CRIBS cohort: a base for family-based disease risk prediction

During the last decade it has become increasingly evident that genetic variants can explain only a portion of individual's susceptibility to non-communicable complex diseases. The spotlight of research therefore shifted to mechanisms of epigenetic modifications as central players in gene- environment interplay. The transgenerational propagation of both genetic variants and epigenetic programming can contribute to an increased risk of complex diseases. In this work we are presenting data of 150 mother-child dyads collected within the longitudinal CRIBS study focusing on the main constituents of the metabolic syndrome (cardiovascular diseases and obesity), but also other diseases that emerge in family history. We show incidence of diseases in mother’s families, biochemical parameters of mothers related to diseases and a plan of risk prediction and possible interventions based on environ-mental exposure and hereditary factors in mothers and their offspring.