Rémy Slama

• MSc, PhD
• Group Leader at Inserm and Université Grenoble Alpes

Background: Some synthetic phenols alter hormonal pathways involved in successful pregnancy and fetal development. Despite high within-subject temporal variability of phenols, previous studies mostly utilized spot urine samples to assess pregnancy exposure. Herein we investigated associations between pregnancy exposure to eight phenols assessed in...

Background: Early-life environmental exposures are suspected to modify important immune processes related to child health. Yet, no study has investigated immunotoxicity in relation to the exposome and multiple health domains simultaneously. Methods: Among 845 children (median age 8) from six European birth cohorts included in the Human Early-Life E...

Background Telomere length is an important indicator of biological age and a complex multi-factor trait. To date, the telomere interactome for comprehending the high-dimensional biological aspects linked to telomere regulation during childhood remains unexplored. Here we describe the multi-omics signatures associated with childhood telomere length....

Childhood obesity poses a significant public health challenge, yet the molecular intricacies underlying its pathobiology remain elusive. Leveraging extensive multi-omics profiling (methylome, miRNome, transcriptome, proteins and metabolites) and a rich phenotypic characterization across two parts of Europe within the population-based Human Early Li...

Background/objective There is limited knowledge on how diet affects the epigenome of children. Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is emerging as an important factor impacting health, but mechanisms need to be uncovered. We therefore aimed to assess the association between UPF consumption and DNA methylation in children. Methods We conducted a...

Background/Objective Children’s diets in school-age are inherently unhealthy, with few meeting dietary recommendations. Yet, little is known about similarities and differences on dietary patterns across countries and their association with obesity. We aimed to derive dietary patterns in childhood and explore their association with adiposity-related...

Background Early life environmental stressors play an important role in the development of multiple chronic disorders. Previous studies that used environmental risk scores (ERS) to assess the cumulative impact of environmental exposures on health are limited by the diversity of exposures included, especially for early life determinants. We used mac...

INTRODUCTION: Dietary patterns have been changing in the past decades, with traditional whole food diets being replacedtowards highly processed foods. Yet, little is known about their association with factors related to future obesity amongEuropean children. To our knowledge, no study to date has investigated data- and hypothesis-driven patterns ac...

Background: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals may play a role in adiposity development during childhood. Until now literature in this scope suffers from methodologic limitations in exposure assessment using one or few urine samples and missing assessment during the infancy period. Objectives: We investigated the associations between early-life expo...

Background Pregnancy air pollution exposure (PAPE) has been linked to a wide range of adverse birth and childhood outcomes, but there is a paucity of data on its influence on the placental epigenome, which can regulate the programming of physiological functions and affect child development. This study aimed to investigate the association between pr...

Importance Prenatal exposure to ubiquitous endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children, but few studies have studied chemical mixtures or explored underlying protein and metabolic signatures. Objective To investigate associations of prenatal exposure to EDC mixtures with MetS risk score in c...

STUDY QUESTION Is exposure to environmental chemicals associated with modification of placental morphology and function? SUMMARY ANSWER Phthalates, a class of ubiquitous chemicals, showed an association with altered placental weight, placental vascular resistance and placental efficiency. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Only a few epidemiological studies h...

In utero and children’s exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a major concern in health risk assessment as early life exposures are suspected to induce adverse health effects. Our work aims to estimate children’s exposure (from birth to 12 years old) to PFOA and PFOS, using a Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modellin...

Background Intra-breath oscillometry has been proposed as a sensitive means of detecting airway obstruction in young children. We aimed to assess the impact of early life wheezing and lower respiratory tract illness on lung function, using both standard and intra-breath oscillometry in 3 year old children. Methods History of doctor-diagnosed asthm...

Once an external factor has been deemed likely to influence human health and a dose response function is available, an assessment of its health impact or that of policies aimed at influencing this and possibly other factors in a specific population can be obtained through a quantitative risk assessment, or health impact assessment (HIA) study. The...

We assessed phthalate-hormone associations in 382 pregnant women of the new-generation SEPAGES cohort (2014−2017, France) using improved exposure and outcome assessments. Metabolites from seven phthalate compounds and the replacement di(isononyl)cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DINCH) were measured in within-subject pools of repeated urine samples co...

Background We aimed to assess the impact of the chemical exposome on the health of European children since previous health impact assessments (HIA) were limited to a few chemicals. Methods 74 out of 484 substance-outcome associations had an overall level of evidence at least likely and were therefore considered for HIA. For 51 of the 74 associatio...

The exposome concept aims to consider all environmental stressors simultaneously. The dimension of the data and the correlation that may exist between exposures lead to various statistical challenges. Some methodological studies have provided insight regarding the efficiency of specific modeling approaches in the context of exposome data assessed o...

