Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26553366›Full record

ArticleBMC genomics2015

Sex differences in DNA methylation assessed by 450 K BeadChip in newborns.

Paul Yousefi, Karen Huen, Veronica Davé, Lisa Barcellos, Brenda Eskenazi, Nina Holland

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC genomics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 120 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
120citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
6.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

120 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 215 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Blood DNA methylation as a potential biomarker of dementia: A systematic review.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2018
    Pooled it
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  16. Longitudinal omics data analysis: approaches and applications.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2026
    Review
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60 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Paul YousefiSchool of Public Health, University of California, 733 University Hall, School of Public Health, UC, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA.
Karen HuenSchool of Public Health, University of California, 733 University Hall, School of Public Health, UC, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA.
Veronica DavéSchool of Public Health, University of California, 733 University Hall, School of Public Health, UC, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA.
Lisa BarcellosSchool of Public Health, University of California, 733 University Hall, School of Public Health, UC, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA.
Brenda EskenaziSchool of Public Health, University of California, 733 University Hall, School of Public Health, UC, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA.
Nina HollandSchool of Public Health, University of California, 733 University Hall, School of Public Health, UC, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA. ninah@berkeley.edu.
University of California, Berkeley · US

Funding

Project C: Epigenetic Effects of DDT/E and PBDEs on PubertyP01ES009605 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI ESKENAZI, BRENDA · 1999 to 2015
$11.2M
Molecular Mechanisms of Obesity in Children Exposed to Phthalates in UteroR01ES021369 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI HOLLAND, NINA T · 2013 to 2017
$3.1M
PON Epigenetics and Neurodevelopment in ChildrenR01ES023067 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI HOLLAND, NINA T · 2014 to 2017
$1.3M
NIEHS NIH HHS P01 ES009605NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES021369NIEHS NIH HHS R01ES021369NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES023067
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDNA methylation is an important epigenetic mark that can potentially link early life exposures to adverse health outcomes later in life. Host factors like sex and age strongly influence biological variation of DNA methylation, but characterization of these relationships is still limited, particularly in young children.

methodsIn a sample of 111 Mexican-American subjects (58 girls , 53 boys), we interrogated DNA methylation differences by sex at birth using the 450 K BeadChip in umbilical cord blood specimens, adjusting for cell composition.

resultsWe observed that ~3% of CpG sites were differentially methylated between girls and boys at birth (FDR P < 0.05). Of those CpGs, 3031 were located on autosomes, and 82.8% of those were hypermethylated in girls compared to boys. Beyond individual CpGs, we found 3604 sex-associated differentially methylated regions (DMRs) where the majority (75.8%) had higher methylation in girls. Using pathway analysis, we found that sex-associated autosomal CpGs were significantly enriched for gene ontology terms related to nervous system development and behavior. Among hits in our study, 35.9% had been previously reported as sex-associated CpG sites in other published human studies. Further, for replicated hits, the direction of the association with methylation was highly concordant (98.5-100%) with previous studies.

conclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first reported epigenome-wide analysis by sex at birth that examined DMRs and adjusted for confounding by cell composition. We confirmed previously reported trends that methylation profiles are sex-specific even in autosomal genes, and also identified novel sex-associated CpGs in our methylome-wide analysis immediately after birth, a critical yet relatively unstudied developmental window.

Indexed as

CpG IslandsDNA MethylationEpigenesis, GeneticEpigenomicsFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansInfant, NewbornMale

Identifiers

PMID26553366
PMCPMC4640166
OpenAlexW2112500414

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.