Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34906220›Full record

ArticleClinical epigenetics2021

Associations between indicators of socioeconomic position and DNA methylation: a scoping review.

Janine Cerutti, Alexandre A Lussier, Yiwen Zhu, Jiaxuan Liu, Erin C Dunn

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

Article in Clinical epigenetics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
39citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Janine CeruttiDepartment of Pscyhology, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington, VT, USA.
Alexandre A LussierPsychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Simches Research Building 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Yiwen ZhuPsychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Simches Research Building 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Jiaxuan LiuPsychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Simches Research Building 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Erin C DunnPsychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Simches Research Building 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. edunn2@mgh.Harvard.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-1413-3229
Broad Institute · USHarvard University · USUniversity of Vermont · US

Funding

Childhood adversity, DNA methylation, and risk for depression: A longitudinal study of sensitive periods in developmentR01MH113930 · NIMH · PURDUE UNIVERSITY · PI Erin Cathleen Dunn · 2017 to 2026
$6.6M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH113930Russell Sage Foundation 96-17-05
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocioeconomic position (SEP) is a major determinant of health across the life course. Yet, little is known about the biological mechanisms explaining this relationship. One possibility widely pursued in the scientific literature is that SEP becomes biologically embedded through epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation (DNAm), wherein the socioeconomic environment causes no alteration in the DNA sequence but modifies gene activity in ways that shape health.

methodsTo understand the evidence supporting a potential SEP-DNAm link, we performed a scoping review of published empirical findings on the association between SEP assessed from prenatal development to adulthood and DNAm measured across the life course, with an emphasis on exploring how the developmental timing, duration, and type of SEP exposure influenced DNAm.

resultsAcross the 37 identified studies, we found that: (1) SEP-related DNAm signatures varied across the timing, duration, and type of SEP indicator; (2) however, longitudinal studies examining repeated SEP and DNAm measures are generally lacking; and (3) prior studies are conceptually and methodologically diverse, limiting the interpretability of findings across studies with respect to these three SEP features.

conclusionsGiven the complex relationship between SEP and DNAm across the lifespan, these findings underscore the importance of analyzing SEP features, including timing, duration, and type. To guide future research, we highlight additional research gaps and propose four recommendations to further unravel the relationship between SEP and DNAm.

Indexed as

Social ClassCorrelation of DataDNA MethylationHumansDNA methylationEpigeneticsSocioeconomic factorsSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID34906220
PMCPMC8672601
OpenAlexW4200626701

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.