Socio-Economic Position Under the Microscope: Getting ‘Under the Skin’ and into the Cells

McCrory, Cathal; McLoughlin, Sinéad; O’Halloran, Aisling

doi:10.1007/s40471-019-00217-1

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Recent reviews summarizing the effects of SEP on epigenetic patterns suggest that SEP is linked to DNAm differences in childhood and adulthood [17][18][19] . In fact, over 30 studies have found a relationship between childhood SEP and DNAm.…”

Section: Dozens Of Observational and Quasi-experimental Studies Examining These Indicators Havementioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic changes predict genome-wide DNA methylation in childhood

Liu

Cerutti

Lussier

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) is a major determinant of health and well-being across the entire life course. To effectively prevent and reduce health risks related to SEP, it is critical to better understand when and under what circumstances socioeconomic adversity shapes biological processes. DNA methylation (DNAm) is one such mechanism for how early life adversity "gets under the skin". Using data from a large, longitudinal birth cohort, we showed that changes in the socioeconomic environment may influence DNAm at age 7. We also showed that middle childhood (ages 6-7) may be a potential sensitive period when socioeconomic instability, reflected in parental job loss, is especially important in shaping DNAm. Our findings highlight the importance of socioeconomic stability during childhood, providing biological evidence in support of public programs to help children and families experiencing socioeconomic instability and other forms of socioeconomic adversity during childhood.

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Section: Dozens Of Observational and Quasi-experimental Studies Examining These Indicators Havementioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic changes predict genome-wide DNA methylation in childhood

Liu

Cerutti

Lussier

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To better understand the role of SEP on epigenetic processes, we performed a scoping review of empirical studies (global, candidate gene, and EWAS) investigating the association between SEP and DNAm in humans. Prior reviews on this topic have focused on a narrow subset of SEP indicators (e.g., neighborhood disadvantage) [ 27 ], mechanisms to investigate epigenetic changes (e.g., epigenetic clock, telomere attrition) [ 28 ], or specific time periods in the life course (e.g., childhood) [ 29 , 30 ]. Our aim, therefore, was to characterize the overall evidence on the association between SEP and DNAm, including diverse SEP indicators and DNAm approaches across the entire life course.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2021

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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 timing, duration, and type of SEP exposure influenced DNAm. Results Across the 37 identified studies, we found that: (1) SEP-related DNAm signatures varied across the timing, duration, and type of SEP indicator; (2) however, longitudinal studies examining repeated SEP and DNAm measures are generally lacking; and (3) prior studies are conceptually and methodologically diverse, limiting the interpretability of findings across studies with respect to these three SEP features. Conclusions Given the complex relationship between SEP and DNAm across the lifespan, these findings underscore the importance of analyzing SEP features, including timing, duration, and type. To guide future research, we highlight additional research gaps and propose four recommendations to further unravel the relationship between SEP and DNAm.

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“…Here, we performed a systematic review of empirical studies investigating the association between SEP and DNAm in humans, focusing on multiple SEP indicators and DNAm measures across the life course. This comprehensive scope distinguishes our review from prior efforts, which explored a narrow subset of SEP exposure (e.g., neighborhood disadvantage) (26), mechanisms to investigate epigenetic changes (e.g., epigenetic clock, telomere attrition) (27), or specific time periods in the life course (e.g., early-life SEP) (28, 29, 30). Our overarching goal was to characterize the overall evidence on the relationship between SEP and DNAm to address two specific research questions, which have not yet been addressed in prior reviews.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between indicators of socioeconomic position and DNA methylation: A systematic review

Cerutti¹,

Lussier

Zhu

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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 possible explanation is through an epigenetic process called DNA methylation (DNAm), wherein the socioeconomic environment causes no alteration in the DNA sequence but modifies gene activity, gene expression, and therefore long-term health. To understand the evidence supporting a potential SEP-DNAm link, we performed a systematic review of published empirical findings on the association between SEP (from prenatal development to adulthood) and DNAm measured across the life course, with an eye toward evaluating how the timing, duration, and type of SEP exposure influenced DNAm. Across the 37 studies we identified, there was some evidence for the effect of SEP timing and duration on DNAm, with early-life SEP and persistently low SEP being particularly strong indicators of DNAm. Different indicators of SEP also had some unique associations with DNAm profiles, suggesting that SEP is not a singular concept, but rather that different aspects of the socioeconomic environment can shift DNAm patterns through distinct pathways. These differences with respect to SEP timing, duration, and type were notable because they were detected even among heterogenous study designs. Overall, findings from this review underscore the importance of analyzing SEP timing, duration, and type, given the complex relationship between SEP and DNAm across the lifespan. To guide future research, we highlight current limitations in the literature and propose recommendations for overcoming some of these challenges.

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Socio-Economic Position Under the Microscope: Getting ‘Under the Skin’ and into the Cells

Cited by 6 publications

References 86 publications

Socioeconomic changes predict genome-wide DNA methylation in childhood

Socioeconomic changes predict genome-wide DNA methylation in childhood

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

Associations between indicators of socioeconomic position and DNA methylation: A systematic review

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