Urban environment and early markers of cardiometabolic health in young adults

Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CMD) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, including myocardial infarction, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Although young people are not typically affected by CMD, the risk factors for these conditions are present during the early years of life, affecting long-term disease risk and the disease burden in the adulthood.

Air pollution, transportation noise, and greenness are among the modifiable risk factors that may influence cardiometabolic health.

Previous research on causes of CVD often focuses on single risk factors while effects from multiple environmental exposures in young adults are understudied.

This project aims to investigate how air pollution, transportation noise and neighborhood greenness contribute to the development of a wide range of early markers of CMD and to elucidate characteristics that may modify the relation between environmental exposures and CMD traits.

The project will be based on the prospective population-based birth cohort BAMSE comprising 4000 individuals followed from birth up to young adulthood with repeated questionnaires and extensive clinical investigations. Exposure to environmental factors is estimated based on residential address history.

The results of the project will serve as a basis for policy makers in decision making processes, particularly related to environmental policies and urban planning as well as for individual risk assessment and prevention in clinical practice.