Environmental Exposures for Lebanese Infants
EELI
HERA, in collaboration with the University of Balamand and the University of Saint Joseph of Beirut launched the Environmental Exposures for Lebanese Infants (EELI) study in 2021. EELI is a longitudinal birth cohort that aims to assess and examine the impact of environmental exposures on the health and wellbeing of Lebanese mothers and their infants as well as their disease outcomes and psychomotor impairments. Nested cohort studies focused on the influence of maternal diet on infant gut microbiome and the influence of COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis, and indoor environmental exposures on maternal mental health are conducted on sub-populations of the study. A sample of n=135 pregnant women was recruited since the study launched. Over 500 variables have been recorded for each participant, and over 1000 biological specimens have been processed and stored in a biobank for further analysis. After the pilot study’s success, the EELI project aims to be upscaled on a national level. The EELI study establishes a methodological and logistic basis to explore the concept of the exposome and its implementation in resource-limited settings and to establish a toolkit of the SOPs and questionnaires that can be employed by the other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region.