Pollution, Plastics, and Plaques: Environmental Drivers of Lipid Dysfunction and Cardiometabolic Risk

The cardiometabolic continuum —spanning subclinical disturbances in lipoprotein metabolism to overt atherosclerotic cardiovascular and metabolic disease, is shaped by a complex interplay between genetic susceptibility, traditional risk factors, and the lifetime burden of environmental exposures embedded within the human exposome. Air pollutants like PM2.5 and traffic-related emissions, micro- and nanoplastics, persistent organic pollutants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (PFAS, BPA, phthalates), and heavy metals are emerging as potent modifiers of lipid metabolism, lipoprotein function, vascular inflammation, and atherogenic risk. This collection launches during a period of rapid evolution in lipidology. Novel therapeutics targeting Lp(a), ApoC-III, ANGPTL3, and residual inflammatory and cholesterol risk are reshaping clinical practice. Concurrently, emerging technologies in lipidomics, proteomics, metabolomics, single-cell biology, and multi-omic cardiovascular phenotyping are providing unprecedented insights into the molecular pathways governing atherogenesis, plaque vulnerability, and residual cardiovascular risk beyond LDL cholesterol.Beyond establishing environmental exposures as risk factors, a critical frontier lies in understanding how they shape individual susceptibility to cardiometabolic disease, accelerate biological aging, and influence responses to preventive therapies. Emerging exposomic and multi-omic technologies now permit unprecedented characterization of the cumulative environmental determinants of health across the lifespan, enabling integration of exposure profiles with genomics, epigenomics, lipidomics, metabolomics, proteomics, and advanced cardiovascular phenotyping. These advances are revealing complex interactions between environmental contaminants and pathways central to atherosclerosis, including lipoprotein(a) metabolism, remnant cholesterol, vascular inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis, and residual cardiovascular risk. They also raise important questions regarding whether environmental exposures attenuate therapeutic benefit, contribute to persistent risk despite optimal medical therapy, or identify patient populations most likely to benefit from emerging precision-prevention strategies. Addressing these questions will be essential for translating environmental cardiovascular science into clinically actionable risk prediction, personalized intervention, and equitable public health policy. By integrating advances in lipidology, exposomics, environmental health, and cardiovascular prevention, this Research Topic seeks to redefine how the field conceptualizes cardiometabolic risk—shifting environmental exposures from peripheral considerations to central determinants of lipid dysfunction, atherosclerotic disease, residual cardiovascular risk, and population health in the twenty-first century.This Research Topic aims to gather work across mechanism, epidemiology, prevention, and clinical care. We welcome molecular and translational studies on exposure–lipid interactions, population-level epidemiology of environmental cardiometabolic risk, and clinical trials and intervention studies of lipid-modifying therapies in environmentally exposed populations. Contributions addressing environmental justice and the differential cardiometabolic burden in vulnerable communities are especially welcome.Suggested Subtopics:1 PM2.5, PM10, indoor/outdoor air pollution, and systemic lipid metabolism2 Micro- and nanoplastics: vascular uptake and atherogenic mechanisms3 Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (PFAS, BPA, phthalates) and clinical dyslipidaemia4 Heavy metal exposure persistent organic pollutants, and oxidative modification of lipoproteins5 The exposome and functional changes in HDL, LDL, ApoB-containing lipoproteins, and lipoprotein(a)6 Environmental determinants of cardiovascular aging, biological aging and inflammatory risk7 Clinical trials of lipid-modifying therapies in environmentally exposed populations8 Population epidemiology of environmental cardiometabolic risk9 Prevention strategies for environmentally driven cardiometabolic disease (CVD/DM/Syn X/ Metabolic Sydrome)10 Methodological advances in exposure assessment and cardiometabolic phenotyping11 Methodological advances in exposure assessment, causal inference, mediation analysis, network meta-analysis, MASEM, and exposomic analytics for shared/hidden pathways 12 The food environment and Cardiometabolic diseases: Oil usage patterns, Nutrition and adulteration13 Wearable technologies, digital health, and advanced exposure monitoring14 Environmental justice, health equity, and the unmet needs in cardiometabolic disease burden15 Gut microbiome–environment interactions in cardiometabolic diseaseWelcomed Article Types:Including but not limited to: Original Research, Clinical Trials, Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (SRMA, Qualitative SRs, MA, Meta-regression, Bayesian meta-analysis, Cumulative meta-analysis, Trial Sequential Analysis, Multivariate meta-analysis, Component Network Meta-analysis, and Mediation meta-analysis etc.), Umbrella reviews, Mini Reviews/Graphical Reviews, Brief Research Reports, Perspectives, Opinions, Methods, and Hypothesis & Theory. Topic editors: Yashendra Sethi, Inderbir Padda, Sameer Mehta Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82873/pollution-plastics-and-plaques-environmental-drivers-of-lipid-dysfunction-and-cardiometabolic-risk