The Exposome of Metabolic Diseases

It is well established that the present metabolic epidemic is caused by complex interplay between multiple genetic, behavioural and environmental factors. Over the last decade, significant breakthroughs have been made in the identification of genetic determinants, epigenetic mechanisms and biochemical networks that play important role in the pathophysiology of obesity, type 2 diabetes and related disorders. But despite recent progress, we are still unable to accurately predict an individual disease risk. A remaining gap in our knowledge is related to the environmental and lifestyle triggers that determine the development and onset of metabolic alterations. The recently proposed concept of the exposome refers to the totality of all life-course exposures from conception onwards. The exposomic research includes studies on both external (e.g. prenatal events, the exposures to different environmental agents, occupational, demographic and socioeconomic factors, stress, diets, behaviour, lifestyle, and social activities) and internal (e.g. genetic and epigenetic factors, physiology, proteomics and metabolomics) exposures and how those exposures jointly determine health and disease risks.

With this Research Topic, we aim to provide an overview on the multidisciplinary exposomic studies linked to metabolic disorders, with a major focus (but not limited to) on the research on the interplay between environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors and underlying epigenetic machinery in aetiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes.