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Haverkate, T.M.* ; Devleesschauwer, B.* ; Aasvang, G.M.* ; Assunção, R.* ; Bølling, A.K.* ; Breitner-Busch, S. ; Buekers, J.* ; Castro, A.* ; Gorasso, V.* ; Hassen, H..Y.* ; Martins, C.* ; Charalampous, P.* ; Haagsma, J.A.*

A standardised approach to systematically select risk-outcome pairs in environmental burden of disease research.

Popul. Health Metr. 24:54 (2026)
Publ. Version/Full Text DOI PMC
Open Access Gold
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
BACKGROUND: Environmental Burden of Disease (EBoD) quantifies health impacts attributable to environmental risk factors. The methodological choice on which risk-outcome pairs to include in EBoD studies is technically and conceptually demanding, with diffuse exposures and complex causal chains. This makes transparent criteria for inclusion of risk-outcome pairs essential. In response, we developed a standardised approach for systematically and transparently selecting risk-outcome pairs within environmental burden of disease research. METHODS AND RESULTS: The standardised approach was developed through expert elicitation and iterative discussions, ultimately resulting in five sequential steps designed to strengthen consistency and transparency: (1) define and characterise the exposure to the environmental risk factor; (2) identify potential health outcomes from the literature; (3) evaluate the strength of evidence criteria according to set criteria; (4) select risk-outcome pairs based on strength of evidence; and (5) select exposure-response functions. CONCLUSIONS: By making underlying assumptions explicit, the proposed approach to the selection of risk-outcome pairs can reduce subjectivity in the selection process and support more consistent, evidence-based decisions.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Selection (genetic Algorithm) ; Public Health ; Consistency (knowledge Bases) ; Set (abstract Data Type) ; Disease ; Process (computing) ; Health Services Research ; Disease Burden
ISSN (print) / ISBN 1478-7954
Journal Population Health Metrics
Quellenangaben Volume: 24, Issue: 1, Pages: , Article Number: 54 Supplement: ,
Publisher Springer
Publishing Place London
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Epidemiology (EPI)
Grants HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Ecosystems