The Exposome Characterizes the Impact of Environmental Factors on Metabolism and Health

Current results of large and global epidemiological studies such as the Global Burden of Disease project suggest that in the year 2020 almost 2/3 of the annual global deaths are caused by chronic non-communicable diseases (e.g. atherosclerosis or diabetes). This is mostly due to the aging of people in western societies but is also secondary to the increasing exposure to soil, water and air pollution, traffic noise, mental stress factors and other environmental risk factors. Fifteen years ago the exposome concept was established to study the impact of our environment on health in more detail. The exposome describes the mostly harmful biochemical and metabolic changes that occur in our body by the total of different environmental exposures at a lifelong time scale and ultimately lead to adverse health effects and premature deaths. With the present overview we explain the exposome concept with the help of selected studies and highlight its relevance for future health research as well as preventive medicine, especially with respect to cardiovascular diseases and therapy.