BEST-COST researchers developed a standardised approach for systematically and transparently selecting risk-outcome pairs within Environmental Burden of Disease (EBoD) research.
EBoD research quantifies health impacts attributable to environmental risk factors. It has gained importance over the past decades due to a rising awareness of environmental health risks and the need to assess the health impact of policies. A major methodological choice is to decide which risk-outcome pairs to include, which directly determines which health impacts are counted and how comprehensive the resulting burden estimate is. Yet the methodological choice is technically and conceptually demanding, with diffuse exposures and complex causal chains. This makes transparent criteria for inclusion of risk–outcome pairs essential.
By making underlying assumptions explicit, BEST-COST’s proposed approach can reduce subjectivity in the selection process and support more consistent, evidence-based decisions. It can help EBoD studies reflect up-to-date evidence on existing and emerging environmental challenges, ensuring that efforts to monitor the impact of environmental risks on public health effectively guide environmental policy.
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