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Prenatal risk factors and neonatal DNA methylation in very preterm infants

Marie Camerota1,2, Stefan Graw3, Todd M Everson3,4

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. marie_camerota@brown.edu.

Clinical Epigenetics
|September 11, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal risk factors are linked to infant health outcomes through epigenetic changes. This study found associations between maternal risk profiles and DNA methylation in very preterm infants.

Area of Science:

  • Perinatal epidemiology
  • Epigenetics
  • Neonatal health

Background:

  • Prenatal risk factors can negatively impact infant health and development.
  • Epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, may mediate these effects.
  • Understanding these links is crucial for identifying at-risk infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prenatal risk profiles and epigenome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm).
  • To examine both person-centered risk profiles and cumulative risk models.
  • To explore potential epigenetic biomarkers of prenatal risk exposure in very preterm neonates.

Main Methods:

  • Studied 542 infants born before 30 weeks postmenstrual age.
  • Assessed 24 prenatal risk factors using maternal report and medical records.
  • Defined risk profiles via latent class analysis and quantified DNAm from buccal cells.

Main Results:

  • Identified three maternal risk profiles: low risk (61%), elevated physical risk (26%), and elevated psychological risk (13%).
  • Found differential DNAm at 2 CpG sites associated with higher risk profiles.
  • Observed associations between cumulative prenatal risk and methylation at 15 CpG sites, many in genes related to health and neurodevelopment.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal risk factors are associated with DNA methylation patterns in very preterm infants.
  • Both person-centered and cumulative risk approaches reveal these epigenetic links.
  • Epigenetics may serve as a biological indicator of prenatal risk exposure.
Abstract

Keywords:
BuccalEpigeneticsEpigenome-wide association study (EWAS)MethylationNeonatalPrenatalPreterm

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