By Eleanor Garth – Longevity. Technology –
New research highlights the dominant role of environmental exposures in health outcomes, disease risk and longevity.
The relative influence of genetics on health outcomes has been the subject of debate for decades; now, new research published in Nature Medicine today points to the overwhelming role of the exposome – the sum of environmental exposures throughout life – in determining mortality risk. According to the study, the exposome accounts for nearly ten times more variation in mortality risk than genetic predisposition, prompting renewed interest in how external factors influence disease, aging and healthspan.
