Relationship between exposure and health outcomes
Project
|Published
At PARC, we are investigating the association between chemical concentrations measured in humans and their various health effects.
Summary
It is important to understand the extent to which exposure to unwanted substances leads to negative health effects. At PARC, we are investigating the association between chemical concentrations measured in humans and their health effects.
The participants (or the parents of the participants) completed questionnaires when the samples were collected. The health effects covered include asthma and allergies, overweight and obesity, and neurodevelopment. The responses to the questionnaires also contained other important information such as age, gender and family income. We have also measured markers that are so-called "biomarkers for effect" in the same samples. These biomarkers can show early changes or effects in the body before the disease develops.
An advantage of PARC is that several substances to which one is exposed at the same time will be measured. This means that we can study the "effect" of individual chemicals, but also at a cocktail of chemicals. PARC gives us the opportunity to collect and analyse data from several countries, which provides a large study population and varied exposure levels.
The results from this type of study show whether there is an association between the substances and health, and if so, whether there is a limit to exposure before any effect is seen, and the size of the effect. This knowledge is combined with toxicological studies and used in risk assessment.
FHI is involved in several of the epidemiological studies in PARC and in the work to calculate the disease burden of certain chemicals.