Table 3.
Summary of Epigenetic Studies on Temperature and Precipitation
| Study Title | Authors (year) |
Location | Population | Exposure | Epigenetic Endpoint |
Key Finding(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature | ||||||
| Epigenome-wide association study of short-term temperature fluctuations based on within-sibship analyses in Australian females | Wu et al. (2023) | Australia | Adult female twins and their sisters in the Australian Mammographic Density Twins and Sisters Study (AMDTSS) | Short-term changes in temperature | DNA methylation (EWAS) of peripheral leukocytes analyzed with with the 450K BeadChip | -Temperature changes were associated with differential methylation of 14 CpGs and 70 DMRs mapping to 68 genes linked to human diseases. |
| Associations between medium- and long-term exposure to air temperature and epigenetic age acceleration | Ni et al. (2023) | Augsburg, Germany | Adults from the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) studies | Land surface temperature (medium-term: 4-week and 8-week; long-term: 365 days) | Epigenetic aging biomarkers: Horvath, Hannum, PhenoAge, GrimAge, and Skin and Blood clocks | -Medium-term exposures to high but not low temperature increased Horvath EAA, Hannum EAA, GrimAge EAA, and Skin-Blood EAA. -Higher annual average temperature was associated with increased Horvath EAA, Hannum EAA, Pheno EAA, GrimAge EAA, and Skin-Blood EAA. |
| Intermediate and long-term exposure to air pollution and temperature and the extracellular microRNA profile of participants in the normative aging study (NAS) | Yazdi et al. (2023) | Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Adult men living around Boston who use medical services at the Veterans Affair Hospital and are part of the Normative Aging Study (NAS) | Intermediate and long-term exposure to temperature | MicroRNAs found extracellularly in whole blood samples that were processed and sequenced | -Increased intermediate and long-term exposures to temperature were associated with levels of several extracellular miRNAs with clinical correlates to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. |
| Short-term air pollution and temperature exposure and changes in the extracellular microRNA profile of Normative Aging Study (NAS) participants | Yazdi et al. (2023) | Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Adult men living around Boston who use medical services at the Veterans Affair Hospital and are part of the Normative Aging Study (NAS) | Short-term exposure to temperature | MicroRNAs found extracellularly in whole blood samples that were processed and sequenced | -In most cases, increased mean temperature was positively associated with extracellular microRNA levels, many of which were associated with inflammation, disease development, and fatty acid metabolism. -Longer-term changes in temperature may impact changes in microRNA profiles greater than short-term changes in temperature. |
| Weather and Birth Weight: Different Roles of Maternal and Neonatal GPR61 Promoter Methylation | Yuan et al. (2022) | Zhengzhou, China | Pregnant women who delivered in 2010-2012 and their newborns | Mean temperature and temperature range | Candidate gene methylation analysis of the GPR61 promoter in peripheral leukocytes in maternal and umbilical cord blood | -There was a positive association between daily temperature range and GPR61 methylation in maternal and cord blood, which was linked to greater birth weight -Maternal GPR61 methylation modified associations between temperature and birth weight. |
| Ambient temperature and genome-wide DNA methylation: A twin and family study in Australia | Xu (2021) | Australia | Adult female twins and their sisters in the Australian Mammographic Density Twins and Sisters Study (AMDTSS) | Mean temperature (short-, medium-, and long-term exposure) | DNA methylation (EWAS) of peripheral leukocytes analyzed with with the 450K BeadChip | -Temperature was associated with differential methylation of 31 CpGs and 82 DMRs mapping to 85 genes linked to chronic diseases, including asthma. |
| The role of maternal methylation in the association between prenatal meteorological conditions and neonatal H19/H19-DMR methylation | Yang (2020) | Zhengzhou, China | Pregnant women who delivered in 2010-2012 and their newborns | Minimum, mean, and maximum temperature | Candidate gene methylation analysis of the H19 promoter and H19-DMR in peripheral leukocytes in maternal and umbilical cord blood | -Neonatal and maternal H19 and H19-DMR methylation were negatively associated with temperature in the first trimester and positively associated with temperature in the third trimester. |
| Precipitation | ||||||
| Epigenetic mechanisms underlying the association between maternal climate stress and child growth: characterizing severe drought and its impact on a Kenyan community engaging in a climate change-sensitive livelihood | Straight et al. (2022) | Kenya, Africa | Children of exposed women | Severe drought in 2008-2009 | DNA methylation (EWAS) from saliva analyzed with the Epic BeadChip | -16 differentially methylated CpG sites were found, and most related to immunologic and metabolic pathways. -There was an association between drought exposure and child body weight through cg03771070 methylation. |
| Weather and Birth Weight: Different Roles of Maternal and Neonatal GPR61 Promoter Methylation | Yuan et al. (2022) | Houzhai, China | Pregnant women who delivered in 2010-2012 and their newborns | 24-hour precipitation | Candidate gene methylation analysis of the GPR61 promoter in peripheral leukocytes in maternal and umbilical cord blood | -There was a positive association between precipitation and GPR61 methylation in maternal and cord blood, which was linked to greater birth weight. -Maternal GPR61 methylation modified associations between precipitation and birth weight. |