Babies born into poverty are damaged forever before birth
People in deprived areas are more likely to have lower levels of methylation in their DNA
THE health of babies born in deprived areas could be damaged for the rest of their lives long before they have even left the womb, according to startling research from Scots scientists.
They have found stressful conditions experienced by expectant mothers in impoverished areas because of poor lifestyle choices could impact on their children’s DNA – leaving them with an increased chance of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.
Genes were found to be affected within the first few weeks of an embryo’s development – meaning some mothers in deprived postcodes could be putting their children at harm without knowing they are pregnant.
Experts in epigenetics – which explores how someone’s environment and lifestyle choices can influence their genetic code, and that of their children – took blood samples from 239 people from the most deprived and the most affluent areas of Glasgow.
They believe factors experienced by expectant mothers in areas of deprivation cause “bugs” to develop in the DNA of embryos, with the children more susceptible to early onset of diseases when they become adults.
The team behind the groundbreaking study at Glasgow University said their findings offered the beginning of an explanation as to why Scotland’s biggest city has the unwanted title of “the sick man of Europe”.
Charities campaigning to tackle child poverty described the research as “startling evidence” of the impact poverty can have on children before they have even left the womb, and warned that cutbacks to welfare provision would only worsen the damage.
The researchers found significant differences in levels of “methylation” in the DNA of people from different ends of the socio-economic spectrum.
DNA methylation is a natural biochemical process which controls how genes work. The majority of this methylation content is fixed for life in humans from just a few weeks after conception as the structure of the body and organs is formed.
Enzymes in the body create chemical “tags” which are imprinted on to DNA to switch on or off genes at the right time and in the right place. Most of these tags stay in place for the rest of an individual’s life. The tags are “read” by cells, similar to the way software’s binary code is processed by computers, and ensure each cell switches on or off only the genes it is supposed to in order to ensure the body works correctly and remains healthy.
However, lower levels of methylation can impair this process, increasing the chances of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.
Research leader Dr Paul Shiels, senior lecturer in epigenetics at the university, said: “We found that levels of DNA methylation were significantly lower in the samples from the most deprived areas than they were in those from the least deprived, and those samples also showed signs of an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease.
“Methylation levels decline throughout everyone’s life as part of the natural process of ageing and can be slightly affected in adulthood by external factors such as diet, stress and lifestyle. Those external factors have a much greater effect on babies developing in the womb, affecting the enzymes which allow DNA methylation to occur, so it’s very likely that the significantly lower levels of methylation we’re seeing in the most deprived areas of the city are set before birth.”
Professor Carol Tannahill, director of the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, which funded the research as part of an ongoing public health study known as pSoBid, said: “The association between deprivation and ill-health is well established, but the pathways through which deprivation leads to poorer health outcomes are less well understood. Previous findings from the study have confirmed that people with relatively low income, living in poor circumstances, have more miles on their biological clock than people of the same age in better circumstances.
“The new findings add evidence that people in poorer socio-economic circumstances may face an uphill health challenge from before birth.
“Health inequalities are a reflection of wider inequalities in society. We are now learning that these inequalities have direct epigenetic effects. If we are going to improve health in Scotland, we need to keep a focus on action to address poverty and regenerate poorer neighbourhoods, and to support all children to have a good start in life.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s director of public health, Dr Linda de Caestecker, said the research served to reaffirm its commitment to tackling poverty in the area, while a spokesman for Glasgow City Council said it was “very interested” in the study, and stressed that they recognised a range of “economic, cultural, and social factors” contributed to people’s health.
HOW IT WORKS
1 DNA methylation is a natural biochemical process where changes in the chemical make-up of the DNA switch off the genes that regulate cell growth or affect its behaviour.
2 Dr Paul Shiels, the leader of the research team, compared the process with the way a PC works. He said: “If you think of your chromosomes as the hard drive of a computer, and the methylation as a program, sometimes the program can be corrupted. If you have a poor program, then it’s not going to work as well.”
3 If not enough methylation is put on organs as they are forming, then, like a program, there can be a lot of bugs over a lifetime. Dr Shiels added: “There’s a drip effect, which predisposes you from birth to be less robust and therefore more prone to early-onset disease.”
4 Other factors that influence genetic make-up – such as diet, smoking and toxins – were examined, but the main factors were found to be psychological and sociological stress.
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"Half the world can´t sleep because they´re hungry ... the other half can´t sleep because they´re afraid of the hungry." - Josué de Castro, expelled from Brasil by the US-backed military dictatorship to maintain the status-quo.
tug
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 05:12 PMSo "Startling Evidence" tells us that children born in poor areas have a very bad start in life. So the idea behind this is, once they Control how everyone lives their lives, they will get rid of Poor areas and everyone will be Happy. It sounds like the plot of some cheap Total Control Movie.
PeterVincent
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 03:09 PMAlan Craigie, Please let us know, what are your academic and research credentials to make such a claim. Hav eyou any published peer reviewed research papers on the subject?
Martin H
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 01:45 PMWell that's you telt then, Dr Paul Shields, and Professor Carol Tannahill. Obviously Mr Craigie knows all the answers instead.
Alan Craigie
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 01:03 PMPseudo-science. So the conclusion reached is that the socio-economic stress causes metabolic changes. But the stresses cannot be quantified so all the researcher has done is having found a metabolic difference amongst the poor concluded that it is caused by sociological stress. Very badly flawed science. We could save some money by cutting funding to this research. Perhaps spend it on a creche so the poor moms can get a job.
