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Wartime violence experienced by pregnant women can leave an imprint in the genomes of their grandchildren, a study of Syrian refugees has revealed.
The research, in the journal Scientific Reports, demonstrates how stress-induced epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation can flow down through generations of humans, as it does in animals.
The findings have important implications for understanding the inheritance of trauma and highlight the critical period of in utero development, the researchers said.
“We propose that a better understanding of the nature and long-term effects of intergenerational trauma may encourage policymakers and humanitarian agencies to provide targeted resources to vulnerable populations, including healthcare access, special lodging, sanitation, and nutrition,” they maintained.
A well-established hypothesis suggests that the developing fetus uses cues in its environment to determine how best to survive after birth. However, these can be maladaptive in later life and increase the risk of certain diseases.
To investigate further, Connie Mulligan, PhD, from the University of Florida, and co-workers examined whether psychosocial trauma might impact future generations through epigenetic changes.
In an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS), they researched associations between DNA methylation and war-related violence among three generations of Syrian refugee families.
Wartime conflict was identified as exposure to the Hama city massacre in 1980 and the Syrian uprising and subsequent armed conflicts beginning in 2011.
The team surveyed and collected buccal swab samples from women in 48 families, as well as one or two of their children, including a total of 131 participants.
The study compared findings in a pregnant grandmother versus a pregnant mother who was exposed to violence and also included control participants with no exposure to war.
Mulligan and co-workers identified 21 differentially methylated regions (DMPs) associated with direct exposure to violence and 14 DMPs associated with germline exposure to violence.
Thirty-two of these sites showed similar directionality in DNA methylation changes across germline, prenatal, and direct exposure to violence, suggesting a common epigenetic response to violence.
Prenatal exposure to violence was associated with accelerated epigenetic aging, which in turn is thought to correlate with accelerated biological aging and may provide a mechanism for age-related health outcomes.
“Our results suggest that the impact of violence may accelerate the aging trajectory and compound the tragedy of the initial violence exposure,” the researchers said.
They noted that by the end of 2022, there were 108.4 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including 62.5 million internally displaced people, 35.3 million refugees, and 5.4 million asylum seekers.
