Experiences of trauma and DNA methylation profiles among African American mothers and children
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Date
Authors
Barcelona, Veronica
Huang, Yunfeng
Caceres, Billy A.
Newhall, Kevin P.
Hui, Qin
Cerdena, Jessica P.
Crusto, Cindy A.
Sun, Yan V.
Taylor, Jacquelyn Y.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
Potentially traumatic experiences have been associated with chronic diseases. Epigenetic
mechanisms, including DNA methylation (DNAm), have been proposed as an explanation for this
association. We examined the association of experiences of trauma with epigenome-wide DNAm
among African American mothers (n = 236) and their children aged 3–5 years (n = 232; N = 500),
using the Life Events Checklist-5 (LEC) and Traumatic Events Screening Inventory—Parent Report
Revised (TESI-PRR). We identified no DNAm sites significantly associated with potentially traumatic
experience scores in mothers. One CpG site on the ENOX1 gene was methylome-wide-significant in
children (FDR-corrected q-value = 0.05) from the TESI-PRR. This protein-coding gene is associated
with mental illness, including unipolar depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia. Future research should
further examine the associations between childhood trauma, DNAm, and health outcomes among
this understudied and high-risk group. Findings from such longitudinal research may inform clinical
and translational approaches to prevent adverse health outcomes associated with epigenetic changes.
Description
Keywords
DNA methylation, Trauma, Adverse childhood experiences (ACES), Epigenomics, Women, African Americans, Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Barcelona, V.; Huang, Y.;
Caceres, B.A.; Newhall, K.P.; Hui, Q.;
Cerdeña, J.P.; Crusto, C.A.; Sun, Y.V.;
Taylor, J.Y. Experiences of Trauma
and DNA Methylation Profiles
among African American Mothers
and Children. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022, 23,
8951. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23168951.