Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and offspring imprinted gene DMR methylation at birth

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) contribute to numerous negative health outcomes across the life course and across generations. Here, we extend prior work by examining the association of maternal ACEs, and their interaction with financial stress and discrimination, with methylation status within eight differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in imprinted domains in newborns. ACEs, financial stress during pregnancy, and experience of discrimination were self-reported among 232 pregnant women. DNA methylation was assessed at <i>PEG10</i>/<i>SGCE, NNAT, IGF2, H19, PLAGL1</i>, <i>PEG3</i>, <i>MEG3-IG</i>, and <i>DLK1/MEG3</i> regulatory sequences using pyrosequencing. Using multivariable linear regression models, we found evidence to suggest that financial stress was associated with hypermethylation of <i>MEG3-IG</i> in non-Hispanic White newborns; discrimination was associated with hypermethylation of <i>IGF2</i> and <i>NNAT</i> in Hispanic newborns, and with hypomethylation of <i>PEG3</i> in non-Hispanic Black newborns. We also found evidence that maternal ACEs interacted with discrimination to predict offspring <i>PLAGL1</i> altered DMR methylation, in addition to interactions between maternal ACEs score and discrimination predicting <i>H19</i> and <i>SGCE/PEG10</i> altered methylation in non-Hispanic White newborns. However, these interactions were not statistically significant after multiple testing corrections. Findings from this study suggest that maternal ACEs, discrimination, and financial stress are associated with newborn aberrant methylation in imprinted gene regions.