Associations between the mid-adolescent external exposome and proteomic biomarkers of mental health

The exposome, encompassing all external and internal environmental factors, provides a comprehensive understanding of the complex etiology of mental health. This study investigated the relationship between the external exposome during mid-adolescence and plasma proteomic biomarkers of mental health in 935 participants from the FinnTwin12 (Finland) and WALNUTs (Spain) cohorts. The mid-adolescent external exposome included 60 exposures. Biomarkers included 26 plasma proteins (mean age 22) for FinnTwin12 and 31 (mean age 13) for WALNUTs. The exposome-wide proteome-wide analysis revealed seven exposures (related to lifestyle, indoor environmental quality, natural environment, and family environment) linked to six proteins. Greenspace-related exposures were associated with proteins in both cohorts. However, these exposures showed no direct association with concurrent measures: the psychopathology factor or depressive symptoms. Twin analyses indicated genetic influences in some covariations between exposures and proteins. These findings provide evidence for mid-adolescents about the association between external environments and proteomic biomarkers of mental health.