Advances in the Use of Residual Newborn Dried Blood Spots Within Environmental Epidemiology

AbstractPurpose of ReviewEpidemiological evidence links certain early-life environmental exposures to adverse health outcomes. However, neonatal biospecimens are difficult to obtain, limiting proper evaluation of the detrimental health effects of environmental exposures during such a critical period of life.Recent FindingsThe availability of archived residual newborn dried blood spots (DBS) from existing newborn screening programs provide a much-needed resource of neonatal biospecimens for epidemiological studies focused on retrospectively assessing the short- and long-term effects of environmental exposures. We discuss emerging omics technologies and biomarkers of exposure/chemical assessments that have recently shown compatibility with the use of DBS.SummaryRecent developments in the omics technologies are allowing the use of DBS for biomonitoring environmental exposures in community settings, particularly to study the health effects of early life exposures through the use of archived residual newborn DBS. The use of newborn DBS and untargeted omics technologies can dramatically improve the internal exposome assessment. Future studies should continue to validate and standardize the use of DBS as a resource for epidemiological studies.
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research