HELIX
Novel tools for integrating early-life environmental exposures and child health across Europe
- Duración
- 2013-2017
- Coordinador
- Martine Vrijheid (ISGlobal)
- Financiadores
- Comisión Europea. Seventh Framework Programme
- Página web
- http://www.projecthelix.eu
Due to our ever changing environment and habits, exposure to environmental contaminants is growing increasingly complex. The totality of environmental (non-genetic) exposures from conception until old age is defined as the ‘exposome’. The HELIX ‘early-life exposome’ approach involves combining all environmental hazards that mothers and children are exposed to, and linking this to the health, growth and development of children.
Pregnancy and the early years of life are well recognized to be periods of high susceptibility to environmental damage with lifetime consequences. Characterisation of the exposome in early life can provide very effective tools for disease prevention, given that interventions at that time can reshape biological programming and shift the body’s developmental track to the normal function. This makes early life an important starting point for development of the exposome.
The results of the project will help us to better understand how various types of exposures combine to influence our risk of disease.
The project will develop a comprehensive set of high-tech tools, methods and prospective data to measure and integrate the chemical, physical and molecular environment and link this to health of children. Smart phones are used to measure air pollution, UV radiation, physical activity and noise exposure. The latest laboratory techniques is used to measure biological indicators of many chemical exposures including contaminants in food, consumer products and water. In all, HELIX will collect full exposome data from 1,200 mothers and their children, the largest study to do this.
To achieve this, HELIX uses six existing, prospective birth cohort studies in Europe (BiB, EDEN, INMA, KANC, MoBa, Rhea). These cohorts have already collected large amounts of data as part of national and EU-funded projects. Results will be integrated with Europe-wide data to estimate health impacts at the larger European scale.
HELIX is funded by the EU and will receive €8.6 million over the course of five years. The project comprises of thirteen European partners, including two SMEs.
Related blog posts
Endocrine Disruptors—What Do They Disrupt?
The Exposome: Understanding the Effect of the Environment on Our Health
Nuestro equipo
Investigador principal (IP)
- Martine Vrijheid Jefa del programa de Infancia y medio ambiente, Research Professor y Coordinadora de la Cohorte INMA-Sabadell
Equipo ISGlobal
- Jose Barrera Gomez
- Xavier Basagaña Associate Research Professor
- Mariona Bustamante Staff Scientist
- Maria Isabel Casas Sanahuja
- Montserrat De Castro Técnica GIS
- Diana Clemente Investigadora predoctoral
Otros proyectos
Ver proyectos pasadosATHLETE
Advancing Tools for Human Early Lifecourse Exposome Research and Translation
HELIX-NAFLD
Developmental origins of child liver injury: the effect of early life environmental exposures
EGG/EAGLE
Early Genetics Growth/Early Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology
PACE
Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics
European Human Biomonitoring Initiative
HBM4EU
APACHE
Air Pollution, Autism spectrum disorders, and brain imaging in CHildren amongst Europe
LIFECYCLE
Early-life stressors and LifeCycle health
Ventanas de vulnerabilidad pre-natal y post-natal en el riesgo de retraso en el neurodesarrollo asociado a la contaminación particulada del aire
STOP - Childhood Obesity
Science and Technology in childhood Obesity Policy
MOOD-COVID
Pre- and post-natal Maternal mental health and newbOrn neurOdevelopment during the COVID-19 panDemic
EUCAN-Connect
A federated FAIR platform enabling large-scale analysis of high-value cohort data connecting Europe and Canada in personalized health
OBERON
An integrative strategy of testing systems for identification of EDs related to metabolic disorders
The Lungfit Project
Socioeconomic Status, Physical Activity, and Respiratory Health in Pregnant Women, Children, and Adolescents
ExPEC-TEEN
Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Pollutants and Metabolic and Cardiovascular Health of the Teenagers
AURORA 2021
Actionable eUropean ROadmap for early-life health Risk Assessment of micro- and nanoplastics
H2020-New URBAN_X
External and Internal Human Exposure in Urban EXposome
UrbaMet
Entorno Urbano y Salud Cardiometabólica desde el Nacimiento hasta la Adolescencia
NutriPROGRAM
Early-life Nutritional Programming of Metabolic Health through Epigenetic Pathways
ONES
Fine Particle Matter, Fetal Growth, and Neurodevelopment: Examining Critical Windows of Susceptibility
AIR-NB
Pre-natal exposure to urban AIR pollution and pre- and post-Natal Brain development
FRONTIER
Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Birth Weight: the Roles of Noise, Placental Function, Green Space, Physical Activity, and Socioeconomic Status
The APBO Project
Air Pollution and Birth Outcomes: Windows of Exposure and Health and Economic Impact Assessment
INMA-Ado-Sueño
Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, Noise, and Sleep Disorders in Adolescence
ANSES HyPAXE
Prenatal Exposure to a Family of Short Half-Life Endocrine Disruptors, Dysregulation of the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis and Potential Implication for Child Neurodevelopment at Early Age
Air Pollution, Placental ‘Small Non-Coding RNAs’ and Brain Development
Contaminació atmosfèrica durant l’embaràs i primers anys de vida, miRNAs i salut infantil
The Role of Stress and Stress Reactivity in Mediating Impacts of Air Pollutants on the Brain and Lungs
EXPO-ENFANTS
Caractérisation des usages et de l’exposition aux radiofréquences induite par les dispositifs de communication mobiles chez les enfants
Lilli
Light at Night Exposure and Sleep Quality
EMBRYORAD
Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields, Other Environmental Factors, and Development of the Embryo and Fetus
El impacto de la exposición al metaboloma de esteroides materno-fetales en el crecimiento infantil y los resultados neurológicos (IGRO)
Project Code: PI21/01269
NutinBrain
The role of seafood and nut consumption on human neurodevelopment from pregnancy to adolescence
ALTER - Contaminación del aire, microbiota intestinal y neurodesarrollo en los primeros 24 meses de vida
Project Code: PI21/01278
UrbanKids
Urban and social environment and childhood obesity – a natural moving2health experiment
5G expOsure, causaL effects, and rIsk perception through citizen engAgemenT
GOLIAT
Subclinical Infections in Children and Long Term Health Effects
Infection acquisition in early life and health outcomes in childhood - MARATO TV3
Base genética materna y fetal de la función placentaria
Project Code: PI20/01116