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- Title
Grandmothers' smoking in pregnancy is associated with a reduced prevalence of early-onset myopia.
- Authors
Williams, Cathy; Suderman, Matthew; Guggenheim, Jeremy A.; Ellis, Genette; Gregory, Steve; Iles-Caven, Yasmin; Northstone, Kate; Golding, Jean; Pembrey, Marcus
- Abstract
Myopia (near sightedness) is the most common vision disorder resulting in visual impairment worldwide. We tested the hypothesis that intergenerational, non-genetic heritable effects influence refractive development, using grandparental prenatal smoking as a candidate exposure. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), we found that the prevalence of myopia at age 7 was lower if the paternal grandmother had smoked in pregnancy, an association primarily found among grandsons compared to granddaughters. There was a weaker, non-sex-specific, reduction in the prevalence of myopia at age 7 if the maternal grandmother had smoked in pregnancy. For children who became myopic later (between 7 and 15 years of age) there were no associations with either grandmother smoking. Differences between early and late-onset myopia were confirmed with DNA methylation patterns: there were very distinct and strong associations with methylation for early-onset but not later-onset myopia.
- Subjects
DNA methylation; MYOPIA; CHEMICAL reduction; EPITHELIAL cells; BLOOD collection
- Publication
Scientific Reports, 2019, Vol 9, Issue 1, pN.PAG
- ISSN
2045-2322
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41598-019-51678-9