Client/Funder: European Commission 

Brief summary of work: EPHOR will develop methods and tools to better characterise the working-life exposome.  This is achieved by combining two unique elements. The first is an international large-scale pooling of existing cohort data to create the EPHOR mega cohort. The second is collecting new, individual-level high-resolution data in case studies on external and internal exposures and biological mechanisms.

What is the working life exposome?

The working life exposome refers to the role of work with respect to all the other environmental and lifestyle risk factors that contribute to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Working life exposures can lead to many diseases. The total burden of disease caused by occupational exposure is ~6%, similar to the burden from urban air pollution or obesity. Associated economic costs of NCDs caused by working life related exposures vary between 2-6% of a country’s GDP in the EU. 

Therefore, ensuring a safe and healthy work environment is a strategic goal for the European Commission. Current risk reduction policies and strategies are informed by the existing scientific evidence and estimates of the burden of occupational NCDs. 

However, knowledge is lacking on: effects of multiple working life related exposures in relation to possible multiple disease outcomes; the effects of unknown exposures; vulnerable life stages and subpopulations of individuals that are more susceptible; the causality between working life exposure and health effects via biological pathways.

As part of EPHOR, IOM participates in a number of areas.

1. IOM leads the development of a methodology to assess the external exposome. In collaboration with partners, we have developed a protocol integrating novel methods for exposure assessment, including wearable sensors for environmental and lifestyle risk factors, passive chemical samplers that can measure a wide range of substances, and use of a phone app for daily questionnaires. These data will be used to understand study participants’ ‘exposome profiles’, meaning the range of exposures they may encounter across their daily lives.
2. IOM is leading co-creation work with occupational hygiene practitioners to understand the potential for use of a newer generation wearable and other sensors to help manage exposure risks in the workplace.
3. IOM is also contributing to work done in EPHOR to evaluate current knowledge on occupational factors that contribute to a number of common chronic diseases.
4. IOM working with partners to engage different stakeholders around EPHOR outcomes, especially policymakers and occupational health and hygiene practitioners.

Collaborative partners: TNO, ISGlobal, Aarhus Universitet, Karolinska Institutet, KU Leuven, STAMI, University of Manchester, Universiteit Utrecht, INSERM, FIOH, PDA, VTEC-Engineering, Universitetet i Bergen, Lifeglimmer, Owlstone, Interaktiv GmbH, Cyprus University of Technology, SLL, NFA 

Project website: https://www.ephor-project.eu/