Observational studyBMC medical genomics2023
Genome-wide neonatal epigenetic changes associated with maternal exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Observational study in BMC medical genomics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Disrupted beginnings: Neurodevelopmental outcomes of COVID-19 lockdowns in early childhood (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Review
- The COVID generation: the neurodevelopmental consequences of in-utero COVID-19 exposure.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- Impact of maternal stress and COVID-19 exposure during pregnancy on offspring neurodevelopment: signature cohort 12 month follow-up.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Epigenomic signatures of accelerated epigenetic aging are associated with congenital heart disease in newborns.BMC medical genomics · 2025Article
- Early life epigenetics and childhood outcomes: a scoping review.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Genetic diversity of the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus in cohorts of patients affected with SARS-CoV-2.Human genomics · 2025Article
- AssessingFrontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Technical considerations for placental tissue processing and the subsequent impact on genome-wide DNA methylation analysis.Clinical epigenetics · 2024Article
- An improved epigenetic counter to track mitotic age in normal and precancerous tissues.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Epigenetics of prenatal stress in humans: the current research landscape.Clinical epigenetics · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDuring gestation, stressors to the fetus, including viral exposure or maternal psychological distress, can fundamentally alter the neonatal epigenome, and may be associated with long-term impaired developmental outcomes. The impact of in utero exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic on the newborn epigenome has yet to be described.
methodsThis study aimed to determine whether there are unique epigenetic signatures in newborns who experienced otherwise healthy pregnancies that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic (Project RESCUE). The pre-pandemic control and pandemic cohorts (Project RESCUE) included in this study are part of a prospective observational and longitudinal cohort study that evaluates the impact of elevated prenatal maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood neurodevelopment. Using buccal swabs collected at birth, differential DNA methylation analysis was performed using the Infinium MethylationEPIC arrays and linear regression analysis. Pathway analysis and gene ontology enrichment were performed on resultant gene lists.
resultsWidespread differential methylation was found between neonates exposed in utero to the pandemic and pre-pandemic neonates. In contrast, there were no apparent epigenetic differences associated with maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. Differential methylation was observed among genomic sites that underpin important neurological pathways that have been previously reported in the literature to be differentially methylated because of prenatal stress, such as NR3C1.
conclusionsThe present study reveals potential associations between exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic during pregnancy and subsequent changes in the newborn epigenome. While this finding warrants further investigation, it is a point that should be considered in any study assessing newborn DNA methylation studies obtained during this period, even in otherwise healthy pregnancies.
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