Descrizione del progetto
Il ruolo dei fattori ambientali nella salute del fegato pediatrico
Un fegato in cattiva salute rappresenta un problema con conseguenze di lungo termine. Nel mondo occidentale, si registrano livelli sempre più elevati di marcatori di lesioni epatiche e di steatosi epatica non alcolica pediatrica in giovane età. Finanziato dal programma di azioni Marie Skłodowska-Curie, il progetto LIVER-X si occuperà del contributo fornito da un ambiente complesso alla salute del fegato durante l’infanzia e non solo. Il progetto seguirà un approccio esposomico per lo studio degli impatti ambientali servendosi di biomonitoraggio e dati di esposizione geospaziale raccolti durante la gravidanza e l’infanzia, le fasi più vulnerabili della vita. Le tecniche di analisi avanzate forniranno prove sugli effetti combinati e individuali di molteplici fattori ambientali sui marcatori di lesioni epatiche nell’infanzia e nell’adolescenza.
Obiettivo
LIVER-X addresses an important question: how does the environment impact the developmental origins of liver health and disease?
Poor liver health in childhood represents a major public health problem with long-term consequences. Elevated alanine aminotransferase, a marker of liver injury and screening tool for pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk, is increasingly reported at young ages, currently being detected in almost one out of ten children living in Europe and the western world. Although it is well known that an obesogenic diet and genetic predisposition play a role in the development of liver injury and disease, the contribution of the complex environment in which we grow up and live remains unclear. LIVER-X addresses this knowledge gap. The project will leverage the resources of the population-based HELIX and Generation R cohorts and follow an exposome-wide approach to the study of environmental impact by using rich biomonitoring and geospatial exposure data collected at the vulnerable early stages of the lifecourse (pregnancy and childhood). Advanced analysis techniques will be used to provide novel evidence on the individual and combined effects of a wide array of early-life ubiquitous environmental factors, including industrial chemical pollutants, toxic metals, air pollution, and characteristics of the urban natural and built environment, on liver injury markers in childhood and adolescence. The project will also assess whether children’s diet quality and polygenic risk for NAFLD modify vulnerability to environmental impact, and thus aid in identifying susceptible subpopulations and environmental priorities.
LIVER-X fosters research cooperation across disciplines and knowledge transfer. The project aligns with urgent challenges related to environmental pollution, the urban environment and the health of future generations, and thus its results are expected to be of high relevance for researchers, policy makers, and European citizens.
Campo scientifico
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic health
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineobstetrics
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinehepatology
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinatore
08036 Barcelona
Spagna