Publications

Background Periconception interactions between maternal conditions and environmental and genetic factors are involved in the pathogenesis and prevention of neural tube defects (NTD), such as spina bifida. These factors have in common that they can impair the oxidative pathway, resulting in excessive (chronic) oxidative stress and inflammation. Methods Review of the literature concerning underlying mechanisms and biomarkers of aging particularly ...

Importance Low socioeconomic status is associated with higher all-cause mortality and risks for aging-related diseases. Biological aging is a potential process underlying health conditions related to social disadvantages, which may be present from birth onward.Objective To evaluate the association of parental socioeconomic status with telomere length (TL) at birth, a marker of biological aging.Design, Setting, and Participants This ...

Importance Exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with the risk of carcinogenesis in later life. Changes in histone modifications might have long-term adverse health effects. Objective To investigate the association of prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution with levels of circulating total histone H3 and specific trimethylation marks (ie, H3 lysine 4, H3 lysine 36) in maternal cord blood. Design, Setting, and Participants The ...

This cohort study investigates the association between retinal vessel characteristics and neurological functioning in children aged 4 to 5 years. Question Do retinal microvascular traits reflect neurocognitive development in early childhood? Findings In this cohort study of 251 children aged 4 to 5 years, retinal venular widening and a higher vessel tortuosity were associated with a lower performance of short-term visual recognition memory, ...

Iodine is an essential trace element, necessary for the production of thyroid hormones, which play a key role in optimal foetal growth and (neuro-) development. To date, iodine deficiency remains a health burden in many countries. We investigated the variability of placental iodine concentrations within and between individuals. We used 20 mother-neonate pairs from the ENVIRONAGe birth cohort, took samples at three standardized locations of the ...

Background: The Flemish Environment and Health Studies (FLEHS) are human biomonitoring surveys running in Flanders since 1999. Additionally to biomarkers of exposure, markers of genotoxicity and oxidative stress have been measured, including the alkaline comet and micronucleus assay in peripheral whole blood cells, and urinary concentrations of 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG). Aim: Exposure-effect associations were explored in a pooled dataset ...

Air pollution exposure is a major global health concern and has been associated with molecular aging. Unfortunately, the situation has not received much attention in the African region. The aim of this study was to investigate whether current personal ambient NO 2 and benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylenes (ortho (o)-, meta (m)-and para (p)-xylene (BTEX) exposure is associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a marker of molecular ...

Because of their dirt-, water- and oil-repelling properties, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are frequently used in a broad variety of consumer products. They have been detected in human samples worldwide. In Flanders, Belgium, the Flemish Environment and Health Studies (FLEHS) measured the levels of five PFAS biomarkers in four different age groups of the Flemish population and identified determinants of variability in exposure. ...

Exposure to air pollution is associated with adverse health effects; however, the available evidence of its association with telomere length (TL), an early marker of ageing, in children is still scarce with no study available for preschool children. This study aimed to investigate the association of exposure to air pollution and traffic indicators at home and kindergarten with relative leukocyte TL (LTL) in preschool children. This ...

Telomere length and mitochondrial DNA content are considered biomarkers of cellular aging, oxidative stress, and inflammation, but there is almost no information on their association with tobacco smoke exposure in fetal and early life. The aim of this study was to assess whether prenatal and childhood tobacco exposure were associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in children. As part of a multi-centre ...