LongITools: Discovering Health Risks from Environmental Exposures for Stronger Policies
We spoke to Professor Sylvain Sebert about LongITools, a project that studies how environmental, biological, and lifestyle factors affect cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. As a part of the European Human Exposome Network, LongITools addresses exposome research challenges, develops models, and collaborates with policymakers for evidence-based recommendations.
The exposome is defined as the measure of all an individual’s environmental exposures in a lifetime and how those exposures relate to health. These factors include a wide range of exposures such as pollution, infections, chemicals, diet, urban and natural environments, socioeconomic factors, and lifestyle. Researchers studying the exposome aim to discover the cumulative effects of multiple environmental factors on health outcomes. This holistic approach moves away from the traditional “one exposure, one disease” approach.
The concept of the exposome, while fascinating, presents several challenges. One of the main difficulties lies in the assessment of the exposome itself. To accurately capture the many dynamic environmental exposures that influence health, researchers must consider hundreds of factors. Capturing the exposome requires numerous measurements using different technologies, making it complex and costly. Another challenge is establishing the nature of the association between multiple exposures and health outcomes. The multi-dimensional correlation structure across the exposome (e.g., air pollution is not independent from other risk factors) makes it difficult for existing statistical methods to accurately identify which and how exposures truly impact health and separate them from correlated exposures. However, ongoing exposome projects are working to overcome these challenges, aiming to improve our understanding of environmental risk factors and develop better prevention strategies.
LongITools is part of the European Human Exposome Network (EHEN), the largest network of research projects investigating the impact of environmental exposure on human health. It brings together nine projects involving 126 organizations across 24 countries, and it has received €106 million in funding from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program. Each project has a different focus, but all are investigating multiple exposures including air quality, noise, chemicals, and urbanization, and their association with various health outcomes like cardiovascular diseases, mental health disorders, and respiratory diseases.
Addressing the challenges of exposome research
How is the project facilitating the use of multiple data sets?
The LongITools consortium has access to a vast collection of life-course data, including studies on birth cohorts, longitudinal studies in adults, register-based cohorts, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and biobanks. These data sets encompass information from 24 studies involving over 11 million citizens from across Europe. They cover a wide range of variables such as height, weight, blood composition, employment, lifestyle factors, cholesterol, and more. A key objective of LongITools is to create a catalogue of longitudinal data sets (life-course cohorts and randomized clinical trials) within a findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) data infrastructure. This infrastructure will facilitate data discovery, access, and collaboration among longitudinal cohorts and clinical studies in Europe. In order to achieve this a metadata catalogue of harmonized variables has been developed as a result of collaboration with multiple past and ongoing European projects. The ‘European Networks Health Data and Cohort Catalogue’, provides comprehensive information
Developing new models to analyze the exposome
In the LongITools project, the challenges of analyzing the exposome are being addressed by the development of different modeling approaches to study the exposome and its complexities. The question that arises is how to identify what type of data is useful and how to potentially develop and recognize different types of environments. Researchers aim to develop models - exposome scores, to analyze the effect of different environmental factors on diseases like obesity or type 2 diabetes. These methods are applied at the population level in multiple countries, including Finland, the Netherlands, and the UK, with efforts to ensure comparability. Longitudinal analysis, which focuses on changes in the environment over time, is also a significant part of the research. Machine learning and other statistical approaches are utilized to analyze the data and uncover dynamics in the environment.
How can the LongITools project monitor and assess an individual’s health risk?
exposome data analysis tools and methodologies via a single platform and interact with them based on their needs and level of expertise. By increasing usability and interoperability, the toolbox will enhance research and support open science.
How can LongITools help policymakers?
LongITools
Dynamic longitudinal exposome trajectories in cardiovascular and metabolic non-communicable diseases
Project Objectives
on the data sets, such as type, population, number of participants, and variables. It includes a findability function enabling users to access rich metadata about the datasets, a harmonization mapping system, manuals to explain to users how to use the catalogue, and standard operating procedures. The catalogue is integrated into the MOLGENIS FAIR data platform.
Since all of these studies have been built independently from each other, there are variabilities in the way the data has been collected. Using more data increases statistical power and considers diverse populations and environments. However, combining different studies or data sets for specific research questions can be challenging. To overcome complexities, the project uses data harmonization to make variables consistent and comparable across different sources. This facilitates combining and analyzing data from multiple studies, ensuring reliability and applicability in research. The researchers hope that the sustainable catalogue approach will inspire other consortia to participate and promote multi-center exposome and health research in Europe. By enhancing the FAIRness of available data, along with other EHEN projects, they strive to accelerate research advancements.
The LongITools Health Risk Assessment System, designed with SMEs, is a modular e-health system used to monitor an individual’s risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The system comprises three core components, a smartphone app, an environmental hub and remote sensors, and AI-based predictive models. This innovative system allows for longitudinal monitoring of lifestyle and environmental exposure data, providing health risk assessments for individuals and potentially researchers and healthcare professionals. This is currently being piloted in Italy.
Accessing the project’s tools and methodologies
The project aims to share key outputs as widely and as openly as possible. The Exposome Data Analysis Toolbox is a user-friendly online toolbox that enables users to search for and use data analysis tools and visualization methodologies. Researchers will be able to access and use multiple
By collaborating with policymakers and key stakeholders, the project aims to provide opportunities that inform the research activity and facilitate the exchange of knowledge. The expected research outcomes of LongITools address the health needs of the population. By defining disease trajectories that occur due to the association between individual and societal health and the environment, the project hopes to educate policymakers about disease risk factors which could ultimately aid in building resilient environments and evidence-based health systems. The project is developing an Economic Simulation Platform, a policy evaluation tool that focuses on assessing and projecting the economic burden related to non-communicable diseases. For this aim, a validated dynamic microsimulation model is used to evaluate “what if” scenarios. This tool is of great importance for policymakers since it provides them with economic analysis and associated costs and benefits. The researchers will translate their findings into evidence-based policy recommendations that will be published in a policy briefing.
“We hope to find ways to design integrated health and environment policies that engage with citizens so that in collaboration, with policymakers, we may find effective and practical solutions that mitigate urban pollutions and climate change. We are observing a lot of effects of noise, air pollution and climate stress on individuals in terms of sleep, mental health, etc. The idea is to find solutions together. For example, what type of solutions could we find in urban design to improve the environment and citizen’s quality of life?” explains Prof. Sebert.
The main objective of LongITools is to study the collective impact of environmental, biological, and lifestyle factors on the risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The project aims to generate new methods and tools for monitoring and predicting environmental exposures and their impact on health. This research will result in innovative key outputs that inform both current and future policies.
Project Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 874739.
Project Partners https://longitools.org/partners/
Contact Details
Claire Webster
LongITools Press and Communications Manager Beta Technology LongITools Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Lead/Partner
T: +44 (0) 1302 322633
T: +44 7501 463317
E: claire.webster@betatechnology.co.uk
W: https://longitools.org/ W: www.betatechnology.co.uk
LongITools Project Coordinator Sylvain Sebert is a Professor of Life-course Epidemiology at the University of Oulu. He is leading the life-course epidemiology research group at the population health research unit and chairing the Northern Finland Birth Cohort executive board. He is also the Programme Director for the International Master of Epidemiology and Biomedical Data Science. His research interests include the exposome, obesity, epidemiology, climate change and health.