1 5113 99 POPULATION-LEVEL IMPACTS OF PESTICIDE-INDUCED CHRONIC EFFECTS ON INDIVIDUALS DEPEND MORE ON ECOLOGY THAN TOXICOLOGY. THE CURRENT METHOD FOR ASSESSING LONG-TERM RISK OF PESTICIDES TO MAMMALS IN THE EU IS BASED ON THE INDIVIDUAL RATHER THAN THE POPULATION-LEVEL AND LACKS ECOLOGICAL REALISM. HENCE THERE IS LITTLE POSSIBILITY FOR REGULATORY AUTHORITIES TO INCREASE ECOLOGICAL REALISM AND UNDERSTANDING OF RISKS AT THE POPULATION-LEVEL. HERE WE DEMONSTRATE HOW, USING ABM MODELLING, ASSESSMENTS AT THE POPULATION-LEVEL CAN BE OBTAINED EVEN FOR A PESTICIDE WITH COMPLEX LONG-TERM EFFECTS SUCH AS EPIGENETIC TRANSMISSION OF REPRODUCTIVE DEPRESSION. BY OBJECTIVELY FITTING NONLINEAR MODELS TO THE SIMULATION OUTPUTS IT WAS POSSIBLE TO COMPARE POPULATION DEPRESSION AND RECOVERY RATES FOR A RANGE OF SCENARIOS IN WHICH TOXICITY AND EXPOSURE FACTORS WERE VARIED. THE SYSTEM WAS DIFFERENTIALLY SENSITIVE TO THE VARIOUS FACTORS, BUT VOLE ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR WERE AT LEAST AS IMPORTANT PREDICTORS OF POPULATION-LEVEL EFFECTS AS TOXICOLOGY. THIS EMPHASISES THE NEED FOR GREATER FOCUS ON ANIMAL ECOLOGY IN RISK ASSESSMENTS. 2009 2 5085 23 PILOT STUDY OF ABSOLUTE TELOMERE LENGTHS IN PRETERM INFANTS. BACKGROUND: ANNUALLY, APPROXIMATELY 15 MILLION BABIES ARE BORN PRETERM (<37 WEEKS GESTATIONAL AGE) GLOBALLY. IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU) ENVIRONMENT, INFANTS ARE EXPOSED TO REPEATED STRESSFUL OR PAINFUL PROCEDURES AS PART OF ROUTINE LIFESAVING CARE. THESE PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS THAT MAY LEAD TO AN INCREASED RISK OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. TELOMERE LENGTH HAS BEEN NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERSE LIFE EXPERIENCES IN STUDIES OF ADULTS. OBJECTIVES: THIS PILOT STUDY AIMED TO DESCRIBE TELOMERE LENGTH IN A SAMPLE OF PRETERM INFANTS AT NICU DISCHARGE AND EXAMINE ANY ASSOCIATIONS WITH PAIN, FEEDING METHOD, AND NEURODEVELOPMENT. METHODS: THIS DESCRIPTIVE PILOT STUDY SAMPLE INCLUDES BASELINE ABSOLUTE TELOMERE LENGTH (ATL) OF 36 PRETERM INFANTS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO DISCHARGE. QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WAS USED TO DETERMINE ATL. INFANT DEMOGRAPHICS, PAIN/STRESS, TYPE OF FEEDING, ANTIBIOTIC USE, NEURODEVELOPMENT, AND BUCCAL SWAB DATA WERE COLLECTED. DESCRIPTIVE DATA ANALYSIS WAS USED TO DESCRIBE THE TELOMERE LENGTH USING GRAPHS. RESULTS: AMONG OUR PRETERM INFANT SAMPLES, THE MEAN ATL WAS FAR GREATER THAN THE AVERAGE ADULT TELOMERE LENGTH. ALTHOUGH NO SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN ATL AND PAIN, FEEDING METHOD, AND NEURODEVELOPMENT, A TREND BETWEEN SEX WAS NOTED WHERE MALE TELOMERE LENGTHS WERE SHORTER THAN FEMALES AS THEY AGED. DISCUSSION: THIS IS ONE OF FEW STUDIES TO EVALUATE PRETERM INFANT TELOMERE LENGTH. ALTHOUGH OTHER RESEARCHERS HAVE USED RELATIVE TELOMERE LENGTH, WE USED THE MORE ACCURATE ATL. WE FOUND NONSIGNIFICANT SHORTER TELOMERE LENGTHS AMONG MALES. ADDITIONAL LARGE-SCALE, LONGITUDINAL STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO BETTER IDENTIFY THE PREDICTORS OF TELOMERE LENGTH AT THE TIME OF DISCHARGE FROM NICU. 2021 3 92 22 A PILOT STUDY INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF GENDER IN THE INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GENE EXPRESSION, CHRONIC PAIN, AND ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES IN A CLINICAL SAMPLE OF YOUTH WITH CHRONIC PAIN. CHRONIC PAIN IS A HIGHLY PREVALENT AND COSTLY ISSUE THAT OFTEN EMERGES DURING CHILDHOOD OR ADOLESCENCE AND PERSISTS INTO ADULTHOOD. ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACES) INCREASE RISK FOR SEVERAL ADVERSE HEALTH CONDITIONS, INCLUDING CHRONIC PAIN. RECENT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT PARENTAL TRAUMA (ACES, POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) SYMPTOMS) CONFERS RISK OF POOR HEALTH OUTCOMES IN THEIR CHILDREN. INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PARENTAL TRAUMA AND CHILD CHRONIC PAIN MAY BE MEDIATED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. A CLINICAL SAMPLE OF YOUTH WITH CHRONIC PAIN AND THEIR PARENTS COMPLETED PSYCHOMETRICALLY SOUND QUESTIONNAIRES ASSESSING ACES, PTSD SYMPTOMS, AND CHRONIC PAIN, AND PROVIDED A SALIVA SAMPLE. THESE WERE USED TO INVESTIGATE THE INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FOUR EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS (COMT, DRD2, GR, AND SERT), TRAUMA, AND CHRONIC PAIN. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE SIGNIFICANT BIOMARKERS WERE DEPENDENT UPON THE GENDER OF THE CHILD, WHEREIN PARENTAL ACES SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED WITH CHANGES IN DRD2 EXPRESSION IN FEMALE CHILDREN AND ALTERED COMT EXPRESSION IN THE PARENTS OF MALE CHILDREN. ADDITIONALLY, THE NATURE OF THE ACE (MALTREATMENT VS. HOUSEHOLD DYSFUNCTION) WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC CHANGES. THERE MAY BE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS THROUGH WHICH PARENTAL ACES CONFER RISK FOR POOR OUTCOMES FOR MALES AND FEMALES, HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF CHILD GENDER IN FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS. 2021 4 5827 25 STRESS, BURNOUT AND DEPRESSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ON DNA METHYLATION MECHANISMS. DESPITE