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Epidemiology of Environmental Health

  • Chapter
Environmental Epigenetics

Part of the book series: Molecular and Integrative Toxicology ((MOLECUL))

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Abstract

There has been a growing awareness of environmental effects among human. More epidemiologic studies have been triggered toward investigating exposure effects of chemical, social or physical factors in relation to the common or complex diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes afterward. Following recent advances in genomics and risk assessment, environmental epidemiologic studies are incorporating gene-environment interactions and epigenetic changes to explore the multidisciplinary nature of individual. The challenges for human population work in this field include the complexity of exposure biology and the small effects that are easily disturbed. Several strategies have been developed with an attempt to resolve these challenges, such as the development of exposome, the two-stage designs and Mendelian randomization. In this chapter, the conventional study design features, including particular strengths and limitations, have been summarized.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chen-Yu Liu

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  1. Chen-Yu Liu
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Correspondence to Chen-Yu Liu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Epidemiology and Genomic Research Program, Modifiable Risk Factors Branch, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, USA

    L. Joseph Su

  2. Research Participation Program at Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge Associate University (ORAU), Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Tennessee, USA

    Tung-chin Chiang

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Liu, CY. (2015). Epidemiology of Environmental Health. In: Su, L., Chiang, Tc. (eds) Environmental Epigenetics. Molecular and Integrative Toxicology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6678-8_2

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