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Vidal AC, Sosnowski DW, Marchesoni J, Grenier C, Thorp J, Murphy SK, Johnson SB, Schlief W, Hoyo C. Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and offspring imprinted gene DMR methylation at birth. Epigenetics 2024; 19:2293412. [PMID: 38100614 PMCID: PMC10730185 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2023.2293412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) contribute to numerous negative health outcomes across the life course and across generations. Here, we extend prior work by examining the association of maternal ACEs, and their interaction with financial stress and discrimination, with methylation status within eight differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in imprinted domains in newborns. ACEs, financial stress during pregnancy, and experience of discrimination were self-reported among 232 pregnant women. DNA methylation was assessed at PEG10/SGCE, NNAT, IGF2, H19, PLAGL1, PEG3, MEG3-IG, and DLK1/MEG3 regulatory sequences using pyrosequencing. Using multivariable linear regression models, we found evidence to suggest that financial stress was associated with hypermethylation of MEG3-IG in non-Hispanic White newborns; discrimination was associated with hypermethylation of IGF2 and NNAT in Hispanic newborns, and with hypomethylation of PEG3 in non-Hispanic Black newborns. We also found evidence that maternal ACEs interacted with discrimination to predict offspring PLAGL1 altered DMR methylation, in addition to interactions between maternal ACEs score and discrimination predicting H19 and SGCE/PEG10 altered methylation in non-Hispanic White newborns. However, these interactions were not statistically significant after multiple testing corrections. Findings from this study suggest that maternal ACEs, discrimination, and financial stress are associated with newborn aberrant methylation in imprinted gene regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana C. Vidal
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - David W. Sosnowski
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joddy Marchesoni
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Carole Grenier
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - John Thorp
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal and Child Health, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, UNC, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Susan K. Murphy
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Sara B. Johnson
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - William Schlief
- Johns Hopkins All Children’s Pediatric Biorepository, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
| | - Cathrine Hoyo
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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Farina MP, Klopack ET, Umberson D, Crimmins EM. The embodiment of parental death in early life through accelerated epigenetic aging: Implications for understanding how parental death before 18 shapes age-related health risk among older adults. SSM Popul Health 2024; 26:101648. [PMID: 38596364 PMCID: PMC11002886 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2024.101648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Parental death in early life has been linked to various adverse health outcomes in older adulthood. This study extends prior research to evaluate how parental death in early life is tied to accelerated epigenetic aging, a potentially important biological mechanism from which social and environmental exposures impact age-related health. We used data from the 2016 Venous Blood Study (VBS), a component of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), to examine the association between parental death in early life and accelerated epigenetic aging as measured by three widely used epigenetic clocks (PCPhenoAge, PCGrimAge, and DunedinPACE). We also assessed whether some of the association is explained by differences in educational attainment, depressive symptoms, and smoking behavior. Methods included a series of linear regression models and formal mediation analysis. Findings indicated that parental death in early life is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging for PCPhenoAge and DunedinPACE. The inclusion of educational attainment, depressive symptoms, and smoking behavior attenuated this association, with formal mediation analysis providing additional support for these observations. Parental death in early life may be one of the most difficult experiences an individual may face. The elevated biological risk associated with parental death in early life may operate through immediate changes but also through more downstream risk factors. This study highlights how early life adversity can set in motion biological changes that have lifelong consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateo P. Farina
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, United States
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, United States
| | - Eric T. Klopack
- Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, United States
| | - Debra Umberson
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, United States
- Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, United States
| | - Eileen M. Crimmins
- Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, United States
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