THAT BURNOUT PRESENTS A SERIOUS BURDEN FOR MODERN SOCIETY, THERE ARE NO DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA. ADDITIONAL DIFFICULTY IS THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS WITH DEPRESSION. CONSEQUENTLY, THERE IS A NEED TO DISPOSE OF A BURNOUT BIOMARKER. EPIGENETIC STUDIES SUGGEST THAT DNA METHYLATION IS A POSSIBLE MEDIATOR LINKING INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE TO STRESS AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND COULD BE CONSIDERED AS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER OF STRESS-RELATED MENTAL DISORDERS. THUS, THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW IS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF DNA METHYLATION MECHANISMS IN STRESS, BURNOUT AND DEPRESSION. IN ADDITION TO STATE-OF-THE-ART OVERVIEW, THE GOAL OF THIS REVIEW IS TO PROVIDE A SCIENTIFIC BASE FOR BURNOUT BIOMARKER RESEARCH. WE PERFORMED A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE SEARCH AND IDENTIFIED 25 PERTINENT ARTICLES. AMONG THESE, 15 FOCUSED ON DEPRESSION, 7 ON CHRONIC STRESS AND ONLY 3 ON WORK STRESS/BURNOUT. THREE EPIGENOME-WIDE STUDIES WERE IDENTIFIED AND THE MAJORITY OF STUDIES USED THE CANDIDATE-GENE APPROACH, ASSESSING 12 DIFFERENT GENES. THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR GENE (NR3C1) DISPLAYED DIFFERENT METHYLATION PATTERNS IN CHRONIC STRESS AND DEPRESSION. THE SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER GENE (SLC6A4) METHYLATION WAS SIMILARLY AFFECTED IN STRESS, DEPRESSION AND BURNOUT. WORK-RELATED STRESS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT METHYLATION PATTERNS OF THE BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE (BDNF) IN THE SAME HUMAN SAMPLE. THE TYROSINE HYDROXYLASE (TH) METHYLATION WAS CORRELATED WITH WORK STRESS IN A SINGLE STUDY. ADDITIONAL, THOROUGHLY DESIGNED LONGITUDINAL STUDIES ARE NECESSARY FOR REVEALING THE CAUSE-EFFECT RELATIONSHIP OF WORK STRESS, EPIGENETICS AND BURNOUT, INCLUDING ITS OVERLAP WITH DEPRESSION. 2017 5 2622 27 EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES IN ASTHMA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: ASTHMA IS A COMMON CHRONIC RESPIRATORY AIRWAY DISEASE INFLUENCED BY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND POSSIBLY THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE HUMAN GENOME CAUSING EPIGENETIC CHANGES. EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (EWAS) HAVE MAINLY INVESTIGATED DNA METHYLATION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH DISEASE OR TRAITS, EXPOSURE FACTORS OR GENE EXPRESSION. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AIMED TO IDENTIFY ALL EWAS ASSESSING DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED SITES ASSOCIATED WITH ASTHMA IN HUMANS. DESIGN: STRUCTURED SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE SEARCH FOLLOWING PRISMA GUIDELINES, NEWCASTLE-OTTAWA SCALE (NOS) FOR COHORT STUDIES WAS USED FOR BIAS ASSESSMENT. DATA SOURCES: WE SEARCHED PUBMED AND EMBASE DATABASES FROM 2005 TO 2019. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES TESTING ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DIFFERENTIAL METHYLATION AND ASTHMA IN HUMANS. RESULTS: OVERALL, WE IDENTIFIED 16 EWAS STUDIES COMPLYING WITH OUR SEARCH CRITERIA. TWELVE STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED ON CHILDREN, AND 10 WERE CONDUCTED ON SAMPLE SIZES <150 SUBJECTS. FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETEEN CPGS WERE REPORTED IN CHILDREN STUDIES AFTER CORRECTION FOR MULTIPLE TESTING. IN THE ADULT STUDIES, THOUSANDS OF DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED SITES WERE IDENTIFIED. DIFFERENTIAL METHYLATION IN INFLAMMATORY-RELATED GENES CORRELATED WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF GENE EXPRESSIONS OF INFLAMMATORY MODULATORS IN ASTHMA. DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED GENES ASSOCIATED WITH ASTHMA INCLUDED SMAD3, SERPINC1, PROK1, IL13, RUNX3 AND TIGIT. FORTY-ONE CPGS WERE REPLICATED AT LEAST ONCE IN BLOOD SAMPLES, AND 28 CPGS WERE REPLICATED IN NASAL SAMPLES. CONCLUSION: ALTHOUGH MANY DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED CPGS IN GENES KNOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN ASTHMA HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN EWAS TO DATE, WE CONCLUDE THAT FURTHER STUDIES OF LARGER SAMPLE SIZES AND ANALYSES OF DIFFERENTIAL METHYLATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT PHENOTYPES ARE NEEDED IN ORDER TO COMPREHENSIVELY EVALUATE THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC FACTORS IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND HETEROGENEITY OF ASTHMA, AND THE POTENTIAL CLINICAL UTILITY TO PREDICT OR CLASSIFY PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA. 2019 6 1957 29 EPIGENETIC AGE PREDICTORS IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING ADULTS WITH HIGH IMPACT KNEE PAIN. GERONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH REVEALS CONSIDERABLE INTERINDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY IN AGING PHENOTYPES, AND EMERGING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT HIGH IMPACT CHRONIC PAIN MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS ACCELERATED BIOLOGICAL AGING PROCESSES. IN PARTICULAR, EPIGENETIC AGING IS A ROBUST PREDICTOR OF HEALTH-SPAN AND DISABILITY COMPARED TO CHRONOLOGICAL AGE ALONE. THE CURRENT STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER SEVERAL EPIGENETIC AGING BIOMARKERS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH IMPACT CHRONIC PAIN IN MIDDLE TO OLDER AGE ADULTS (44-78 YEARS OLD). PARTICIPANTS (N = 213) UNDERWENT A BLOOD DRAW, DEMOGRAPHIC, PSYCHOSOCIAL, PAIN AND FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENTS. WE ESTIMATED FIVE EPIGENETIC CLOCKS AND CALCULATED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EPIGENETIC AGE AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE, WHICH HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY REPORTED TO PREDICT OVERALL MORTALITY RISK, AS WELL AS INCLUDED ADDITIONAL DERIVED VARIABLES OF EPIGENETIC AGE PREVIOUSLY ASSOCIATED WITH PAIN. