The persistent multidomain health effects of the early-life exposome.

Maternal smoking, indoor air pollution, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and dietary/urban factors are linked to multiple health domains in HELIX, with effects persisting into adolescence.

• Why it matters: Early-life exposures may jointly shape long-term health, but most studies examine single exposure windows and single outcomes, leaving combined, enduring effects unclear.
• What they did: Using outcome-wide exposure-wide analysis in 586 mother-child pairs from the HELIX European cohort, the study tested nearly 200 prenatal and childhood exposures against 11 outcomes at ages 6–11 and 12–18.
• The result: The analysis identified “master regulator” exposures influencing mental health, cardiometabolic, respiratory, and allergic outcomes across development, enabling an open-access atlas to guide prevention and policy.

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