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Early life epigenetics and childhood outcomes: a scoping review

Pediatric Research (2024)Cite this article

Abstract

Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression, without a change in the DNA sequence that are potentially heritable. Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) changes have been studied in various childhood disorders. Causal links to maternal health and toxin exposures can introduce epigenetic modifications to the fetal DNA, which can be detected in the cord blood. Cord blood epigenetic modifications provide evidence of in-utero stressors and immediate postnatal changes, which can impact both short and long-term outcomes in children. The mechanisms of these epigenetic changes can be leveraged for prevention, early detection, and intervention, and to discover novel therapeutic modalities in childhood diseases. We report a scoping review of early life epigenetics, the influence of maternal health, maternal toxin, and drug exposures on the fetus, and its impact on perinatal, neonatal, and childhood outcomes.

Impact statement:

  • Epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA have been implicated in the pathophysiology of various disease processes.

  • The fundamental changes to an offspring’s epigenome can begin in utero, impacting the immediate postnatal period, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

  • This scoping review summarizes current literature on the impact of early life epigenetics, especially DNA methylation on childhood health outcomes

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Fig. 1: Early life epigenomics and influencers.
Fig. 2: PRISMA flow diagram of included studies.
Fig. 3: Conceptual framework of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms involved in childhood outcomes (autism spectrum disorder as an example).

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Acknowledgements

M.P. is funded by the following extramural source: NIH 1R01HD112886.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Baylor College of Medicine & Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Srirupa Hari Gopal & Mohan Pammi

  2. Division of Immunobiology and Center for Inflammation and Tolerance, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Theresa Alenghat

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Each author has met the Pediatric Research authorship requirements. S.H.G.- Conceptualization, design, interpretation of data, drafting the article and revision; T.A.-Conceptualization and editing; M.P.- Conceptualization, design, data acquisition, interpretation of data, analysis, revision and final approval.

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Hari Gopal, S., Alenghat, T. & Pammi, M. Early life epigenetics and childhood outcomes: a scoping review. Pediatr Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03585-7

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