Elsevier

Journal of Affective Disorders

Volume 227, February 2018, Pages 588-594
Journal of Affective Disorders

Research paper
DNA methylation from birth to late adolescence and development of multiple-risk behaviours

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.11.055Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • This study is the first to provide evidence that MRB behaviour affects DNA methylation.

  • This study allowing for assessment of temporal associations across the early lifecourse.

  • Risky sexual behaviour and sedentary behaviour may induce DNA methylation changes.

  • DNA methylation in childhood may predispose for later traffic-related risky behaviour.

  • Associations in both temporal directions were observed for substance abuse.

Abstract

Background

Risk behaviours in adolescence are linked to poor educational attainment and health and other outcomes in young adulthood. We explored whether there are molecular mechanisms associated with the development, or the result, of multiple risk behaviours (MRBs).

Methods

MRBs (antisocial behaviour and delinquency, traffic-related risk behaviour, risky sexual behaviour, lack of exercise) and their sumscore were characterized based on self-reported questions at age 7 and 17 within the ARIES subsample of the ALSPAC birth cohort, and were linked to DNA methylation at over 485,000 CpG sites at ages 0,7 and 17. Associations were determined for participants with complete data (n = 227–575).

Results

There was weak evidence of associations between cumulative MRBs and methylation at cg01783492 and cg16720578 at age 17. DNA methylation at age 17 was associated with risky sexual behaviour (cg22883332), lack of exercise (cg03152353, cg20056908, cg20571116) and substance use (cg02188400, cg13906377). No associations between DNA methylation and individual risk behaviours at age 7 were observed. DNA methylation at age 7 might predispose for traffic-related risk behaviour (cg24683561) and substance use (cg08761410) at age 17.

Limitations

Main limitations are absence of information on directly measured blood cell type proportions and tissue specificity, and a modest sample size.

Conclusions

Cumulative MRB in late adolescence was associated with effects on DNA methylation. More specifically, risky sexual behaviour and sedentary behaviour are associated with changes in DNA methylation, while DNA methylation in childhood may predict later traffic-related risky behaviour. For substance use effects in both temporal directions were observed.

Keywords

ALSPAC
DNA methylation
Epigenetics
Risk behaviour
Multiple risk behaviour
Adolescents

Cited by (0)

1

Joint first authors.