Socioeconomic position during pregnancy and DNA methylation signatures at three stages across early life: epigenome-wide association studies in the ALSPAC birth cohort

Abstract Background Socioeconomic experiences are recognized determinants of health, and recent work has shown that social disadvantages in early life may induce sustained biological changes at molecular level that are detectable later in life. However, the dynamics and persistence of biological emb...

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Published in:International journal of epidemiology 2019-02, Vol.48 (1), p.30-44
Main Authors: Alfano, Rossella, Guida, Florence, Galobardes, Bruna, Chadeau-Hyam, Marc, Delpierre, Cyrille, Ghantous, Akram, Henderson, John, Herceg, Zdenko, Jain, Pooja, Nawrot, Tim S, Relton, Caroline, Vineis, Paolo, Castagné, Raphaële, Plusquin, Michelle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Child
Cohort Studies
CpG Islands
DNA Methylation
Educational Status
Epigenesis, Genetic
Epigenetics & Genetics
Female
Genome-Wide Association Study
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Life Sciences
Male
Maternal Exposure
Occupations
Pregnancy
Social Class
Sulfotransferases - genetics
United Kingdom
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Summary:Abstract Background Socioeconomic experiences are recognized determinants of health, and recent work has shown that social disadvantages in early life may induce sustained biological changes at molecular level that are detectable later in life. However, the dynamics and persistence of biological embedding of socioeconomic position (SEP) remains vastly unexplored. Methods Using the data from the ALSPAC birth cohort, we performed epigenome-wide association studies of DNA methylation changes at three life stages (birth, n = 914; childhood at mean age 7.5 years, n = 973; and adolescence at mean age 15.5 years, n = 974), measured using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 Beadchip, in relation to pregnancy SEP indicators (maternal and paternal education and occupation). Results Across the four early life SEP metrics investigated, only maternal education was associated with methylation levels at birth, and four CpGs mapped to SULF1, GLB1L2 and RPUSD1 genes were identified [false discovery rate (FDR)-corrected P-value 
ISSN:0300-5771
1464-3685
DOI:10.1093/ije/dyy259