ArticleScientific reports2025
Epigenetic signatures of intergenerational exposure to violence in three generations of Syrian refugees.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mental Health and Physiological Biomarkers Under Legal Uncertainty: Evidence From Asylum Centers in Serbia.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026Article
- Article
- Health among sexual and gender minority people affected by armed conflict and forced displacement: Call for a biocultural and minority stress framework.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2026Review
- Cumulative Stress Burden and Association With DNA Methylation in Ethiopian American Immigrants: Protocol for a Community-Engaged, Biopsychosocial Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- From Genetic Determinism to Epigenetic Regulation: Paradigm Shifts in the Understanding of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Genetic heritage of war: exploring transgenerational inheritance of PTSD and its molecular background.Mammalian genome : official journal of the International Mammalian Genome Society · 2026Review
- Epigenetic changes associated with multi-generational trauma: characterization, mechanisms, and therapeutics.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- The Evolutionary Misfit: Evolution, Epigenetics, and the Rise of Non-Communicable Diseases.Epigenomes · 2025Review
- Identifying Key Questions and Challenges in Microchimerism Biology.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Epigenetic mechanisms in maternal-fetal crosstalk: inter- and trans-generational inheritance.Epigenomics · 2025Review
- Gene regulation by non-Coding RNAs in infertility: a mechanistic review.Journal of ovarian research · 2025Review
- Beyond the genome: intergenerational inheritance through epigenetics and other pathways.Epigenomics · 2025Article
- Doing Science With Our Grandmother's WISDOM: A Worldview Integrating Sociality, Diversity, and Observant Meaning-Making.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025Article
- Prenatal exposure to genocide accelerates epigenetic aging in third- and fourth-generation clocks among young adults in Rwanda.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Neuro Emotional Technique as a Treatment for Separation Anxiety Related to Prenatal Stress: A Case Report.Cureus · 2025Article
- Can trauma from violence be genetically inherited? Scientists debate Syria refugee study.Nature · 2025Article
- The failure to protect the rights and needs of children in Gaza.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Epigenetic modifications and transgenerational inheritance in women victims of violence (EWVV).Environmental epigenetics · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Maternal trauma influences infant and adult health outcomes and may impact future generations through epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation (DNAm). Research in humans on the intergenerational epigenetic transmission of trauma effects is limited. In this study, we assessed DNAm signatures of war-related violence by comparing germline, prenatal, and direct exposures to violence across three generations of Syrian refugees. We compared families in which a pregnant grandmother versus a pregnant mother was exposed to violence and included a control group with no exposure to war. We collected buccal swab samples and survey data from mothers and 1-2 children in each of 48 families (n = 131 participants). Based on an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS), we identified differentially methylated regions (DMPs): 14 were associated with germline and 21 with direct exposure to violence. Most DMPs showed the same directionality in DNAm change across germline, prenatal, and direct exposures, suggesting a common epigenetic response to violence. Additionally, we identified epigenetic age acceleration in association with prenatal exposure to violence in children, highlighting the critical period of in utero development. This is the first report of an intergenerational epigenetic signature of violence, which has important implications for understanding the inheritance of trauma.
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