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES ACROSS PAIN IMPACT GROUPS IN THREE OUT OF THE FIVE EPIGENETIC CLOCKS EXAMINED (DNAMAGE, DNAMPHENOAGE AND DNAMGRIMAGE), INDICATING THAT PAIN-RELATED DISABILITY DURING THE PAST 6 MONTHS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MARKERS OF EPIGENETIC AGING. ONLY DNAMPHENOAGE AND DNAMGRIMAGE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER KNEE PAIN INTENSITY DURING THE PAST 48 H. FINALLY, PAIN CATASTROPHIZING, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMATOLOGY AND MORE NEUROPATHIC PAIN SYMPTOMS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH AN OLDER EPIGENOME IN ONLY ONE OF THE FIVE EPIGENETIC CLOCKS (I.E. DNAMGRIMAGE) AFTER CORRECTING FOR MULTIPLE COMPARISONS (CORRECTED P'S < 0.05). GIVEN THE SCANT LITERATURE IN RELATION TO EPIGENETIC AGING AND THE COMPLEX EXPERIENCE OF PAIN, ADDITIONAL RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER EPIGENETIC AGING MAY HELP IDENTIFY PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC PAIN AT GREATER RISK OF FUNCTIONAL DECLINE AND POORER HEALTH OUTCOMES. 2022 7 5957 21 TELOMERE LENGTH AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS. EVIDENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENETICS AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE FLOURISHING. HOWEVER, FEW STUDIES ARE EVALUATING EARLY BIOMARKERS THAT MIGHT LINK GENES, ENVIRONMENT, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY. WE AIMED TO STUDY TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION (AA) IN A COHORT OF ADOLESCENTS WITH AND WITHOUT ANXIETY DISORDERS (N = 234). WE EVALUATED A REPRESENTATIVE SUBSAMPLE OF PARTICIPANTS AT BASELINE AND AFTER 5 YEARS (N = 76) AND CATEGORIZED THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR ANXIETY DISORDER DIAGNOSIS AT BOTH TIME POINTS: (1) CONTROL GROUP (NO ANXIETY DISORDER, N = 18), (2) VARIABLE GROUP (ANXIETY DISORDER IN ONE EVALUATION, N = 38), AND (3) PERSISTENT GROUP (ANXIETY DISORDER AT BOTH TIME POINTS, N = 20). WE ASSESSED RELATIVE MEAN TL BY REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR AND DNA METHYLATION BY INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450 BEADCHIP. WE CALCULATED AA USING THE HORVATH AGE ESTIMATION ALGORITHM AND ANALYZED DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS USING GENERALIZED LINEAR MIXED MODELS. THE PERSISTENT GROUP OF ANXIETY DISORDER DID NOT CHANGE TL OVER TIME (P = 0.495). THE VARIABLE GROUP HAD HIGHER BASELINE TL (P = 0.003) BUT NO ACCELERATED TL EROSION IN COMPARISON TO THE NON-ANXIETY CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.053). FURTHERMORE, THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN AA AMONG GROUPS OVER TIME. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT ADOLESCENTS WITH CHRONIC ANXIETY DID NOT CHANGE TELOMERE LENGTH OVER TIME, WHICH COULD BE RELATED TO A DELAY IN NEURONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THIS PERIOD OF LIFE. 2021 8 1058 25 CLINICAL MEASURES OF ALLOSTATIC LOAD IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH FOOD ALLERGY, DEPRESSION, OR ANXIETY. PURPOSE: SUSTAINED HIGH STRESS EXPOSURE RESULTS IN CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF THE STRESS RESPONSE SYSTEM, DYSREGULATED STRESS RESPONSES, HIGH ALLOSTATIC LOAD, AND POOR LATER-LIFE HEALTH. CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS FACE STRESSORS RELATED TO THEIR CONDITION IN ADDITION TO THOSE TYPICAL OF CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE, PLACING THEM AT RISK OF HIGH ALLOSTATIC LOAD. THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECONDARY ANALYSIS WAS TO EXAMINE WHETHER YOUTH WITH CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS DIFFER FROM CONTROLS ON CLINICAL MEASURES OF ALLOSTATIC LOAD. DESIGN AND METHODS: A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF TWO DATASETS, THE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD OF A TERTIARY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND DATA FROM THE SURVEY OF THE HEALTH OF WISCONSIN, COMPARED YOUTH WITH CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS TO CONTROLS ON CLINICAL MEASURES OF ALLOSTATIC LOAD. ADDITIONAL ANALYSES EXPLORED WHETHER PARENTAL STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH INFLUENCED THESE RELATIONSHIPS. RESULTS: ANALYSES IDENTIFIED DIFFERENCES IN BMI, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE BETWEEN YOUTH WITH FOOD ALLERGY, ANXIETY, OR DEPRESSION, AND CONTROLS. THESE RELATIONSHIPS DIFFERED FOR MALES AND FEMALES AND FOR THOSE WITH COMORBID MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONS, AND WERE INFLUENCED BY PARENT STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS SUPPORT FUTURE STUDIES EXPLORING WHETHER HIGH STRESS IN YOUTH WITH CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS LEADS TO INCREASED ALLOSTATIC LOAD. INCORPORATING BIOMARKERS AS WELL AS GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL INSIGHTS. