{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]],"date-time":"2026-07-03T09:19:07Z","timestamp":1783070347376,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775088000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775088000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Urbanisation can be an important determinant of human exposure to synthetic chemical pollutants. The impact of contaminant exposures on health is of particular concern during susceptible periods of life, such as in utero and during childhood, when exposure may lead to adverse health effects in childhood and later adulthood.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We aimed to examine how contaminant exposures vary between urban and non-urban areas across five different European birth cohorts in Spain, France, Greece, the UK, and Lithuania.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Urine and blood samples were collected from a total of 1021 mother-child pairs during both pregnancy and childhood (6\u201311 years old). Concentration levels of forty metabolites\u2014including PFASs, phenols, phthalates, metals, and organophosphate and persistent pesticide metabolites\u2014were measured. We used a spatial indicator to define the participants\u2019 degree of urbanisation. Linear Mixed-Effect Models were used to compare the distribution of exposures between urban and non-urban areas for the two life stages separately.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The concentrations of contaminants varied by degree of urbanisation and life stage. Overall, concentrations of phenols (GMRs; Geometric Mean Ratios, ranging from 1.06 to 1.56) and PCBs (GMRs ranging from 1.07 to 1.15) were higher among pregnant mothers living in urban areas compared to those in non-urban areas. Children showed more heterogeneous patterns of exposure across contaminant families. Children in urban areas had lower concentration levels of PFASs (GMRs ranging from 0.84 to 0.97) but higher concentration levels of phenols (GMRs ranging from 1.05 to 1.15) and phthalates (GMRs ranging from 1.05 to 1.17) compared to those in non-urban areas.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Significance<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our study contributes to the understanding of how the degree of urbanisation characterises children\u2019s exposure to hazardous substances. Our findings align with the existing literature, which shows varying profiles of environmental exposures based on different degrees of urbanisation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Impact<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our study provides important insights into how the degree of urbanisation can influence children\u2019s exposure to hazardous substances during critical developmental windows, with potential implications for both immediate and long-term health outcomes. Specifically, phenols, phthalates, and PCBs were found to be more prevalent in individuals living in urban areas, with notable heterogeneity of PCB concentrations across European cohorts. In contrast, PFAS concentrations were higher in children residing in non-urban areas. Understanding the geographic variations in exposure to hazardous contaminants is useful for identifying areas with higher contaminant levels, which may have important implications for vulnerable populations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41370-026-00859-6","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T08:31:54Z","timestamp":1775118714000},"page":"619-628","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Chemical exposome patterns in mothers and children across urbanisation levels in five European birth cohorts"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"36","author":[{"given":"A.","family":"d\u2019Errico","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"G.","family":"Moirano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"C.","family":"Pizzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Popovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"L.","family":"Chatzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Andrusaityte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"R.","family":"Grazuleviciene","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"R.","family":"Slama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"R.","family":"McEachan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"T.C.,","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"C.","family":"Thomsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Vrijheid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"L.","family":"Richiardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Maule","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"859_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8337","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17228337","volume":"17","author":"EA Cohen Hubal","year":"2020","unstructured":"Cohen Hubal EA, Reif DM, Slover R, Mullikin A, Little JC. 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Each cohort also confirmed that relevant informed consent and approval were in place for secondary use of data from pre-existing data. The work in HELIX was covered by new ethics approvals in each country, and at enrolment in the HELIX sub-cohort and panel studies participants were asked to sign an informed consent form for the specific HELIX work including clinical examination and biospecimen collection and analysis. An Ethics Task Force was established to support the HELIX project on ethical issues, for advice on the project\u2019s ethical compliance, identification and alerting to changes in legislation where applicable. Specific procedures are in place within HELIX to safeguard the privacy of study subjects and confidentiality of data. First, any reported study results pertain to analyses of aggregate data; no variables or combination of variables that can identify an individual will be associated with any published or unpublished report of this study. Primary databases with personal information (such as geocodes, dates, questionnaires or health outcomes) have been stored on separate computers with personal identifiers removed. Subjects are identified by a unique study number, linking all basic data required for the study. The master key file linking the study numbers with personal identifiers is maintained in each cohort. For the dataset analysis, all information that enables identification of an individual (dates, geocodes, etc) is removed before distribution of datasets to the researchers. All data exchanges will adhere to the most up-to-date EU and national data protection regulations.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}}]}}