SynthesisGenome medicine2020
DNA methylation and body mass index from birth to adolescence: meta-analyses of epigenome-wide association studies.
Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph
Synthesis in Genome medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
60citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
4.0field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 95 citations in OpenAlex.
- Epigenetic Mechanisms in Childhood Obesity.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Epigenetic timing effects on child developmental outcomes: a longitudinal meta-regression of findings from the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics Consortium.Genome medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Associations of maternal night shift work during pregnancy with DNA methylation in offspring: a meta-analysis in the PACE consortium.Clinical epigenetics · 2025Pooled it
- Cord blood epigenome-wide meta-analysis in six European-based child cohorts identifies signatures linked to rapid weight growth.BMC medicine · 2023Pooled it
- DNA methylation and body mass index from birth to adolescence: meta-analyses of epigenome-wide association studies.Genome medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Integrated analysis of methylome and transcriptome responses to exercise training in children with overweight/obesity.Physiological genomics · 2025Trial
- Smoking during pregnancy is associated with child overweight independent of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and genetic predisposition to adiposity.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Adolescent disordered eating and epigenetic age acceleration.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Predictive epigenetic biomarkers of successful weight-loss intervention in pre-pubertal children with obesity.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Article
- Nutrient-Sensitive Epigenetic Modifiers as Candidate Biomarkers of Metabolic Dysfunction in Obesity: A Nutrigenomic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Obesity, Air Pollution, and Epigenetic Modifications as Risk Factors for Asthma Phenotypes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial signatures of infant mesenchymal stem cells predict child adiposity: The Healthy Start Study.Research square · 2026Article
- Examining Epigenetic Age in Women with Different Obesity Conditions Using DNA Methylation at theMethods and protocols · 2026Article
- Identification of SENP7 and UTF1/VENTX as new loci influencing clustered protocadherin methylation across blood and brain using a genome-wide association study.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Novel epigenetic marks of insulin resistance trajectories in a longitudinal study of childhood obesity.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2026Article
- From Risks to Roots: The Multifactorial Etiopathogenesis of Childhood Obesity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Epigenetics of Childhood Obesity.Hormone research in paediatrics · 2026Review
- Childhood obesity and DNA methylation in an epigenome-wide association study: findings from the Hokkaido Birth Cohort.Clinical epigenetics · 2025Article
- Interactive effects of genotype with prenatal stress on DNA methylation at birth.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Article
- Longitudinal changes in the genetic and environmental influences on DNA methylation linked to obesity measures: a 5-year twin study.Molecular biomedicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
85 authors at 20 institutions in 15 countries.
Florianne O L VehmeijerThe Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Room Na-2918, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Leanne K KüpersMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Gemma C SharpMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Lucas A SalasGeisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Samantha LentDepartment of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Dereje D JimaBioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Gwen TindulaChildren's Environmental Health Laboratory, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Sarah ReeseDepartment of Health and Human Services, Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Cancan QiUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergy, Beatrix Children's Hospital, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Olena GruzievaInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Christian PageCentre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Faisal I RezwanSchool of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK.
Philip E MeltonSchool of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia.
Ellen NohrCentre for Women's, Family and Child Health, University of South-Eastern Norway, Kongsberg, Norway.
Geòrgia EscaramísCIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
Peter RzehakDivision of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München (LMU), Munich, Germany.
Anni HeiskalaCenter for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Tong GongDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Samuli T TuominenDepartment of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Lu GaoDepartment of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Jason P RossCSIRO Health and Biosecurity, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.
Anne P StarlingDepartment of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA.
John W HollowayHuman Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Paul YousefiMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Gunn Marit AasvangDepartment of Air Pollution and Noise, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Lawrence J BeilinMedical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Anna BergströmInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Elisabeth BinderDepartment of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
Leda ChatziDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Eva CorpeleijnUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Epidemiology, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Darina CzamaraDepartment of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
Brenda EskenaziCenter for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Susan EwartCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Natalia FerrePediatrics, Nutrition and Development Research Unit, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, IISPV, Reus, Spain.
Veit GroteDivision of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München (LMU), Munich, Germany.
Dariusz GruszfeldNeonatal Department, Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
Siri E HåbergCentre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Cathrine HoyoCenter for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Karen HuenChildren's Environmental Health Laboratory, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Robert KarlssonDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Inger KullDepartment of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Jean-Paul LanghendriesCHC, St Vincent, Liège-Rocourt, Belgium.
Johanna LepeuleUniversité Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, Team of Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Reproduction and Respiratory Health, IAB, Grenoble, France.
Maria C MagnusMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Rachel L MaguireDepartment of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Peter L MolloyCSIRO Health and Biosecurity, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.
Claire MonnereauThe Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Room Na-2918, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Trevor A MoriMedical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Emily OkenDepartment of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
Katri RäikkönenDepartment of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Sheryl Rifas-ShimanDepartment of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
Carlos Ruiz-ArenasISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.
Sylvain SebertCenter for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Vilhelmina UllemarDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Elvira VerduciDepartment of Pediatrics, San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Judith M VonkUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Epidemiology, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Cheng-Jian XuUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergy, Beatrix Children's Hospital, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Ivana V YangDepartment of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA.
Hongmei ZhangDivision of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.
Weiming ZhangDepartment of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA.
Wilfried KarmausDivision of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.
Dana DabeleaDepartment of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA.
Beverly S MuhlhauslerCSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Carrie V BretonDepartment of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Jari LahtiDepartment of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Catarina AlmqvistDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Marjo-Riitta JarvelinCenter for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Berthold KoletzkoDivision of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München (LMU), Munich, Germany.
