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Home-ics: how experiences of the home impact biology and child neurodevelopmental outcomes

Pediatric Research (2024)Cite this article

Abstract

Studies on the -omics of child neurodevelopmental outcomes, e.g. genome, epigenome, microbiome, metabolome, and brain connectome aim to enable data-driven precision health to improve these outcomes, or deliver the right intervention, to the right child, at the right time. However, evidence suggests that neurodevelopmental outcomes are shaped by modifiable socioenvironmental factors. Everyday exposures including family and neighbourhood-level socioeconomic status, housing conditions, and interactions with those living in the home, are strongly associated with child health and have been suggested to alter -omics. Our aim was to review and understand the biological pathways by which home factors contribute to child neurodevelopment outcomes. We review studies suggestive of the home factors contributing to neurodevelopmental outcomes that encompass the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the brain, the gut-brain-axis, and the immune system. We thus conceptualize home-ics as the study of how the multi-faceted living environment can impact neurodevelopmental outcomes through biology and highlight the importance of targeting the modifiable aspects of a child’s home to optimize outcomes. We encourage clinicians and health care providers to routinely assess home factors in patient encounters, and counsel families on modifiable aspects of the home. We conclude by discussing clinical and policy implications and future research directions of home-ics.

Impact

  • Home-ics can be conceptualized as the study of how home factors may shape child neurodevelopmental outcomes through altering biology.

  • Targeting modifiable aspects of a child’s home environment (e.g. parenting style, early intervention, enriched environment) may lead to improved neurodevelopmental outcomes.

  • Clinicians should routinely assess home factors and counsel families on modifiable aspects of the home.

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Funding

NG is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Children’s Health Foundation, and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. SPM is supported by CIHR and the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

    Rhandi Christensen

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada

    Steven P. Miller

  3. Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Canada

    Noha A. Gomaa

  4. Children’s Health Research Institute, London, Canada

    Noha A. Gomaa

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  1. Rhandi Christensen
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All authors contributed to the conception of the paper, drafting and revising the article. All authors have approved the final version of this article for publication in Pediatric Research.

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Correspondence to Noha A. Gomaa.

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Christensen, R., Miller, S.P. & Gomaa, N.A. Home-ics: how experiences of the home impact biology and child neurodevelopmental outcomes. Pediatr Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03609-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03609-2

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