Low socioeconomic status (SES) and living in a disadvantaged neighborhood are associated with poor cardiovascular health. Multiple lines of evidence have linked DNA methylation to both cardiovascular risk factors and social disadvantage indicators. However, limited research has investigated the role of DNA methylation in mediating the associations of individual- and neighborhood-level disadvantage with multiple cardiovascular risk factors in large, multi-ethnic, population-based cohorts. We examined whether disadvantage at the individual level (childhood and adult SES) and neighborhood level (summary neighborhood SES as assessed by Census data and social environment as assessed by perceptions of aesthetic quality, safety, and social cohesion) were associated with 11 cardiovascular risk factors including measures of obesity, diabetes, lipids, and hypertension in 1154 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). For significant associations, we conducted epigenome-
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Research has revealed an association between common psychiatric conditions and events occurring during fetal development.
A new study now suggests that negative stress experienced in the womb may impact an individual’s response to stressful situations well into their 40s.
The results also indicate that exposure to prenatal stress affects males and females differently and that these effects may last a lifetime.
Stress occurs when demands or challenges cause the brain and the rest of the body to react with emotional or physical tension. Stressors can be perceived as positive or negative.
Positive stress may result from situations that a person feels they can cope with, such as daily challenges and responsibilities related to work or school. There is even evidence that rising to the challenge has some health benefits.
Stress before Birth Affects Midlife Brain Circuits Differently in the Sexes Stress before Birth Affects Midlife Brain Circuits Differently in the Sexes
Goldstein’s team observe the brain’s stress response circuitry using a negative stress reactivity task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) depicts brain regions that light up in response to negative stressful stimuli: hypothalamus (green), hippocampus (royal blue), medial prefrontal cortex (magenta), amygdala (red), periaqueductal gray (light blue) and orbitofrontal cortex (yellow) [Jill Goldstein].
April 7, 2021
Goldstein’s team observe the brain’s stress response circuitry using a negative stress reactivity task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) depicts brain regions that light up in response to negative stressful stimuli: hypothalamus (green), hippocampus (royal blue), medial prefrontal cortex (magenta), amygdala (red), periaqueductal gray (light blue) and orbitofrontal cortex (yellow) [Jill Golds