Martine VrijheidISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.
Thorkild I A SørensenMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Rae-Chi HuangTelethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Syed Hasan ArshadClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Wenche NystadDepartment of Chronic Diseases and Ageing, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Erik MelénDepartment of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Gerard H KoppelmanUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergy, Beatrix Children's Hospital, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Stephanie J LondonDepartment of Health and Human Services, Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Nina HollandChildren's Environmental Health Laboratory, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Mariona BustamanteISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.
Susan K MurphyDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University Medical Center, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Marie-France HivertDepartment of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
Andrea BaccarelliDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
Caroline L ReltonMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Harold SniederUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Epidemiology, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Vincent W V JaddoeThe Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Room Na-2918, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Janine F FelixThe Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Room Na-2918, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. j.felix@erasmusmc.nl.ORCID 0000-0002-9801-5774
Karolinska Institutet · SEUniversity Medical Center Groningen · NLColorado School of Public Health · USErasmus MC · NLNorwegian Institute of Public Health · NOCSIRO Health and Biosecurity · AULudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DENorth Carolina State University · USThe University of Western Australia · AUUniversitat Pompeu Fabra · ESUniversity of Bristol · GBUniversity of California, Berkeley · USUniversity of Helsinki · FIUniversity of Southern California · USHarvard University · USNational Institutes of Health · USSouthampton General Hospital · GBUniversity of Memphis · USUniversity of Oulu · FIBoston University · US
Funding
PILOT STUDY--SUBSTRATE METABOLISM IN EXTREMELY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTSP30DK048520 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI Paul S. Maclean · 1995 to 2026
$32.6MRelation Between In-utero Vitamin D and Immune Function in Early Childhood P20GM104416 · NIGMS · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI PASSARELLI, MICHAEL N · 2013 to 2022
$23.7MExploring the Fuel-Mediated Programming of Neonatal GrowthR01DK076648 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER/HSC DENVER · PI DABELEA, DANA · 2009 to 2018
$7.0MDuke University Program in Environmental HealthT32ES021432 · NIEHS · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI Akhenaton-Andrew Dhafir Jones, Joel Newman Meyer · 2013 to 2026
$4.0MObesity and deregulation of imprinted genes in early lifeR01DK085173 · NIDDK · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI HOYO, CATHRINE, MURPHY, SUSAN KAY · 2010 to 2013
$2.3MEndocrine disruptors, epigenetic programming and neonatal outcomesR01ES022934 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI ADGATE, JOHN L., DABELEA, DANA · 2014 to 2017
$2.3MMaintaining and Expanding the CHAMACOS Epidemiology Cohort Infrastructure for Future GenerationsR24ES028529 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI Robert Gunier · 2017 to 2026
$2.0MFollow-up and Maintenance of the Newborn Epigenetics STudy (NEST) CohortR24ES028531 · NIEHS · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · PI HOYO, CATHRINE, MURPHY, SUSAN KAY · 2018 to 2022
$1.9MEpigenetic Pathways to Conduct Problem Trajectories: Early Environmental RisksR01HD068437 · NICHD · KING'S COLLEGE LONDON · PI BARKER, EDWARD D., MILL, JONATHAN · 2012 to 2014
$1.1MA mechanistic study of prenatal air pollution exposure and offspring obesity riskR00ES025817 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI STARLING, ANNE · 2017 to 2019
$713kIn-utero Exposure and Infant Loss of IGF2 ImprintingR21ES014947 · NIEHS · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI HOYO, CATHRINE · 2006 to 2007
$384kMedical Research Council G9815508Medical Research Council MC_PC_15018Medical Research Council MC_PC_19009Medical Research Council MC_UU_00011/5Medical Research Council MC_UU_12013/2Medical Research Council MR/S009310/1Medical Research Council MR/S019669/1Medical Research Council MR/S036520/1Medical Research Council MR/S03658X/1NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD068437NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK048520NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK076648NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK085173NIEHS NIH HHS R00 ES025817NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES022934NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES014947NIEHS NIH HHS R24 ES028529NIEHS NIH HHS R24 ES028531NIEHS NIH HHS T32 ES021432NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM104416
Abstract
backgroundDNA methylation has been shown to be associated with adiposity in adulthood. However, whether similar DNA methylation patterns are associated with childhood and adolescent body mass index (BMI) is largely unknown. More insight into this relationship at younger ages may have implications for future prevention of obesity and its related traits.
methodsWe examined whether DNA methylation in cord blood and whole blood in childhood and adolescence was associated with BMI in the age range from 2 to 18 years using both cross-sectional and longitudinal models. We performed meta-analyses of epigenome-wide association studies including up to 4133 children from 23 studies. We examined the overlap of findings reported in previous studies in children and adults with those in our analyses and calculated enrichment.
resultsDNA methylation at three CpGs (cg05937453, cg25212453, and cg10040131), each in a different age range, was associated with BMI at Bonferroni significance, P < 1.06 × 10
conclusionsThere were only minimal associations of DNA methylation with childhood and adolescent BMI. With the advancing age of the participants across childhood and adolescence, we observed increasing overlap with altered DNA methylation loci reported in association with adult BMI. These findings may be compatible with the hypothesis that DNA methylation differences are mostly a consequence rather than a cause of obesity.
Indexed as
Body Mass IndexDNA MethylationEpigenesis, GeneticParturitionAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolCpG IslandsCross-Sectional StudiesEpigenomeFemaleFetal BloodHumansMaleObesityPediatric ObesityBody mass indexChildhood obesityDNA methylationEpigenetics
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.