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Introduction
Biological markers play an important role in understanding the relationships between exposure to environmental chemicals, and the development of health or cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) [1-3], They are key molecular or cellular events that link a specific environmental exposure to a health outcome which may be clinical or biochemical. There is a continuous interaction between biological environment of our body with environmental factors; diet, tobacco, physical activity, alcohol, radiation, pesticides, and geo-magnetic forces [1-3], Recently WHO and UNO-HLM have emphasized that non- communicable diseases (NCDs); CVDs and other chronic diseases have become a worldwide problem resulting into major causes of morbidity and mortality which may be due to rapid changes in diet and lifestyle factors [4,5], A biomarker appears to be the earliest stage in the development of a disease from physiological limit to pathological and clinical state. Therefore diagnosis of a chronic disease at earliest stage would need to consider abnormalities in the biological state of the biomarker.
There has been a significant progress in identifying and validating new biomarkers that can be used in population-based studies of environmental disease. Blood glucose, angiotensin, insulin, cytokines, free fatty acids are important early markers of a disease which develop in to secondary biomarkers and risk factors; pre-diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, coronary disease and pre- hypertension. These are important indicators of diet, physical inactivity and tobacco consumption to which humans are most commonly exposed [6-10] (Figure 1,2).
Clinical biomarkers and other risk factors and the identification of subgroups that increase the risk for CVDs should be obtained in early stage in the individuals and population for prevention of CVDs.
As part of the new Genes and Environment Initiative, the NIEHS is supporting the development of new technologies that will enable scientists to study how the body responds to environmental agents. Such technologies include sensitive biomarkers that can measure subtle changes in inflammation, oxidative damage, and other pathways that can lead to disease.
There is a controversy regarding the physiological limits of blood glucose and serum cholesterol. In this review, we discuss the role of environmental factors; diet and physical inactivity on common biomarkers and new biomarkers and their limitations as well as prevention [1-3],
Effects of Diet on Biomarkers
Assessment of dietary fat, refined carbohydrates and energy intake...