Considerations for study design and analysis for ethically and culturally safe DNA methylation research in Aotearoa New Zealand.

ABSTRACT: Epigenetic research, particularly DNA methylation (DNAm), holds significant potential for improving cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction, yet its application must be guided by ethical and culturally responsive considerations. This paper examines the integration of a values-based framework to ensure the culturally safe conduct of DNAm research within the Multi-Ethnic New Zealand Study of Acute Coronary Syndromes (MENZACS) cohort. Grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and kaupapa Māori methodologies, this study emphasises equity, social accountability, and indigenous data sovereignty. This study was not designed as a discovery epigenome wide analysis, but rather performed, as an exemplar, a SWOT analysis that identified both the potential of DNAm markers, such as cg05575921 in

SUBMITTER: Rolleston A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12723301 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature