Linking Prenatal Environmental Exposures to Lifetime Health with Epigenome-Wide Association Studies: State-of-the-Science Review and Future Recommendations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The prenatal environment influences lifetime health; epigenetic mechanisms likely predominate. In 2016, the first international consortium paper on cigarette smoking during pregnancy and offspring DNA methylation identified extensive, reproducible exposure signals. This finding raised expectations for epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) of other exposures.

Objective

We review the current state-of-the-science for DNA methylation associations across prenatal exposures in humans and provide future recommendations.

Methods

We reviewed 134 prenatal environmental EWAS of DNA methylation in newborns, focusing on 51 epidemiological studies with meta-analysis or replication testing. Exposures spanned cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, air pollution, dieta

SUBMITTER: Bakulski KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10695268 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature