Abstract The exposome, including the totality of environmental exposures throughout the lifespan, offers a comprehensive framework for investigating environmental contributions to disease risks. Although methods for environmental monitoring and statistical analysis have advanced in recent years, exposome research still faces key challenges in assessing complex exposures, integrating diverse data sources, and examining biological mechanisms. This paper summarizes progress in analytical approaches to exposomic data and discusses remaining challenges in current exposome research. We outline important future directions, including improved exposure identification, novel use of artificial intelligence tools to assist discovery, development of standard protocols, and enhanced collaboration across disciplines. These steps are essential to decipher the influence of the exposome on health, enabling a shift from descriptive association to causal inference and actionable prevention strategies in precision public health.
Nian et al. (2026) studied this question.