Background: Previous studies aiming at relating exposure to phenols and phthalates with child social behavior characterized exposure using one or a few spot urine samples, resulting in substantial exposure misclassification. Moreover, early infancy exposure was rarely studied. Objectives: We aimed to examine the associations of phthalates and ph...

Background Early-life environmental exposures are suspected to be involved in the development of chronic diseases later in life. Most studies conducted so far considered single or few exposures and single-health parameter. Our study aimed to identify a childhood general health score and assess its association with a wide range of pre- and post-nata...

A previous study reported positive associations of maternal urinary concentrations of triclosan, a synthetic phenol with widespread exposure in the general population, with placental DNA methylation of male fetuses. Given the high number of comparisons performed in -omic research, further studies were needed to validate and extend on these findings...

Background: Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in a wide range of products. Experimental studies suggested impaired lung development and pro-inflammatory response following exposure to some PFAS. We aimed to assess the associations between prenatal exposure to PFAS and children respiratory health. Methods: The study is based on...

Background: Combined effect of both prenatal and early postnatal exposure to ambient air pollution on child cognition has rarely been investigated and sensitive periods of sensitivity are unknown. This study explores the temporal relationship between pre- and postnatal exposure to PM10, PM2.5, NO2 and child cognitive function. Methods: Using val...

Green spaces may have beneficial impacts on children's cognition. However, few studies explored the exposure to green spaces beyond residential areas, and their availability, accessibility and uses at the same time. The aim of the present study was to describe patterns of availability, accessibility, and uses of green spaces among primary school ch...

Retrouvez toutes nos données sur data.drees juin 2023 n° 1271 Près d'un enfant sur six a eu besoin de soins pour un motif psychologique entre mars 2020 et juillet 2021 La détresse psychologique dont souffrent une minorité grandissante d'enfants et d'adolescents a été aggravée par la crise sanitaire. Ce phénomène, observé dans d'autres pays, semble...

Introduction Parents reported degraded sleep outcomes up to several years after child birth. Most published studies were cross-sectional, in early post-partum and focusing on maternal-child dyads. We aimed at identifying sleep multi-trajectories (SMT) including night (NSD) and daytime (DSD) sleep duration and subjective sleep loss (SSL) between 3 a...

https://www.cairn-int.info/journal-population-2023-3-page-479.htm?contenu=resume Implemented on a massive scale during the Covid-19 pandemic, telework is now an established form of work organization, but its effects on workers’ well-being remain a subject of debate. Drawing on data from a longitudinal survey representative of the French population...

Exposure to phthalates and synthetic phenols is ubiquitous. Some of them are suspected to impact child respiratory health, although evidence still remains insufficient. This study investigated the associations between prenatal exposure to phthalates and phenols, individually and as a mixture, and child respiratory health assessed by objective lung...

Background Obesity and neurodevelopmental delay are complex traits that often co-occur and differ between boys and girls. Prenatal exposures are believed to influence children’s obesity, but it is unknown whether exposures of pregnant mothers can confer a different risk of obesity between sexes, and whether they can affect neurodevelopment. Method...

Introduction Immune function in pregnancy is influenced by host-specific and environmental factors. This may impact fetal immune development, but the link between maternal and neonatal immune function is still poorly characterized. Here, we investigate the relationship between maternal and neonatal immune function, and identify factors affecting th...

Childhood internalizing disorders refer to inwardly focused negative behaviours such as anxiety, depression, and somatic complains. Interactions between psychosocial, genetic, and environmental risk factors adversely impact neurodevelopment and can contribute to internalizing disorders. While prenatal exposure to single endocrine disruptors (EDs) i...

Childhood internalizing disorders refer to inwardly focused negative behaviours such as anxiety, depression, and somatic complains. Interactions between psychosocial, genetic, and environmental risk factors adversely impact neurodevelopment and can contribute to internalizing disorders. While prenatal exposure to single endocrine disruptors (ED) is...

Context: While strong evidence supports adverse effects of pre-natal air pollution on child's lung function, previous studies rarely considered fine particulate matter (PM2.5) or the potential role of offspring sex and no study examined the effects of pre-natal PM2.5 on the lung function of the newborn. Aim: We examined overall and sex-specific...

Importance: Little is known about long-term associations of early-life exposure to extreme temperatures with child health and lung function. Objectives: To investigate the association of prenatal and postnatal heat or cold exposure with newborn lung function and identify windows of susceptibility. Design, setting, and participants: This popula...

Background Early-life environmental exposures are suspected to be involved in the development of chronic diseases later in life. Most studies conducted so far considered single or few exposures and single-health parameter. Our study aimed to identify a childhood general health score and assess its association with a wide range of pre- and post-nata...

Children’s screen time increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the summer of 2021, we explored the association between high screen time over a period of one year since May 2020 and behavioural problems among children and adolescents. The data were derived from the French EpiCov cohort study, collected in spring 2020, autumn 2020, and spr...