Ron Greer
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:39 PM26: Yes, the question is what we do about the poverty that helps cause the genetic damage?
L C Y
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:31 PMI am just flabbergasted by this latest research - I am 81 years old and was born into what I would describe as extreme poverty and was brought up in what was labelled 'a slum clearance' - a council house in Edinburgh - but with caring parents who were not into accepting 'charity' but gave me me and my siblings the best they could in spite of a lot of unemployment. I have lead a useful life, was pretty intelligent at school, and held responsible jobs, have married successfully, had children (sadly had 3 unsuccessful in between first and last child) and feel I was anything but deprived or damaged. Just grateful that these statistics weren't available in my past!
Martin H
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM24. Surely the findings indicate that genetic predisposition to disease and ill health in later life may have much more of a profound influence than we thought? I didn't mean to sound supercilious, but yes we DO all know about the links between poverty and ill health etc, but this research is new. Yes I am passionate about science, I was involved for many years in cancer research, and looking back over the last few decades, enormous progress has been made both in more effective treatments, early detection and enduring life prognosis. Science of this importance rarely appears in the press, and all I am saying, is just for once, resist the temptation to make political points, rather than commenting on the questions raised by these data. Is that too much to ask?
Foulis
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:46 AMI think what the Daily Mail would call 'Nanny Sate' interference would help dramatically with people with 'poor lifestyle choices', be them rich or poor. Poor lifestyle choices are generally more prevalent in poorer areas for a number of reasons, but certainly there to varyin degrees elsewhere. Redcue the availability of alcohol, fags, trashy food, and increase availabilty of healthy promoting foods (via some horrible nanny stating of supermarkets), plus more sports centres, foottball pitches, health and sports classes at least 1 hr a day in schools, and the culture will change.
Ron Greer
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:40 AM23 Martin H Einstein-Crick &Watson: Thanks for enlightening some of the illiterates, who surround and blight your intellectually superior life. Please bear in mind that many of these are aware of many studies both in the social and medical sciences have linked poverty with poor health,crime and low life expectancy. The question is what we do about and with this information. The identification of the causes of poverty and their resolution lie in the field of politics and since we have such a large proportion of our population living in poverty or being born in it, you may expect your superior intellect to be irritated by more posts.
Martin H
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:52 AM18. Freelander. Thanks for your comments. You are right in your first assumption that I called it excellent research because I found the results interesting, but wrong on the second regarding political take. I am making no assumption on this, unlike most of the rest of the scientifically illiterate comments on this thread..... However as far as the robustness of the research is concerned, well you can view Dr Paul Shiels research interests as a senior lecturer in epigeneticics at Glasgow University easily enough, and as far as I can see there are no particularly controversial issues regarding either the quality of his research programme, or any suggestion that these findings have been released for any other reason than that they represent new data implying a link between genetic makeup in the developing baby due to biochemical modulation and socio economic conditions......... You sound like a scientist to me, and you will know that all such research will have been been peer reviewed and accepted for publication.........Beyond that I take his findings at face value, but as in all scientific careers, the caveat 'further research needs to be done'....... usually appears in the ultimate sentence of most scientific communications. I'll leave the boringly predictable attempts by other comments linking the findings to 'Unionism' or 'Labour controlled Glasgow' to the numpties who never got as far as standard grade biology at their approved schools.
Rabigyin
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:48 AMObviously, this is in need of further extensive research. Does this hold true in areas of England? Parts of Manchester Liverpool and London are in similar dire straits. ...or would this show that the "green and pleasant land" only exists in parts or "the dark satanic mills" do actually exist. This would never to for the Conservatives, as this would show it's not the fault of the Labour people at all.
BCingU
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:42 AMI do not think "poor choices" explain it all. It is not really a choice when one does not have the funds for a regular diet of quality protein and a variety of fruits and vegetables. One also needs the knowledge. Maybe parts of the brain would develope a little better with a great diet. I am thinking of the parts that handle stress and impulse control. Maybe the prisons would empty out a bit if persons had the correct switches going on and off. Whatever is going on, it is not the fault of the babe.
Ron Greer
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:37 AM2 Hector: Yes Labour was a great backer of the 'poverty management industry' rather than an eliminator of poverty, because the careers of Labour politicians arebased on a constituency of poverty and deluding those living in poverty that things will get better.
Niddrie Nick
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:18 AMThe whole thing began with councils building housing schemes with NO civic amenities, few shops and the whole shebang consistently substandard for decades. Shoving poor people with virtually NO education into these places, with a vastly underfunded Social Care system, turned these estates into self-perpetuating ghettoes with little or no hope and very low expectations in life. Therefore they turn on each other and crime and drugs helped to turn them into no-go areas, which Councils and ineffective policing allowed to happen. Got that so far? Now as I understand it from my school education, Genetics says acquired characteristics CANNOT be inherited. Now they say they are??? Okay! But at least learn to point the finger at where it all started. It is not necessarily the fault of a parent, who knows no better, or does not understand. It is the fault of a system that proclaims it is a meritocracy, but is SO monolithic that the upward movement has been virtually wiped out, unless you can will the lottery - or a TV quiz show!!!
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