An epigenome-wide analysis of DNA methylation, racialized and economic inequities, and air pollution.

ABSTRACT:

Background

DNA methylation (DNAm) provides a plausible mechanism by which adverse exposures become embodied and contribute to health inequities, due to its role in genome regulation and responsiveness to social and biophysical exposures tied to societal context. However, scant epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have included structural and lifecourse measures of exposure, especially in relation to structural discrimination. Our study tested the hypothesis that DNAm is a mechanism by which racial discrimination, economic adversity, and air pollution become biologically embodied, via a series of cross-sectional EWAS, conducted in two population-based samples of US-born Black non-Hispanic (Black NH), white non-Hispanic (white NH), and Hispanic individuals (My Body My Story:: n 

SUBMITTER: Watkins SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12764144 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature