to occupational hazards. This analytic review highlights the critical need to address these risks through a lifestyle medicine approach, advocating for integrated care strategies to mitigate the long-term health impacts of toxic environmental exposures. We explore exposures to environmental toxins in 2 at-risk populations, military service members exposed to airborne hazards and burn pits during overseas deployments and first responders to the World Trade Center terrorist attack. The review highlights the immediate and long-term chronic health effects of toxic environmental exposures, emphasizing the variable symptoms, long latency, and long-term complex outcomes that necessitate an exposure-informed health care model. Exposure-informed care can enhance overall well-being and reduce the risks of chronic illnesses by incorporating lifestyle medicine principles supported by a learning community system. The proposed model makes recommendations for a shift to exposure-informed preventative care. This enhanced approach aims to promote a longer and healthier life for those at increased risks following toxic environmental exposures. Understanding the context of military burn pit and World Trade Center environmental exposures and the possibilities of exposure-informed care is paramount in shifting from a traditional disease-centered model to a holistic, person-centered approach.