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: YOUTH WITH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CHCS MAY BE AT INCREASED RISK OF HIGH ALLOSTATIC LOAD, REFLECTED IN CLINICAL MEASURES OF METABOLISM, AND SHOULD HAVE REGULAR ASSESSMENTS OF THEIR METABOLIC HEALTH. 2021 9 5517 34 RISK FACTOR ASSESSMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN NORTH KERALA. OBJECTIVE: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A MULTIFACTORIAL DISEASE; IT LEADS TO DISABLING AND PAINFUL CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS. ITS ONSET MAY BE DELAYED OR EVEN PREVENTED BY MODIFYING THE RISK FACTORS INVOLVED. MANY GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF RA. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS CASE-CONTROL STUDY WERE TO ASSESS VARIOUS RISK FACTORS IN OUR POPULATION AND TO COMPARE THE SAME WITH AGE- AND SEX-MATCHED CONTROLS. METHODS: WE STUDIED 118 CASES WITH RA DIAGNOSED USING THE EULAR CRITERIA. IN TOTAL, 581 AGE- AND SEX-MATCHED CONTROLS WERE SELECTED. EACH INDIVIDUAL WAS ADMINISTERED A SEPARATE QUESTIONNAIRE REGARDING THEIR RISK FACTORS (KNOWN RISK FACTORS WERE STUDIED). THE IMPLICATED DIETARY FACTORS WERE INCORPORATED IN A FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE (FFQ) AND ADMINISTERED TO BOTH CASES AND CONTROLS. COMPARISON WAS MADE BETWEEN THOSE WHO CONSUME AN ITEM AT A PARTICULAR FREQUENCY, WHO CONSUME LESS, AND WHO CONSUME NOTHING AT ALL. AMONG THOSE WHO CONSUME, EACH GROUP WAS RE-COMPARED. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED USING STATISTICAL PACKAGE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES (IBM CORP.; ARMONK, NY, USA). RESULTS: THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP FOR FAMILY HISTORY, PERIODONTITIS, HISTORY OF CHIKUNGUNYA, AND SUN EXPOSURE (P<0.05). ASSOCIATION WITH VARIOUS FOOD ITEMS WAS STUDIED USING THE FFQ, BUT THE RELATIONSHIP WAS INCONSISTENT, PROBABLY DUE TO CONSUMPTION OF MODIFIED DIET BY THE PERSONS WITH RA. ALSO, A MAJORITY OF CASES WERE FEMALES AND NONSMOKERS FOR ASSESSING AN ASSOCIATION WITH SMOKING HABITS. CONCLUSION: IN OUR POPULATION, PREVIOUS INFECTIONS (E.G., CHIKUNGUNYA AND POOR ORAL HYGIENE WITH PERIODONTITIS) WERE THE PROMINENTLY OBSERVED RISK FACTORS. ALSO, SMOKING WAS LESS COMMON AMONG WOMEN, AND PROBABLY CONTRIBUTED LESS, AS MAJORITY OF CASES WERE FEMALES. FOR DIETARY PATTERN ASSOCIATION, A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY MAY BE NEEDED. 2018 10 5395 25 REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE IN OLDER ADULTS WITH HIGH SENSE OF PURPOSE IN LIFE. PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK FACTORS HAVE BEEN LINKED WITH ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT WHETHER PSYCHOSOCIAL RESILIENCE FACTORS (EG, SENSE OF PURPOSE IN LIFE) MIGHT REDUCE EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. IN THIS STUDY, WE TESTED IF OLDER ADULTS WHO EXPERIENCE HIGH LEVELS OF PURPOSE MIGHT SHOW REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. WE EVALUATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PURPOSE AND EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION AS MEASURED BY 13 DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) "EPIGENETIC CLOCKS" ASSESSED IN 1 572 OLDER ADULTS FROM THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY (MEAN AGE 70 YEARS). WE QUANTIFIED THE TOTAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PURPOSE AND DNAM AGE ACCELERATION AS WELL AS THE EXTENT TO WHICH THAT TOTAL ASSOCIATION MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, CHRONIC DISEASE, OTHER PSYCHOSOCIAL VARIABLES (EG, POSITIVE AFFECT), AND HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS (HEAVY DRINKING, SMOKING, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND BODY MASS INDEX [BMI]). PURPOSE IN LIFE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION ACROSS 4 "SECOND-GENERATION" DNAM CLOCKS OPTIMIZED FOR PREDICTING HEALTH AND LONGEVITY (FALSE DISCOVERY RATE [FDR] Q < 0.0001: PHENOAGE, GRIMAGE, ZHANG EPIGENETIC MORTALITY INDEX; FDR Q < 0.05: DUNEDINPOAM). THESE ASSOCIATIONS WERE INDEPENDENT OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS, BUT SUBSTANTIALLY ATTENUATED AFTER ADJUSTING FOR HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS (DRINKING, SMOKING, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND BMI). PURPOSE SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION WITH 9 "FIRST-GENERATION" DNAM EPIGENETIC CLOCKS TRAINED ON CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. OLDER ADULTS WITH GREATER PURPOSE IN LIFE SHOW "YOUNGER" DNAM EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION. THESE RESULTS MAY BE DUE IN PART TO ASSOCIATED DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS. RESULTS SUGGEST NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE BIOLOGICAL AGE ACCELERATION BY ENHANCING PURPOSE AND ITS BEHAVIORAL SEQUELAE IN LATE ADULTHOOD. 