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Article History

Received: 26 February 2026

Accepted: 3 July 2026

First Online: 11 August 2026

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate: The URBANOME study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, latest revision) and in compliance with applicable national and European regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679). Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant Institutional Research Ethics and Deontology Committees in each participating country, as follows: Greece: Research Ethics Committee of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (protocol numbers 86801/2021 and 136778/2023; approval date: 8 April 2021 and 24 May 2023). Slovenia: National Medical Ethics Committee of the Republic of Slovenia (Komisija Republike Slovenije za medicinsko etiko; reference no. 0120–323/2023/6; decision dated 7 November 2023). Italy: Ethics Committee of the Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia (approval no. 151/23; 14 November 2023). Spain: Research Ethics Committee of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CEI PI CEI PI 16_2023_Enmienda 2023). Germany: Commission for Research Responsibility (Kommission Verantwortung in der Forschung), University of Stuttgart (reference no. 23–036; approval date: 24 July 2023). All participants provided written informed consent prior to enrollment in the study. Participants were fully informed about the study objectives, procedures, potential risks and benefits, data protection measures, and their right to withdraw at any time without consequences. Where biological samples were collected (blood, urine, saliva), specific informed consent for biomaterial collection, storage, and analysis was obtained. All data were pseudonymized prior to analysis to ensure participant confidentiality.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.