The EU exposome project for health and occupational research (EPHOR): overall experiences, lessons learnt and future prospects: abstract

Objective The EPHOR project (2020–2025) aims to move beyond the conventional ‘one exposure – one outcome’ paradigm by investigating complex working-life exposures in relation to a wide range of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The goal is to lay the groundwork for cost-effective evidence-based prevention by generating: (i) Improved knowledge on how multiple exposures in the working-life exposome relate to NCDs, and; (ii) Innovative methods for collecting, storing, and interpreting exposome data in occupational settings. Material and Methods The project combines in-depth exposome investigations in two case studies: night shift work and respiratory disease with large-scale analyses of existing cohorts. New methods were developed to assess both external (e.g. sensor-based) and internal (e.g. noninvasive biological sampling) exposures. For cohort-based analyses, efforts included a comprehensive inventory of European cohorts, development of a harmonized job exposure matrix (EuroJEM), and methods for handling multiple exposures. Results This presentation concludes the symposium by summarizing key lessons learned and outlining future prospects. A major achievement was demonstrating the feasibility—but also the complexity—of combined analyses across multiple existing cohorts as well as of using intensive measurement approaches to collect new exposome data. With respect to using existing cohorts, harmonization of methods and data is essential for producing meaningful results. These efforts can be complemented by smaller, targeted exposome studies that use intensive but feasible measurement approaches to test findings from cohorts and generate new hypotheses to be evaluated in larger datasets. This bidirectional strategy is a key recommendation. The EPHOR We-Expose Toolbox—developed for researchers, policymakers, and occupational health practitioners—as a resource for applying exposome approaches in occupational Health, will also be introduced. Conclusion The EPHOR project highlights that while exposome research in occupational settings is complex, it can be feasible and informative. The tools and lessons from this project offer valuable guidance for shaping future occupational health research and policy.
Abstract from: 30th Epidemiology in Occupational Health Conference (EPICOH 2025), Hosted by Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, 6–9 OCTOBER 2025, Utrecht, the Netherlands