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Harmonization of Human Biomonitoring Studies in Europe: Characteristics of the HBM4EU-Aligned Studies Participants

Author

Listed:
  • Liese Gilles

    (VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), 2400 Mol, Belgium)

  • Eva Govarts

    (VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), 2400 Mol, Belgium)

  • Laura Rodriguez Martin

    (VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), 2400 Mol, Belgium)

  • Anna-Maria Andersson

    (Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital-Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Brice M. R. Appenzeller

    (Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 1445 Strassen, Luxembourg)

  • Fabio Barbone

    (Department of Medicine—DAME, University of Udine, Via Colugna 50, 33100 Udine, Italy)

  • Argelia Castaño

    (Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental (CNSA), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain)

  • Dries Coertjens

    (Department of Sociology, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Elly Den Hond

    (Provincial Institute for Hygiene, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Vazha Dzhedzheia

    (Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
    HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Bldg. B, 10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Road, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Ivan Eržen

    (National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Marta Esteban López

    (Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental (CNSA), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain)

  • Lucia Fábelová

    (Faculty of Public Health, Slovak Medical University, 833 03 Bratislava, Slovakia)

  • Clémence Fillol

    (Santé Publique France, Environmental and Occupational Health Division, 94415 Saint-Maurice, France)

  • Carmen Franken

    (Provincial Institute for Hygiene, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Hanne Frederiksen

    (Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital-Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Catherine Gabriel

    (Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
    HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Bldg. B, 10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Road, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Line Småstuen Haug

    (Division for Climate and Environmental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, Norway)

  • Milena Horvat

    (Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Thórhallur Ingi Halldórsson

    (Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Beata Janasik

    (Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine (NIOM), 91-348 Lodz, Poland)

  • Nataša Janev Holcer

    (Croatian Institute of Public Health, Division for Environmental Health, 1000 Zagreb, Croatia
    Department of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia)

  • Réka Kakucs

    (National Public Health Center, 1097 Budapest, Hungary)

  • Spyros Karakitsios

    (Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
    HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Bldg. B, 10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Road, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Andromachi Katsonouri

    (Cyprus State General Laboratory, Ministry of Health , P.O. Box 28648, 2081 Nicosia, Cyprus)

  • Jana Klánová

    (Masaryk University Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX), 625 00 Bohunice, Czech Republic)

  • Tina Kold-Jensen

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense, Denmark)

  • Marike Kolossa-Gehring

    (German Environment Agency (UBA), 14195 Berlin, Germany)

  • Corina Konstantinou

    (Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, 3603 Limassol, Cyprus)

  • Jani Koponen

    (Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), P.O. Box 30, 00271 Helsinki, Finland)

  • Sanna Lignell

    (Swedish Food Agency, 751 26 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Anna Karin Lindroos

    (Swedish Food Agency, 751 26 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Konstantinos C. Makris

    (Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, 3603 Limassol, Cyprus)

  • Darja Mazej

    (Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Bert Morrens

    (Department of Sociology, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Ľubica Palkovičová Murínová

    (Faculty of Public Health, Slovak Medical University, 833 03 Bratislava, Slovakia)

  • Sónia Namorado

    (National Institute of Health, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
    Public Health Research Centre, NOVA National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1099-085 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Susana Pedraza-Diaz

    (Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental (CNSA), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain)

  • Jasmin Peisker

    (German Environment Agency (UBA), 14195 Berlin, Germany)

  • Nicole Probst-Hensch

    (Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
    Department of Clinical Research, University of Basel, 4051 Basel, Switzerland)

  • Loïc Rambaud

    (Santé Publique France, Environmental and Occupational Health Division, 94415 Saint-Maurice, France)

  • Valentina Rosolen

    (Institute for Maternal and Child Health—IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, 34137 Trieste, Italy)

  • Enrico Rucic

    (German Environment Agency (UBA), 14195 Berlin, Germany)

  • Maria Rüther

    (German Environment Agency (UBA), 14195 Berlin, Germany)

  • Dimosthenis Sarigiannis

    (Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
    HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Bldg. B, 10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi Road, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
    Environmental Health Engineering, Institute of Advanced Study, Palazzo del Broletto—Piazza della Vittoria 15, 27100 Pavia, Italy)

  • Janja Snoj Tratnik

    (Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Arnout Standaert

    (VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), 2400 Mol, Belgium)

  • Lorraine Stewart

    (UK Health Security Agency, London SE1 8UG, UK)

  • Tamás Szigeti

    (National Public Health Center, 1097 Budapest, Hungary)

