Abstract
<jats:p>Persistent organic pollutants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and organochlorine pesticides are among the most extensively studied environmental contaminants, yet the evidence base remains fragmented across primary studies and meta-analyses, limiting its ability to chart new research directions. To address this fragmentation, we developed a unified database that links primary epidemiological estimates with meta-analytic summaries of associations between PFAS and organochlorine pesticide exposures and human health outcomes. The database was constructed following a systematic five-step process encompassing (1) literature search, (2) literature screening, (3) data extraction, (4) data curation, and (5) visualisation. The final database includes 627 unique primary studies (n) providing 3,627 individual primary study estimates (k) that were synthesised in 91 meta-analyses comprising 457 pooled effect size estimates. The most frequently investigated chemicals were PFOA (CAS: 335-67-1, n = 268, k = 736) and PFOS (CAS: 1763-23-1, n = 276, k = 682) among PFAS, and DDE (CAS: 72-55-9, n = 95 k = 150) and p,p’-DDE (CAS: 72-55-9, n = 90, k = 136) among organochlorine pesticides. Metabolic disorders (ICD11: 5C8Z, n = 39, k = 333) and neoplasms of breast (ICD11: 2C6Z, n = 78, k = 309) were the most assessed health outcomes. Primary studies were most often led by authors based in the United States, whereas meta-analyses were predominantly conducted by researchers in China. Based on the structure of this database, we outline practical methodological recommendations to improve future conduct and reporting practices, and we discuss potential applications of this database to support future research in environmental health.</jats:p>