Prenatal risk factors and neonatal DNA methylation in very preterm infants

Background Prenatal risk factors are related to poor health and developmental outcomes for infants, potentially via epigenetic mechanisms. We tested associations between person-centered prenatal risk profiles, cumulative prenatal risk models, and epigenome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) in very preterm neonates. Methods We studied 542 infants from a multi-center study of infants born Results We identified three latent profiles of women: a group with few risk factors (61%) and groups with elevated physical (26%) and psychological (13%) risk factors. Neonates born to women in higher risk subgroups had differential DNAm at 2 CpG sites. Higher cumulative prenatal risk was associated with methylation at 15 CpG sites, 12 of which were located in genes previously linked to physical and mental health and neurodevelopment. Conclusion We observed associations between prenatal risk factors and DNAm in very preterm infants using both person-centered and cumulative risk approaches. Epigenetics offers a potential biological indicator of prenatal risk exposure.