title: Epigenetic Mediators Between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Mid-Life Body Mass Index: The New England Family Study.
abstract: Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with adulthood obesity risk; however, epigenetic mechanisms are poorly understood. This work's objective was to evaluate whether associations of childhood socioeconomic disadvantage with adulthood body mass index (BMI) are mediated by DNA methylation.
  
  
  
  Participants were 141 men and women from the New England Family Study, prospectively followed prenatally through a mean age of 47 years. Epigenomewide DNA methylation was evaluated in peripheral blood and adipose tissue obtained at adulthood, using the Infinium HumanMethylation450K BeadChip. Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) at age 7 years was assessed directly from parents' reports. Offspring adiposity was directly assessed using BMI at a mean age of 47 years. Associations of SES, DNA methylation, and BMI were estimated using least square estimators. Statistical mediation analyses were performed using joint significance test and bootstrapping.
  
  
  
  Of CpG sites significant at the 25% false discovery rate level in epigenomewide methylation BMI analyses, 91 sites in men and 71 sites in women were additionally significant for SES-methylation associations (p < .001) in adipose tissue. Many involved genes biologically relevant for development of obesity, including fatty acid synthase, transmembrane protein 88, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, and neuritin 1. There was no evidence of epigenetic mediation in peripheral blood leukocytes.
  
  
  
  DNA methylation at specific genes may be mediators of associations between childhood socioeconomic disadvantage and mid-life BMI in adipose tissue. Findings motivate continued efforts to study if and how childhood socioeconomic disadvantage is biologically embedded at the level of the epigenome in regions etiologically relevant for adiposity.
authors: From the Department of Epidemiology (Loucks, Huang, Chu, Eaton, Buka, Kelsey), Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island; Department of Environmental Health (Agha), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Family Medicine (Eaton), Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island; Health Behavior Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research (Gilman), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Rockville, Maryland; and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Epidemiology (Gilman), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Eric B
authors: EB
authors: Loucks
authors: Yen-Tsung
authors: YT
authors: Huang
authors: Golareh
authors: G
authors: Agha
authors: Su
authors: S
authors: Chu
authors: Charles B
authors: CB
authors: Eaton
authors: Stephen E
authors: SE
authors: Gilman
authors: Stephen L
authors: SL
authors: Buka
authors: Karl T
authors: KT
authors: Kelsey
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000069586:Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class