Associations between indicators of socioeconomic position and DNA methylation: a scoping review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Socioeconomic position (SEP) is a major determinant of health across the life course. Yet, little is known about the biological mechanisms explaining this relationship. One possibility widely pursued in the scientific literature is that SEP becomes biologically embedded through epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation (DNAm), wherein the socioeconomic environment causes no alteration in the DNA sequence but modifies gene activity in ways that shape health.

Methods

To understand the evidence supporting a potential SEP-DNAm link, we performed a scoping review of published empirical findings on the association between SEP assessed from prenatal development to adulthood and DNAm measured across the life course, with an emphasis on exploring how the developmental t

SUBMITTER: Cerutti J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8672601 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature