East A, Klaren W, Covington T, Rish W. Exploring biomarker-based methods to incorporate non-chemical stressor exposures into cumulative assessments for potentially vulnerable population groups. International Society of Exposure Science, Montreal, Canada, October 2024.
Abstract
One of the primary features of cumulative impact assessment (CIA) for vulnerable population groups is the explicit incorporation of non-chemical stressors as contributors to environmental health impacts. Allostatic load (AL) represents the physiological consequences of fluctuating or heightened neural or neuroendocrine responses that result from repeated or chronic stress. Of recent interest as a metric for non-chemical stress is elevated AL in population groups subject to environmental justice issues. There is a high degree of uncertainty regarding whether AL, or individual contributors to AL, influence individual or population-scale chemical susceptibility. Previous investigations have identified that biomarkers of AL, once measured, could provide insight into the underlying stress of a population. Furthermore, comparisons of AL biomarkers among groups subjected to different levels of chemical and non-chemical stressors may improve understanding of the quantitative relationship between exposure and relative chemical susceptibility. By combining NHANES data and criteria within U.S. EPA’s EJScreen, we demonstrate that some population groups (e.g., GED education or equivalent) potentially have different biological stress levels, measured via AL score. Furthermore, adding AL biomarkers to a physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model may improve understanding of the potential effect on toxicokinetics from AL related to non-chemical stressors. Given this, an exploration of integrating AL into PBTK models will be presented, evaluating the feasibility of incorporating non-chemicals stressors in toxicokinetic models. Preliminary findings suggest non-chemical stressors may inform toxicokinetics, although additional research is needed to increase confidence regarding the quantitative impact, if any, of non-chemical stressors on toxicokinetics.