2023 11 2734 25 EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AGE MEASURES AND PSYCHONEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN WITH EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER. PURPOSE: THE EPIGENETIC CLOCK HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS AN INDICATOR FOR MOLECULAR AGING, BUT FEW STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED POSSIBLE ASSOCIATIONS OF DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) AGE OR AGE ACCELERATION (AA) WITH SYMPTOM BURDEN IN INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE TREATED FOR CANCER. THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE ASSOCIATION OF DNAM AGE OR AA WITH PSYCHONEUROLOGICAL (PN) SYMPTOMS, INCLUDING COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, PAIN, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS OVER A 2-YEAR PERIOD. METHODS: WE MEASURED PN SYMPTOMS USING RELIABLE INSTRUMENTS AND DNAM LEVELS BY INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450K BEADCHIP (N = 72). DNAM AGE WAS CALCULATED BY THE HORVATH, GRIM, AND HANNUM-BASED INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC AGE ESTIMATIONS. AA WAS DEFINED BY THE RESIDUAL REGRESSING ESTIMATED EPIGENETIC AGE ON CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. MIXED REGRESSION MODELS WERE FITTED FOR AA AND CHANGES IN AA TO STUDY THE ASSOCIATION OVER TIME. SEPARATE LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS AND A MIXED-EFFECTS MODEL WERE FITTED FOR AA AT EACH TIME POINT. RESULTS: HORVATH-AA, GRIM-AA, AND EXTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED OVER TIME, WHILE INTRINSIC EPIGENETIC AA DID NOT EXHIBIT ANY TEMPORAL CHANGES. INCREASED AA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER ANXIETY AND FATIGUE, AS WELL AS WORSE COGNITIVE MEMORY, ADJUSTING FOR RACE, BMI, INCOME, CHEMOTHERAPY, RADIATION THERAPY, AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE. INCREASED DNAM AGE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER ANXIETY OVER 2 YEARS. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST DNAM AGE AND AA MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH PN SYMPTOMS OVER THE COURSE OF CANCER TREATMENT AND SURVIVORSHIP. SOME PN SYMPTOMS MAY BE AMENABLE TO PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TO EPIGENETIC CLOCKS THAT INFLUENCE AGING-ASSOCIATED PROCESSES. 2022 12 2677 23 EVALUATING THE CHALLENGES AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF STUDIES INVESTIGATING DNA METHYLATION SIGNATURES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS. PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A WIDE RANGE OF NEGATIVE HEALTH OUTCOMES. STUDIES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED TO DETERMINE IF DNA METHYLATION CHANGES OCCUR IN THE HUMAN BRAIN BECAUSE OF STRESS AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM EFFECTS AND DISEASE, BUT RESULTS HAVE BEEN INCONSISTENT. HUMAN CANDIDATE GENE STUDIES (150) AND EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (67) WERE SYSTEMATICALLY EVALUATED TO ASSESS HOW DNA METHYLATION IS IMPACTED BY STRESS DURING THE PRENATAL PERIOD, EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ADULTHOOD. THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION OF NR3C1 EXON 1F AND CHILD MALTREATMENT AND EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY WAS WELL DEMONSTRATED, BUT OTHER GENES DID NOT EXHIBIT A CLEAR ASSOCIATION. THE REPRODUCIBILITY OF INDIVIDUAL CPG SITES IN EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES WAS ALSO POOR. HOWEVER, BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS, INCLUDING STRESS RESPONSE, BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND IMMUNITY, HAVE BEEN CONSISTENTLY IDENTIFIED ACROSS DIFFERENT STRESSORS THROUGHOUT THE LIFE SPAN. FUTURE STUDIES WOULD BENEFIT FROM THE INCREASED SAMPLE SIZE, LONGITUDINAL DESIGN, STANDARDIZED METHODOLOGY, OPTIMAL QUALITY CONTROL, AND IMPROVED STATISTICAL PROCEDURES. 2022 13 524 23 ASSOCIATIONS OF BDNF GENOTYPE AND PROMOTER METHYLATION WITH ACUTE AND LONG-TERM STROKE OUTCOMES IN AN EAST ASIAN COHORT. BACKGROUND: BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) HAS BEEN SHOWN TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN POSTSTROKE RECOVERY. BDNF SECRETION IS INFLUENCED BY GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC PROFILES. THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER BDNF VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM AND PROMOTER METHYLATION STATUS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH OUTCOMES AT TWO WEEKS AND ONE YEAR AFTER STROKE. