DNA Methylation Mediates the Association Between Prenatal Maternal Stress and the Broad Autism Phenotype in Human Adolescents: Project Ice Storm.

ABSTRACT: Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) predicts risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), although the mechanisms are unknown. Because ASD and autistic-like traits have been associated with both prenatal stress and DNA methylation differences, it is important to examine whether epigenetic mechanisms mediate the pathway from PNMS to later autistic-like outcomes. This study aimed to determine the extent to which DNA methylation mediates the association between PNMS from a natural disaster and autistic-like traits in offspring assessed during adolescence. Five months following the 1998 ice storm in Quebec, we recruited women who had been pregnant during the crisis and assessed their PNMS: objective hardship, subjective distress, and cognitive appraisal. At age 13, their children provided blood sampl

SUBMITTER: Cao-Lei L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12524645 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature