Blood-based epigenome-wide analyses of 19 common disease states: A longitudinal, population-based linked cohort study of 18,413 Scottish individuals.

ABSTRACT:

Background

DNA methylation is a dynamic epigenetic mechanism that occurs at cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) sites. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) investigate the strength of association between methylation at individual CpG sites and health outcomes. Although blood methylation may act as a peripheral marker of common disease states, previous EWAS have typically focused only on individual conditions and have had limited power to discover disease-associated loci. This study examined the association of blood DNA methylation with the prevalence of 14 disease states and the incidence of 19 disease states in a single population of over 18,000 Scottish individuals.

Methods and findings

DNA methylation was assayed at 752,722 CpG sites in whole-blood samples

SUBMITTER: Hillary RF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10325072 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature