ENDOLUNG

Duration

2017-2019

Coordinator

Maribel Casas (ISGlobal)

Funded by

Instituto de Salud Juan Carlos III - Unión Europea

Background

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), widely used in many consumer products, can alter lung development and increase the risk of childhood asthma. There are currently very few prospective studies and they have focused on the effects of bisphenol A (BPA), although there are many other phenolic compounds that can interfere with the developing respiratory system. The rapid increase of asthma prevalence and the widespread exposure to EDCs have raised concerns about their potential role in asthma development.

Aim

ENDOLUNG aims to examine whether pre and postnatal exposure to EDCs, specifically phenolic compounds including BPA, influence childhood lung function and asthma through early adolescence.

Methods

The project will use several existing population-based birth cohort studies: the Spanish INMA, the Dutch GENERATION R, and the European HELIX cohort, including a total of 2566 mother-child pairs. The project will develop a comprehensive exposure assessment for EDCs by analyzing them in repeated urine samples collected during pregnancy and childhood. ENDOLUNG will develop a novel asthma phenotype characterization by constructing longitudinal growth trajectories of lung function through early adolescence and by using different instruments including asthma symptoms, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, and reversibility test. The team will study the role of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in the association between phenolic compounds and lung function and asthma.

Implications

ENDOLUNG will be the first and the largest study so far combining data from different European countries and is expected to strongly contribute to the evidence of presence or absence of effects of EDCs on respiratory health.

Total Funding

121.500 euros.

Este proyecto está cofinanciado por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). “Una manera de hacer Europa”