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A TOTAL OF 286 PATIENTS WERE EVALUATED AT THE TIME OF ADMISSION AND TWO WEEKS AFTER STROKE, AND 222 (78%) WERE FOLLOWED ONE YEAR LATER IN ORDER TO EVALUATE CONSEQUENCES OF STROKE AT BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC STAGES. STROKE OUTCOMES WERE DICHOTOMISED INTO GOOD AND POOR BY THE MODIFIED RANKIN SCALE. STROKE SEVERITY (NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH STROKE SCALE), PHYSICAL DISABILITY (BARTHEL INDEX), AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION (MINI-MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION) WERE MEASURED. ASSOCIATIONS OF BDNF GENOTYPE AND METHYLATION STATUS ON STROKE OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT SCALE SCORES WERE INVESTIGATED USING LOGISTIC REGRESSION, REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA AND PARTIAL CORRELATION TESTS. BDNF VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM WAS INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH POOR OUTCOME AT 2 WEEKS AND AT 1 YEAR, AND WITH WORSENING PHYSICAL DISABILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION OVER THAT PERIOD. HIGHER BDNF PROMOTER METHYLATION STATUS WAS INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH WORSE OUTCOMES AT 1 YEAR, AND WITH THE WORSENING OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION. NO SIGNIFICANT GENOTYPE-METHYLATION INTERACTIONS WERE FOUND. CONCLUSIONS: A ROLE FOR BDNF IN POSTSTROKE RECOVERY WAS SUPPORTED, AND CLINICAL UTILITY OF BDNF GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC PROFILE AS PROGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS AND A TARGET FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT WAS SUGGESTED. 2012 14 2485 22 EPIGENETIC-BASED AGE ACCELERATION IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF OLDER AMERICANS: ASSOCIATIONS WITH AGING-RELATED MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. BIOMARKERS DEVELOPED FROM DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) DATA ARE OF GROWING INTEREST AS PREDICTORS OF HEALTH OUTCOMES AND MORTALITY IN OLDER POPULATIONS. HOWEVER, IT IS UNKNOWN HOW EPIGENETIC AGING FITS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF KNOWN SOCIOECONOMIC AND BEHAVIORAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH AGING-RELATED HEALTH OUTCOMES IN A LARGE, POPULATION-BASED, AND DIVERSE SAMPLE. THIS STUDY USES DATA FROM A REPRESENTATIVE, PANEL STUDY OF US OLDER ADULTS TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DNAM-BASED AGE ACCELERATION MEASURES IN THE PREDICTION OF CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL HEALTH OUTCOMES AND MORTALITY. WE EXAMINE WHETHER RECENT IMPROVEMENTS TO THESE SCORES, USING PRINCIPAL COMPONENT (PC)-BASED MEASURES DESIGNED TO REMOVE SOME OF THE TECHNICAL NOISE AND UNRELIABILITY IN MEASUREMENT, IMPROVE THE PREDICTIVE CAPABILITY OF THESE MEASURES. WE ALSO EXAMINE HOW WELL DNAM-BASED MEASURES PERFORM AGAINST WELL-KNOWN PREDICTORS OF HEALTH OUTCOMES SUCH AS DEMOGRAPHICS, SES, AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS. IN OUR SAMPLE, AGE ACCELERATION CALCULATED USING "SECOND AND THIRD GENERATION CLOCKS," PHENOAGE, GRIMAGE, AND DUNEDINPACE, IS CONSISTENTLY A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF HEALTH OUTCOMES INCLUDING CROSS-SECTIONAL COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION, FUNCTIONAL LIMITATIONS AND CHRONIC CONDITIONS ASSESSED 2 Y AFTER DNAM MEASUREMENT, AND 4-Y MORTALITY. PC-BASED EPIGENETIC AGE ACCELERATION MEASURES DO NOT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE THE RELATIONSHIP OF DNAM-BASED AGE ACCELERATION MEASURES TO HEALTH OUTCOMES OR MORTALITY COMPARED TO EARLIER VERSIONS OF THESE MEASURES. WHILE THE USEFULNESS OF DNAM-BASED AGE ACCELERATION AS A PREDICTOR OF LATER LIFE HEALTH OUTCOMES IS QUITE CLEAR, OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS DEMOGRAPHICS, SES, MENTAL HEALTH, AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS REMAIN EQUALLY, IF NOT MORE ROBUST, PREDICTORS OF LATER LIFE OUTCOMES. 2023 15 6112 27 THE EPIGENETIC CLOCK AS A PREDICTOR OF DISEASE AND MORTALITY RISK: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: AGEING IS ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL RISK FACTORS FOR MANY CHRONIC DISEASES. HOWEVER, THERE IS CONSIDERABLE BETWEEN-PERSON VARIATION IN THE RATE OF AGEING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THEIR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISEASE AND DEATH. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY PLAY A ROLE IN HUMAN AGEING, AND DNA METHYLATION AGE BIOMARKERS MAY BE GOOD PREDICTORS OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES AND MORTALITY RISK. THE AIMS OF THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WERE TO IDENTIFY AND SYNTHESISE THE EVIDENCE FOR AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PERIPHERALLY MEASURED DNA METHYLATION AGE AND LONGEVITY, AGE-RELATED DISEASE, AND MORTALITY RISK. METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED IN LINE WITH THE PREFERRED REPORTING ITEMS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES (PRISMA) GUIDELINES. USING RELEVANT SEARCH TERMS, MEDLINE, EMBASE, COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, AND PSYCHINFO DATABASES WERE SEARCHED TO IDENTIFY ARTICLES MEETING THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. STUDIES WERE ASSESSED FOR BIAS USING JOANNA BRIGGS INSTITUTE CRITICAL APPRAISAL CHECKLISTS. DATA WAS EXTRACTED FROM STUDIES MEASURING AGE ACCELERATION AS A PREDICTOR OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES, MORTALITY OR LONGEVITY, AND THE FINDINGS FOR SIMILAR OUTCOMES COMPARED. USING REVIEW MANAGER 5.3 SOFTWARE, TWO META-ANALYSES (ONE PER EPIGENETIC CLOCK) WERE CONDUCTED ON STUDIES MEASURING ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY. RESULTS: TWENTY-THREE RELEVANT ARTICLES WERE IDENTIFIED, INCLUDING A TOTAL OF 41,607 PARTICIPANTS. FOUR STUDIES FOCUSED ON AGEING AND LONGEVITY, 11 ON AGE-RELATED DISEASE (CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, AND DEMENTIA), AND 11 ON MORTALITY. THERE WAS SOME, ALTHOUGH INCONSISTENT, EVIDENCE FOR AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INCREASED DNA METHYLATION AGE AND RISK OF DISEASE. META-ANALYSES INDICATED THAT EACH 5-YEAR INCREASE IN DNA METHYLATION AGE WAS ASSOCIATED AN 8 TO 15% INCREASED RISK OF MORTALITY. CONCLUSION: DUE TO THE SMALL NUMBER OF STUDIES AND HETEROGENEITY IN STUDY DESIGN AND OUTCOMES, THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AGE AND AGE-RELATED DISEASE AND LONGEVITY IS INCONCLUSIVE. INCREASED EPIGENETIC AGE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MORTALITY RISK, BUT POSITIVE PUBLICATION BIAS NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH DNA METHYLATION AGE CAN BE USED AS A CLINICAL BIOMARKER. 