Education methylation signatures correlate with maternal smoking signatures and show small positive correlations with maternal folate and air pollution signatures, but not alcohol¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r3 · q2 · i0–i3
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i3 Effect sizes of smoking-associated CpGs correlated negatively with education effect sizes (r = −0.74 unadjusted, r = −0.56 adjusted); maternal smoking effects correlated r = −0.34, strengthening to r = −0.70 for persistent sites. → Jenny van Dongen et al 2018 q2 i0 Maternal folate (r = 0.11, p = 0.03) and airborne fine particulate matter (r = 0.06, p = 0.01) showed small positive correlations with education effect sizes; alcohol did not correlate significantly (r = 0.05, p = 0.3). → Jenny van Dongen et al 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Jenny van Dongen et al 2018¶

Jenny van Dongen et al. (2018). DNA methylation signatures of educational attainment. npj Science of Learning 3:7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-018-0020-2

q2 · i3 · associational · r3

Correlation of published EWAS effect sizes (smoking meta-analysis, N = 16,932 sites present) with education meta-analysis effect sizes. For persistent maternal-smoking sites (144 sites significant at average age 6.8), correlation with education was r = −0.70; 13 of these were significant in the education meta-analysis.

"The correlation between effect sizes was r = −0.74 taking the education EWAS results without adjustment for smoking status, and r = −0.56 for the education EWAS with adjustment for smoking status"

Jenny van Dongen et al 2018 (2)¶

Jenny van Dongen et al. (2018). DNA methylation signatures of educational attainment. npj Science of Learning 3:7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-018-0020-2

q2 · i0 · associational · r3

Correlation of effect sizes from published EWASs of maternal plasma folate (419 CpGs) and 28-day fine particulate matter (1578 CpGs) with education effect sizes. Alcohol-intake effect sizes (344 sites) did not correlate significantly (r = 0.05, p = 0.3); five CpGs were significantly associated with both education and alcohol intake.

"Maternal plasma folate level 66 (N CpGs = 419, r = 0.11, p = 0.03, Fig. 4d) and 28-day average concentration of airborne fine particulate matter 67 (N CpGs = 1578, r = 0.06, p = 0.01, Fig. 4e) showed small positive correlations with educational attain- ment"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Educational-attainment methylation sites overlap strongly with cigarette-smoke signatures, and associations remain after adjusting for smoking at 11 genome-wide significant CpGs — related
• Education-associated methylation differences persist in never smokers, indicating sources beyond a person's own smoking behaviour — related
• A meta-analysis of four Dutch cohorts identifies 58 CpG sites whose blood DNA methylation is associated with educational attainment, mostly with higher methylation at higher education — a broader claim this one bears on