Influence of poverty on epigenome

Coriolan

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"Adolescents from disadvantaged neighborhoods show gene regulation differences: Tougher childhood marks genes related to chronic inflammation, tobacco smoke, air pollution and lung cancer -- ScienceDaily" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200619115704.htm


"An 18-year study of 2,000 children born in England and Wales found that young adults raised in communities marked by more economic deprivation, physical dilapidation, social disconnection, and danger display differences in the epigenome -- the proteins and chemical compounds that regulate the activity of their genes. The findings suggest that gene regulation may be one biological pathway through which neighborhood disadvantage 'gets under the skin' to engender long-term health disparities."
 
That's both very interesting and very sad. It's setting you up for more illness as you age.

I also wonder how many actual mutations might occur in such situations, i.e. more tobacco smoke, more pollution leading to more mutations. Yes, most mutations are neutral, but certain kinds of mutations cause various cancers in adulthood, for example.
 
There is a study that the myelation of 10 percent of the human genome is altered by socioeconomic stress (aka poverty). The myelation will incfluence how often a gene is actually read and it is hence almost impossible that this does not affect your health. Statistically it was already known that children from poor families had a much worse health over their life and that they can have learning difficultis. Furthermore studies with babies from poor mothers show that their brain patterns are already altered measurably 4 weeks after birth (for safety reasons they can not scan directly after birth).
 

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