Malnutrition May Result In DNA Methylation

New findings published in the International Journal of Epidemiology show that children whose mothers were malnourished at famine levels during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy may have changes in DNA methylation that can suppress genes disrupting growth, metabolism and development.

For the study, researchers examined how famine exposure, which is defined as less than 900 calories a day, during the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-1945 affected genome-wide DNA methylation levels. They studied the impact of short-term exposure, pre-conception and post-conception by looking at blood samples of 422 individuals exposed to the famine during gestation and 463 controls without prenatal famine exposure.

The authors zeroed in on individuals born between February 1945 and March 1946 whose mothers were exposed to famine immediately preceding pregnancy. Researchers noted DNA methylation changes during weeks 1-10 of pregnancy but not later.

"The first ten weeks of gestation is a uniquely sensitive period when the blood methylome -- or whole-genome DNA methylation -- is especially sensitive to the prenatal environment," said study author L.H. Lumey, MD, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, in a news release. "This is the period when a woman may not even be aware that she is pregnant."

However, researchers noted that more studies will be needed in order to determine the health outcomes among men and women exposed to famine exposure and DNA methylation. 

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