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. 2022 Jul 28;32(5):709–719. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddac171

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Mobility and sensitive period hypotheses were most often selected among the top 62 CpGs linked with socioeconomic adversity (or socioeconomic position, SEP) that explained > 3% variance in DNA methylation (DNAm). (A) Frequency at which each life-course hypothesis was selected among the 62 CpGs. For job loss and income reduction, we tested accumulation and sensitive period hypotheses, and middle childhood was the most selected hypothesis. For the other four socioeconomic adversities, we tested accumulation, sensitive period and mobility hypotheses. Mobility hypotheses, specifically worsening SEP, were most selected. Very early, Early and Middle refer to sensitive period hypotheses related to the three childhood periods: very early (0–2 years), early (3–5 years) and middle childhood (6–7 years). Early worsening/improvement refers to mobility hypotheses for changes between very early and early childhood, and later worsening/improvement refers to mobility hypotheses for changes between early and middle childhood. (B) For the four CpGs associated with neighborhood disadvantage at an FDR < 0.05, SEP mobility group implied by the selected mobility hypothesis showed the greatest shift in DNAm. The distribution of DNAm by SEP mobility group is shown in boxplots, where the center line indicates the median, box limits indicate the 25th and 75th percentiles, whiskers extend up to 1.5 inter-quartile range (IQR) from the box limits and individually plotted data points were values further than 1.5 IQR from the box limits. SEP mobility group was defined based on the exposure status at two consecutive childhood periods (very early and early, or early and middle) involved in the mobility hypothesis chosen for each CpG; persistently low was defined as being exposed to socioeconomic adversity during both periods; worsening SEP was defined as being unexposed during the former period but exposed during the later period; improving SEP was defined as being exposed during the former period but unexposed during the later period; persistently high was defined as being unexposed to socioeconomic adversity during both periods.