Time trends in epigenetic signatures and population health risks

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Time trends in population health risks, whether manifest in risk factors or morbidity and mortality, are an essential challenge to manage in public health. This chapter discusses the assessment and prediction of time trends in health risks, environmental factors driving the time trends, early life environmental exposures with lag time effects, epigenetics as biological memory of early life environmental exposures, birth cohorts, age, and period effects in time trends in health risks, early life epigenetic signatures as predictors of later time trends in health risks, time trends among twin pairs characterizing the time trends, investigative requirements for the twin studies, gene-environment interactions possibly implicating epigenetics, current feasibility limitations in investigations and modifications of epigenetic. While time trend studies in epigenetics have not been carried out yet, the potentials and the challenges are emerging and should inspire future research elucidating causes, correlates, and consequences of epigenetically related traits.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTwin and Family Studies of Epigenetics
EditorsShuai Li, John L. Hopper
PublisherElsevier Ltd. Academic Press
Publication date2021
Pages285-298
ISBN (Electronic)9780128209516
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
SeriesTranslational Epigenetics
Volume27

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

    Research areas

  • Biological memory, Early life environmental factors, Epigenetics, Gene-environment interactions, Lag time effects, Population health risks, Public health, Time trends, Twin studies of time trends

ID: 306971477