Au-delà de la déshydratation, de l’hyperthermie et d’effets sur les systèmes cardiaque, respiratoire, endocrinien, immunitaire et nerveux, les fortes chaleurs sont associées à une augmentation de la mortalité, des accidents au travail, des suicides, ainsi que des violences domestiques et agressions. Les îlots de chaleur urbains amplifient les effet...

Background: In vitro and toxicological studies have shown that non-persistent environmental chemicals can perturb thyroid hormone homeostasis. Epidemiological studies with improved exposure assessment (i.e., repeated urine samples) are needed to evaluate effects of these compounds, individually or as a mixture, in humans. We studied the associatio...

Background: Individuals are exposed to environmental pollutants with endocrine disrupting activity (endocrine disruptors, EDCs) and the early stages of life are particularly susceptible to these exposures. Previous studies have focused on identifying molecular signatures associated with EDCs, but none have used repeated sampling strategy and integ...

Background: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been found to be detrimental to respiratory health of children, but few studies have examined the effects of prenatal PM2.5 oxidative potential (OP) on lung function in infants and preschool children. Objectives: We estimated the associations of personal exposure to PM2.5 and OP during pregnancy on...

Les maladies infectieuses ont longtemps été la cause majeure de mortalité en Europe. Leur contrôle progressif a permis un allongement spectaculaire de l’espérance de vie et a laissé la place au règne des maladies chroniques (maladies cardiovasculaires et neurodégénératives, cancers). Sans nier l’influence de polymorphismes génétiques et des facteur...

Climate change, urbanisation, chemical pollution and disruption of ecosystems, including biodiversity loss, affect our health and wellbeing. Research is crucial to be able to respond to the current and future challenges that are often complex and interconnected by nature. The HERA Agenda, summarised in this commentary, identifies six thematic resea...

Background and objectives: Studies focusing on the neurodevelopmental effects of phthalates seldom consider exposure during infancy, a critical period for brain development. Most rely on parent-completed questionnaires to assess child neurodevelopment, which may be subject to reporting error. We studied the associations between prenatal and infanc...

Environmental exposures during early life play a critical role in life-course health, yet the molecular phenotypes underlying environmental effects on health are poorly understood. In the Human Early Life Exposome (HELIX) project, a multi-centre cohort of 1301 mother-child pairs, we associate individual exposomes consisting of >100 chemical, outdoo...

Background: Prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) assessed through its mass concentration has been associated with foetal growth restriction in studies based on outdoor levels. Oxidative potential of PM2.5 (OP) is an emerging metric a priori relevant to mechanisms of action of PM on health, with very limited evidence to indicate its...

Background: Studies characterizing associations between phenols, phthalates and thyroid hormones during pregnancy produce inconsistent results. This divergence may be partly attributable to false positives due to multiple comparison testing of large numbers of chemicals, and measurement error as studies rely on small numbers of biospecimens despit...

Background Ambient temperature, particularly heat, is increasingly acknowledged as a trigger for preterm delivery but study designs have been limited and results mixed. We aimed to comprehensively evaluate the association between ambient temperature throughout pregnancy and preterm delivery. Methods We estimated daily temperature throughout pregna...

Background Maternal blood pressure levels reflect cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy and proper maternal-fetal exchanges through the placenta and are very sensitive to numerous environmental stressors. Maternal hypertension during pregnancy has been associated with impaired placental functions and with an increased risk for children to suffer f...

Background Frequent car use contributes to health and environmental issues such as air pollution, climate change and obesity. Active and sustainable mobility (bike, walk, public transport, car sharing) may address these issues. Different strategies have been implemented in past research, involving hard levers, aimed at modifying the economical or g...

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young adults in many Western countries. We examined the short-term association of temperature with cause-specific mortality, comparing suicide with other causes of death and describing possible attenuation of associations with temperature across decades. We considered all deaths that occurred in Fran...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely known endocrine disruptor (ED) found in many children's products such as toys, feeding utensils, and teething rings. Recent epidemiology association studies have shown postnatal BPA exposure resulted in developing various diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and neurodegeneration, etc., later in their lives. However, li...

Background Frequent car use contributes to health and environmental issues such as air pollution, climate change and obesity. Active and sustainable mobility (bike, walk, public transport, car sharing) may address these issues. Different strategies have been implemented in past research, involving hard levers, aimed at modifying the economical or g...

Background: Some synthetic phenols alter pathways involved in fetal development. Despite their high within-subject temporal variability, earlier studies relied on spot urine samples to assess pregnancy exposure. In this study, we examined associations between prenatal phenol exposure and fetal growth. Methods: We measured concentrations of two b...

Background We aimed to study whether social patterns of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection changed in France throughout the year 2020, in light to the easing of social contact restrictions. Methods A population-based cohort of individuals aged 15 years or over was randomly selected from the national tax register to collect socio-economic data, migra...