What question did this study set out to answer?

To quantify the associations between maternal educational attainment during pregnancy and offspring DNA methylation levels at birth, childhood, and adolescence.

December 5, 2023Molecular PsychiatryOpen Access

Maternal educational attainment in pregnancy and epigenome-wide DNA methylation changes in the offspring from birth until adolescence

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Authors

PCPriyanka ChoudharySharda University GMGiulietta S. MonassoErasmus MC VKVille KarhunenUniversity of Cambridge

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Implication

Meta-analysis reveals maternal education links to offspring DNA methylation from birth to adolescence, highlighting biological pathways underlying social determinants of health.

Key Points

To quantify the associations between maternal educational attainment during pregnancy and offspring DNA methylation levels at birth, childhood, and adolescence.
Conducted a meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) across 37 studies from high-income countries.
Evaluated completed years of maternal education during pregnancy against offspring DNA methylation at birth (n = 9 881), childhood (n = 2 017), and adolescence (n = 2 740), adjusting for relevant covariates.
Identified associations between maternal education and differential DNA methylation at 473 cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites at birth, one site in childhood, and four sites in adolescence.
Observed enrichment for loci previously linked to maternal folate, vitamin B12 concentrations, maternal smoking, and pre-pregnancy body mass index, with effect directions consistent with inverse associations of maternal education with smoking and BMI.

Cite This Study

Choudhary et al. (2023) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7229c7febe604dd70a7707 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02331-5

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Implication

Meta-analysis reveals maternal education links to offspring DNA methylation from birth to adolescence, highlighting biological pathways underlying social determinants of health.

Maternal educational attainment in pregnancy and epigenome-wide DNA methylation changes in the offspring from birth until adolescence

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Maternal educational attainment in pregnancy and epigenome-wide DNA methylation changes in the offspring from birth until adolescence

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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