A report in Diari Ara’s Health supplement highlights Dipsalut’s initiative, which will analyse the impact of environment and habits on the health of 4,000 people across the Girona region.
Girona is positioning itself as a leading region in public health research through the rollout of Girostudi. The initiative, promoted by Dipsalut, was featured in a special report by Diari Ara‘s Health supplement dedicated to the exposome: the sum of environmental, social, and lifestyle exposures accumulated throughout our lives.
Beyond genetics: health also comes from our surroundings
Until recently, traditional medicine focused mainly on searching for the origin of disease within the body, such as genetic mutations or metabolic alterations. However, as Alba Tarrés and Angi Vilà—psychologist and environmental scientist at Dipsalut’s Social, Environmental, and Health Observatory—point out: “There is growing evidence that part of the answer lies outside: in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the chemical products present in packaging, cosmetics, or clothing, in noise, or even in the neighbourhood we live in.”
4,000 people across 18 towns
With this fresh perspective, Girostudi will follow approximately 4,000 adults across 18 towns in the Girona region for at least ten years. The study, a pioneer in Catalonia, will collect biological samples (blood, urine, stool, saliva, hair, and nails) to be preserved at the Biobank of the Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI), while gathering detailed information on lifestyle habits, indoor pollution, and participants’ social conditions.
The ultimate goal is to obtain, for the first time, an accurate, high-precision overview of population health to guide public policies across the region. As the project’s leaders summarise, the research is based on the premise that “your postcode can also determine your health”, assessing how the environment influences the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, or cancer, as well as the impact of endocrine disruptors.
You can read the full report from Diari Ara at the following link:
Is an invisible daily cocktail making us sick?
