A peer-reviewed open access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Background: Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides has been shown to negatively affect child neurobehavioral development. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a key enzyme in the metabolism of organophosphates.Objective: We examined the relationship between biomarkers of organophosphate exposure, PON1, and cognitive development at ages 12 and 24 months and 6–9 years.Methods: The Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Study enrolled a multiethnic prenatal population in New York City between 1998 and 2002 (n = 404). Third-trimester maternal urine samples were collected and analyzed for organophosphate metabolites (n = 360). Prenatal maternal blood was analyzed for PON1 activity and genotype. Children returned for neurodevelopment assessments ages 12 months (n = 200), 24 months (n = 276), and 6–9 (n = 169) years of age.Results: Prenatal total dialkylphosphate metabolite level was associated with a decrement in mental development at 12 months among blacks and Hispanics. These associations appeared to be enha...

A peer-reviewed open access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Background: The term “exposome” was coined in 2005 to underscore the importance of the environment to human health and to bring research efforts in line with those on the human genome. The ability to characterize environmental exposures through biomonitoring is key to exposome research efforts. Objectives: Our objectives were to describe why traditional and nontraditional (exposomic) biomonitoring are both critical in studies aiming to capture the exposome and to make recommendations on how to transition exposure research toward exposomic approaches. We describe the biomonitoring needs of exposome research and approaches and recommendations that will help fill the gaps in the current science. Discussion: Traditional and exposomic biomonitoring approaches have key advantages and disadvantages for assessing exposure. Exposomic approaches differ from traditional biomonitoring methods in that they can include all exposures of potential health significance, whether from endogenous or exogenous sources. Issues of sample availability and quality, identification of unknown analytes, capture of nonpersistent chemicals, integration of methods, and statistical assessment of increasingly complex data sets remain challenges that must continue to be addressed. Conclusions: To understand the complexity of exposures faced throughout the lifespan, both traditional and nontraditional biomonitoring methods should be used. Through hybrid approaches and the integration of emerging techniques, biomonitoring strategies can be maximized in research to define the exposome. Citation: Dennis KK, Marder E, Balshaw DM, Cui Y, Lynes MA, Patti GJ, Rappaport SM, Shaughnessy DT, Vrijheid M, Barr DB. 2017. Biomonitoring in the era of the exposome. Environ Health Perspect 125:502–510; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP474