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. 2024 Aug;52(6):741-751.
doi: 10.1177/14034948231178076. Epub 2023 Jun 6.

Perspectives on environment and health research in Denmark

Henriette T Horsdal  1   2 , Marianne G Pedersen  1   3 , Jörg Schullehner  2   4   5 , Cecilie S Østergaard  1   2   4 , John J Mcgrath  1   6   7 , Esben Agerbo  1   3 , Allan Timmermann  1   2   3 , Ane Marie Closter  1   2   3 , Jørgen Brandt  8 , Jesper H Christensen  8 , Lise M Frohn  8 , Camilla Geels  8 , Matthias Ketzel  8   9 , Jibran Khan  2   8 , Pia V Ørby  2   8 , Yulia Olsen  2   4 , Gregor Levin  8 , Jens-Christian Svenning  10 , Kristine Engemann  10 , Steen Gyldenkærne  8 , Birgitte Hansen  5 , Ole Hertel  2   11 , Clive E Sabel  2   4 , Christian Erikstrup  2   12 , Torben Sigsgaard  2   4 , Carsten B Pedersen  1   2   3
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Perspectives on environment and health research in Denmark

Henriette T Horsdal et al. Scand J Public Health. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

Aims: We provide an overview of nationwide environmental data available for Denmark and its linkage potentials to individual-level records with the aim of promoting research on the potential impact of the local surrounding environment on human health.

Background: Researchers in Denmark have unique opportunities for conducting large population-based studies treating the entire Danish population as one big, open and dynamic cohort based on nationally complete population and health registries. So far, most research in this area has utilised individual- and family-level information to study the clustering of disease in families, comorbidities, risk of, and prognosis after, disease onset, and social gradients in disease risk. Linking environmental data in time and space to individuals enables novel possibilities for studying the health effects of the social, built and physical environment.

Methods: We describe the possible linkage between individuals and their local surrounding environment to establish the exposome - that is, the total environmental exposure of an individual over their life course.

Conclusions: The currently available nationwide longitudinal environmental data in Denmark constitutes a valuable and globally rare asset that can help explore the impact of the exposome on human health.

Keywords: Environment; exposome; health; population; registers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Data sources and linkage possibilities.
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