Table 1 Summary of evidence on the link between adverse early-life events and adult neurobehavioral outcomes from epigenome-wide association studies
From: Early-life adversity and long-term neurobehavioral outcomes: epigenome as a bridge?
Condition /exposure | Stage at exposure | Age at detection | Tissue/cells | Population, sample size (n) | DMRs or up/downregulated genes, n | Function/pathway | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maternal depression | Prenatal | Adult | Hippocampal tissue samples | Male postmortem samples with (n = 12) or without (n = 50) a history of maternal depression | 294 DMRs associated with 234 genes | Immune system functions | [45] |
Low SES | Childhood | 45Â years | Blood | 40 British adults | 586 hypermethylated and 666 hypomethylated gene promoters | Cell signaling pathways | [80] |
Childhood | 25–40 years | Blood | 103 healthy adults | 73 upregulated and 37 downregulated genes | Raised cortisol levels; increased IL-6 production | [81] | |
Childhood | 25–40 years | Blood | 53 healthy adults with a history of low early-life SES | 330 upregulated and 161 downregulated genes in participants who grew up with high maternal warmth | Immune activation and systemic inflammation; diminishing these outcomes by supportive family climate | [82] | |
Child neglect/abuse | Childhood | Adult | Hippocampal neurons | 25 French-Canadian men with a history of severe childhood abuse and 16 control subjects | 248 hypermethylated DMRs; 114 hypomethylated DMRs | Cellular/neuronal plasticity | [84] |
Childhood | 45Â years | Blood | 12 British men with a history of childhood abuse and 28 control subjects | 311 hypermethylated and 686 hypomethylated gene promoters | Development, regulation of transcription | [85] | |
Childhood | Adult | T lymphocytes | 8 subjects with a history of physical aggression from age 6 to 15Â years and 57 controls | 171 hypermethylated and 277 hypomethylated gene promoters | Aggressive behavior | [86] |