2019 16 5605 21 ROUTINE ASSESSMENT AND PROMOTION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS: A SCIENTIFIC STATEMENT FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION. PHYSICAL INACTIVITY IS ONE OF THE MOST PREVALENT MAJOR HEALTH RISK FACTORS, WITH 8 IN 10 US ADULTS NOT MEETING AEROBIC AND MUSCLE-STRENGTHENING GUIDELINES, AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH A HIGH BURDEN OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. IMPROVING AND MAINTAINING RECOMMENDED LEVELS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEADS TO REDUCTIONS IN METABOLIC, HEMODYNAMIC, FUNCTIONAL, BODY COMPOSITION, AND EPIGENETIC RISK FACTORS FOR NONCOMMUNICABLE CHRONIC DISEASES. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ALSO HAS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE, IN MANY CASES COMPARABLE OR SUPERIOR TO DRUG INTERVENTIONS, IN THE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF >40 CONDITIONS SUCH AS DIABETES MELLITUS, CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, OBESITY, DEPRESSION, ALZHEIMER DISEASE, AND ARTHRITIS. WHEREAS MOST OF THE MODIFIABLE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORS INCLUDED IN THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION'S MY LIFE CHECK - LIFE'S SIMPLE 7 ARE EVALUATED ROUTINELY IN CLINICAL PRACTICE (GLUCOSE AND LIPID PROFILES, BLOOD PRESSURE, OBESITY, AND SMOKING), PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS TYPICALLY NOT ASSESSED. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STATEMENT IS TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE ON THE FEASIBILITY, VALIDITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF ASSESSING AND PROMOTING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS FOR ADULT PATIENTS. IT ALSO ADDS CONCRETE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS, CLINICAL AND COMMUNITY CARE PROVIDERS, FITNESS PROFESSIONALS, THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN ORDER TO CATALYZE INCREASED ADOPTION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT AND PROMOTION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO MEETING THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION'S 2020 IMPACT GOALS. 2018 17 1971 21 EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND ADULT MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVES: MULTIPLE, CHRONIC AND REPEATED TRAUMA EXPOSURE IN CHILDHOOD IS ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERSE MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES IN ADULTHOOD. IN THIS PAPER WE SYNTHESISE THE LITERATURE ON EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN CHILDHOOD TRAUMA (CT) AND THE MEDIATING EFFECTS OF DIFFERENTIAL EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CT AND THE LATER ONSET OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS.METHODS: WE REVIEWED THE LITERATURE UP TO MARCH 2018 IN FOUR DATABASES: PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, EBSCOHOST AND SCOPUS. NON-HUMAN STUDIES WERE EXCLUDED. ALL STUDIES INVESTIGATING CT EXPOSURE BOTH IN HEALTHY ADULTS (18 YEARS AND OLDER) AND ADULTS WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS WERE INCLUDED.RESULTS: THIRTY-SIX PUBLICATIONS WERE INCLUDED. FOR MOOD DISORDERS, METHYLATION OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR NR3C1 GENE, SPECIFICALLY AT THE NGFI-A BINDING SITE IN EXON 1F, AND CORRELATION WITH CT WAS A ROBUST FINDING. SEVERAL STUDIES DOCUMENTED DIFFERENTIAL METHYLATION OF SLC6A4, BDNF, OXTR AND FKBP5 IN ASSOCIATION WITH CT. COMMON PATHWAYS IDENTIFIED INCLUDE NEURONAL FUNCTIONING AND MAINTENANCE, IMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES, CHROMATIN AND HISTONE MODIFICATION, AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR BINDING.CONCLUSIONS: A VARIETY OF EPIGENETIC MEDIATORS THAT LIE ON A COMMON PATHWAY BETWEEN CT AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, ALTHOUGH LONGITUDINAL STUDIES AND CONSISTENCY IN METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ARE NEEDED TO DISENTANGLE CAUSE AND EFFECT ASSOCIATIONS. 