Autoimmunity is on the rise - what role plays environmental pollutants?

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests an increasing prevalence of autoimmune diseases in the general population.

The reason for this increase is unknown and cannot be explained by genetic factors only.Aims: The current study will investigate whether exposure to environmental contaminants, i.e. the exposome, can be linked to an increased risk for autoimmune diseases and chronic pain state, and their role in disease progression.Methods: We will analyze the causal relationship between the exposome and genetics, sex, and other known risk factors in large multiple sclerosis case-control cohorts (>7,400 subjects), and nested case-control and prospective studies within the EpiHealth cohort (25,104 individuals) to explore if an interaction between the genetic profile and the exposome is relevant to develop an autoimmune disease.

We will use our in-house high-resolution mass spectrometry infrastructure and computational expertise in the field.Impact: We expect this project to significantly advance our knowledge of the exposome´s role in developing an AID, its role in the disease progression and the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis, and in chronic pain states.

This may lead to recommendations for stricter regulations to minimize exposure to certain chemicals and how prevent the development of intractable chronic pain.