Primal Health Databank: Study
| Entry No: | 0785 |
| Title: | Sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses in humans |
| Author(s): | Pembrey ME, Pembrey ME, Bygren LO, Kaati G, et al. |
| Reference: | Eur J Hum Genet. 2006 Feb;14(2):159-66 |
| Place of Study: | UK |
| Abstract: | Using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), the authors identified 166 fathers who reported starting smoking before age 11 years and compared the growth of their offspring with those with a later paternal onset of smoking, after correcting for confounders. They analysed food supply effects on offspring and grandchild mortality risk ratios (RR) using 303 probands and their 1818 parents and grandparents from the 1890, 1905 and 1920 Overkalix cohorts, northern Sweden. After appropriate adjustment, early paternal smoking is associated with greater body mass index (BMI) at 9 years in sons, but not daughters. Sex-specific effects were also shown in the Overkalix data; paternal grandfather's food supply was only linked to the mortality RR of grandsons, while paternal grandmother's food supply was only associated with the granddaughters' mortality RR. These transgenerational effects were observed with exposure during the SGP (both grandparents) or fetal/infant life (grandmothers) but not during either grandparent's puberty. We conclude that sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses exist in humans and hypothesise that these transmissions are mediated by the sex chromosomes, X and Y. Such responses add an entirely new dimension to the study of gene-environment interactions in development and health |
| Keyword(s): | body mass index, life expectancy, longevity, transgenerational |
| Discussion: | No discussion mentioned for this entry |
| See Also: | No related entries mentioned for this entry |
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