2020 18 3797 16 INTERNATIONAL BREAST CANCER AND NUTRITION: A MODEL FOR RESEARCH, TRAINING AND POLICY IN DIET, EPIGENETICS, AND CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION. THIS ARTICLE SUMMARIZES PRESENTATIONS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BREAST CANCER AND NUTRITION WORKSHOP HELD DURING THE ASN SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS AND ANNUAL MEETING AT EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY 2014 IN SAN DIEGO, CA, ON 28 APRIL 2014. AN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION WAS DESCRIBED AMONG TEAMS FROM LOW-, MIDDLE-, AND HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, ESPECIALLY DIET, AND EPIGENETIC INTERACTIONS THAT AFFECT THE RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASE. SPEAKERS ADDRESSED OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN THIS TYPE OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION, ASSESSING DIET AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF CULTURES, AND RESEARCH TOOLS AND DISCOVERIES FROM THIS GROUP. 2014 19 4612 22 NEONATAL PAIN AND COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE IN RELATION TO SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER (SLC6A4) PROMOTER METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AT SCHOOL AGE. CHILDREN BORN VERY PRETERM ARE EXPOSED TO REPEATED NEONATAL PROCEDURES THAT INDUCE PAIN AND STRESS DURING HOSPITALIZATION IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU). THE COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE IS INVOLVED WITH PAIN SENSITIVITY, AND EARLY LIFE STRESS IS IMPLICATED IN ALTERED EXPRESSION OF METHYLATION OF THE SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER. WE EXAMINED: (1) WHETHER METHYLATION OF THE SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER GENE (SLC6A4) PROMOTER DIFFERS BETWEEN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AND FULL-TERM CONTROLS AT SCHOOL AGE, (2) RELATIONSHIPS WITH CHILD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, AND (3) WHETHER THE EXTENT OF NEONATAL PAIN EXPOSURE INTERACTS WITH THE COMT VAL158MET GENOTYPE TO PREDICT SLC6A4 METHYLATION AT 7 YEARS IN THE VERY PRETERM CHILDREN. WE EXAMINED THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN THE COMT GENOTYPES, NEONATAL PAIN EXPOSURE (ADJUSTED FOR NEONATAL CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS), SLC6A4 METHYLATION AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS. VERY PRETERM CHILDREN HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER METHYLATION AT 7/10 CPG SITES IN THE SLC6A4 PROMOTER COMPARED TO FULL-TERM CONTROLS AT 7 YEARS. NEONATAL PAIN (ADJUSTED FOR CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH TOTAL CHILD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS ON THE CHILD BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST (CBCL) QUESTIONNAIRE (ADJUSTED FOR CONCURRENT STRESSORS AND 5HTTLPR GENOTYPE) (P = 0.035). CBCL TOTAL PROBLEMS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER SLC6A4 METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN (P = 0.01). NEONATAL PAIN (ADJUSTED FOR CLINICAL CONFOUNDERS) AND COMT MET/MET GENOTYPE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH SLC6A4 PROMOTER METHYLATION IN VERY PRETERM CHILDREN AT 7 YEARS (P = 0.001). THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT BOTH GENETIC PREDISPOSITION AND EARLY ENVIRONMENT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED IN UNDERSTANDING SUSCEPTIBILITY FOR DEVELOPING BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS IN THIS VULNERABLE POPULATION. 2014 20 4256 24 METHYLOMIC MARKERS OF PERSISTENT CHILDHOOD ASTHMA: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF ASTHMA-DISCORDANT MONOZYGOTIC TWINS. BACKGROUND: ASTHMA IS THE MOST COMMON CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISORDER IN CHILDREN. THE AETIOLOGY OF ASTHMA PATHOLOGY IS COMPLEX AND HIGHLY HETEROGENEOUS, INVOLVING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS THAT IS HYPOTHESIZED TO INVOLVE EPIGENETIC PROCESSES. OUR AIM WAS TO EXPLORE WHETHER METHYLOMIC VARIATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD IS ASSOCIATED WITH DISCORDANCE FOR ASTHMA SYMPTOMS WITHIN MONOZYGOTIC (MZ) TWIN PAIRS RECRUITED FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL RISK (E-RISK) LONGITUDINAL TWIN STUDY. WE ALSO AIMED TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES IN DNA METHYLATION THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ASTHMA THAT DEVELOPS IN CHILDHOOD AND PERSISTS INTO EARLY ADULTHOOD AS THESE MAY REPRESENT USEFUL PROGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS. RESULTS: WE EXAMINED GENOME-WIDE PATTERNS OF DNA METHYLATION IN BUCCAL CELL SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM 37 MZ TWIN PAIRS DISCORDANT FOR ASTHMA AT AGE 10. DNA METHYLATION AT INDIVIDUAL CPG SITES DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT VARIABILITY WITHIN DISCORDANT MZ TWIN PAIRS WITH THE TOP-RANKED NOMINALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED POSITION (DMP) LOCATED IN THE HGSNAT GENE. WE STRATIFIED OUR ANALYSIS BY ASSESSING DNA METHYLATION DIFFERENCES IN A SUB-GROUP OF MZ TWIN PAIRS WHO REMAINED PERSISTENTLY DISCORDANT FOR ASTHMA AT AGE 18. THE TOP-RANKED NOMINALLY SIGNIFICANT DMP ASSOCIATED WITH PERSISTING ASTHMA IS LOCATED IN THE VICINITY OF THE HLX GENE, WHICH HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY IMPLICATED IN CHILDHOOD ASTHMA. CONCLUSIONS: WE IDENTIFIED DNA METHYLATION DIFFERENCES ASSOCIATED WITH CHILDHOOD ASTHMA IN PERIPHERAL DNA SAMPLES FROM DISCORDANT MZ TWIN PAIRS. OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT DIFFERENCES IN DNA METHYLATION ASSOCIATED WITH CHILDHOOD ASTHMA WHICH PERSISTS INTO EARLY ADULTHOOD ARE DISTINCT FROM THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH ASTHMA WHICH REMITS. 2015