Source:
Duke University
Summary:
An 18-year study of 2,000
children born in England and Wales found that young adults raised in
communities marked by more economic deprivation, physical dilapidation, social
disconnection, and danger display differences in the epigenome -- the proteins
and chemical compounds that regulate the activity of their genes. The findings
suggest that gene regulation may be one biological pathway through which
neighborhood disadvantage 'gets under the skin' to engender long-term health
disparities.
The
neighborhood a child grows up in may influence their health for years to come
in previously invisible ways.
A
long-term study of 2,000 children born in England and Wales and followed to age
18 found that young adults raised in communities marked by more economic
deprivation, physical dilapidation, social disconnection and danger display
differences in the epigenome -- the proteins and chemical compounds that
regulate the activity of their genes.
The
researchers say the study lends support to the hypothesis that gene regulation
may be one biological pathway through which neighborhood disadvantage
"gets under the skin" to engender long-term health disparities.
The
differences were identified in genes previously linked to chronic inflammation,
exposure to tobacco smoke, outdoor air pollution, and lung cancer and may put
these people at risk for poorer health later in life. Epigenetic differences
remained even after taking into account the socioeconomic conditions of
children's families, and were seen in young adults who did not smoke or display
evidence of high inflammation.
"These
findings may help explain how long-term health disparities among communities
emerge," said Aaron Reuben, a Ph.D. candidate at Duke who was the study's
lead author. "They also tell us that children who look the same physically
and are otherwise healthy may enter adulthood wired at the cellular level for
different outcomes in the future."
It's
not possible to know yet whether these differences are lasting or could be
modified, Reuben said. "That is something we will need to continue to
evaluate."
The
study, appearing this month in the journal JAMA Network Open, drew from
diverse data sources to characterize the physical, social, economic, and health
and safety characteristics of children's neighborhoods across their childhood
and adolescence. Data were gathered from local government and criminal justice
databases, systematic observation of neighborhood conditions (via Google Street
View) and detailed surveys of neighborhood residents. Researchers combined this
high-resolution multi-decade neighborhood data with epigenetic information
derived from blood drawn from participants at at age 18.
"The
research is an important reminder that geography and genes work together to
shape our health," said Avshalom Caspi, the Edward M. Arnett Professor of
Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke and a senior author on the study.
In a
journal commentary that accompanied the study, psychiatric epidemiologist at
Harvard Medical School Erin Dunn noted that neighborhood-induced gene
regulation differences "are likely implicated in many adverse health
outcomes, spanning from mental health disorders to cancer, obesity, and
metabolic diseases." She writes, "I hope that studies like this by
Reuben and colleagues will prompt researchers to explore these complex concepts
and to bridge social determinants of health with epigenetic processes."
The
research was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (UKMRC), the US
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the US
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences , Google, the American
Asthma Foundation, the Jacobs Foundation, and a joint Natural Environment
Research Council, UKMRC and Chief Scientist Office grant (NE/P010687/1).
Data-support was provided by Duke University's Social Science Research
Institute and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
Materials provided by Duke University
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