Maternal Education Levels During Pregnancy Linked With Epigenetic Markers In The Child -- University of Oulu

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University of Oulu -- MedicalXpress

Dec. 21, 2023

Compelling evidence links maternal education levels at the time of pregnancy to children's epigenetic markers (DNA methylation) at key developmental stages: birth, childhood, and adolescence.

A study from the University of Oulu, Finland, the first of its kind, used a large-scale meta-analysis of data from 37 studies in high-income countries in Europe, the United States, and Australia, under the PACE (Pregnancy and Child Epigenetics) consortia. The new findings are published in Molecular Psychiatry.

This research builds on previous evidence showing that early life factors such as maternal smoking during pregnancy, education, body mass index (BMI), and nutrition, can affect a child's health throughout their lives. A low level of maternal education is not a sufficient cause of offspring health per se, but it is often linked to other adverse prenatal exposures.

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