  • Cathrine Thomsen

    (Division for Climate and Environmental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, Norway)

  • Hanna Tolonen

    (Department of Health Security, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), P.O. Box 95, 70701 Kuopio, Finland)

  • Ása Eiríksdóttir

    (Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • An Van Nieuwenhuyse

    (Department Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé, 3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg)

  • Veerle J. Verheyen

    (VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), 2400 Mol, Belgium
    Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Jelle Vlaanderen

    (Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Nina Vogel

    (German Environment Agency (UBA), 14195 Berlin, Germany)

  • Wojciech Wasowicz

    (Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine (NIOM), 91-348 Lodz, Poland)

  • Till Weber

    (German Environment Agency (UBA), 14195 Berlin, Germany)

  • Jan-Paul Zock

    (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands)

  • Ovnair Sepai

    (UK Health Security Agency, London SE1 8UG, UK)

  • Greet Schoeters

    (VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), 2400 Mol, Belgium
    Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium)

Abstract

Human biomonitoring has become a pivotal tool for supporting chemicals’ policies. It provides information on real-life human exposures and is increasingly used to prioritize chemicals of health concern and to evaluate the success of chemical policies. Europe has launched the ambitious REACH program in 2007 to improve the protection of human health and the environment. In October 2020 the EU commission published its new chemicals strategy for sustainability towards a toxic-free environment. The European Parliament called upon the commission to collect human biomonitoring data to support chemical’s risk assessment and risk management. This manuscript describes the organization of the first HBM4EU-aligned studies that obtain comparable human biomonitoring (HBM) data of European citizens to monitor their internal exposure to environmental chemicals. The HBM4EU-aligned studies build on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies. The HBM4EU-aligned studies focus on three age groups: children, teenagers, and adults. The participants are recruited between 2014 and 2021 in 11 to 12 primary sampling units that are geographically distributed across Europe. Urine samples are collected in all age groups, and blood samples are collected in children and teenagers. Auxiliary information on socio-demographics, lifestyle, health status, environment, and diet is collected using questionnaires. In total, biological samples from 3137 children aged 6–12 years are collected for the analysis of biomarkers for phthalates, HEXAMOLL ® DINCH, and flame retardants. Samples from 2950 teenagers aged 12–18 years are collected for the analysis of biomarkers for phthalates, Hexamoll ® DINCH, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and samples from 3522 adults aged 20–39 years are collected for the analysis of cadmium, bisphenols, and metabolites of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The children’s group consists of 50.4% boys and 49.5% girls, of which 44.1% live in cities, 29.0% live in towns/suburbs, and 26.8% live in rural areas. The teenagers’ group includes 50.6% girls and 49.4% boys, with 37.7% of residents in cities, 31.2% in towns/suburbs, and 30.2% in rural areas. The adult group consists of 52.6% women and 47.4% men, 71.9% live in cities, 14.2% in towns/suburbs, and only 13.4% live in rural areas. The study population approaches the characteristics of the general European population based on age-matched EUROSTAT EU-28, 2017 data; however, individuals who obtained no to lower educational level (ISCED 0–2) are underrepresented. The data on internal human exposure to priority chemicals from this unique cohort will provide a baseline for Europe’s strategy towards a non-toxic environment and challenges and recommendations to improve the sampling frame for future EU-wide HBM surveys are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Liese Gilles & Eva Govarts & Laura Rodriguez Martin & Anna-Maria Andersson & Brice M. R. Appenzeller & Fabio Barbone & Argelia Castaño & Dries Coertjens & Elly Den Hond & Vazha Dzhedzheia & Ivan Eržen, 2022. "Harmonization of Human Biomonitoring Studies in Europe: Characteristics of the HBM4EU-Aligned Studies Participants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-23, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6787-:d:830049
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jurgen Buekers & Madlen David & Gudrun Koppen & Jos Bessems & Martin Scheringer & Erik Lebret & Denis Sarigiannis & Marike Kolossa-Gehring & Marika Berglund & Greet Schoeters & Xenia Trier, 2018. "Development of Policy Relevant Human Biomonitoring Indicators for Chemical Exposure in the European Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, September.
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    1. Paul A. Schulte & George L. Delclos & Sarah A. Felknor & Jessica M. K. Streit & Michelle McDaniel & L. Casey Chosewood & Lee S. Newman & Faiyaz A. Bhojani & Rene Pana-Cryan & Naomi G. Swanson, 2022. "Expanding the Focus of Occupational Safety and Health: Lessons from a Series of Linked Scientific Meetings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-21, November.

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