In a recent study published in JAMA Network Open , researchers investigated the relationship between maternal traumatic childhood experiences and epigenetic age acceleration throughout pregnancy and among infants. They also determined whether depression mediated these correlations. Background Studies associated traumatic experiences during childhood and epigenetic aging in later life, which might be passed down through generations.
These events raise the chance of poor mental and physical health during pregnancy, as well as adverse effects on child development, behavior, and health. Accumulation of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with higher sadness and worse health outcomes in mothers and babies. Studies reveal that maternal ACEs cause alterations in neonatal cord blood and children's epigenetic aging.
Although epigenetic clocks help us understand biological aging, limited studies have examined them across generations, including during gravidity and among babies. About the study The researchers analyzed data provided by the Accessible Resource for Integrated Epigenomic Studies (ARIES) study participants. The ARIES study, a subset of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) study, included 1,018 mother-child pairs based on their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample availability in 2014.
The parent ALPSAC study recruited 14,541 females delivering babies within the Avon Health region of the United Kingdom from April 1991 to December 1992. Re.