Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41559797›Full record

ArticleGenome biology2026

Blood-based DNA methylation captures variance in adult height.

Alesha A Hatton, Robert F Hillary, Daniel L McCartney, Sarah E Harris, Simon R Cox, Kathryn L Evans, Rosie M Walker, Matthew Suderman, Paul Yousefi, Allan F McRae and 1 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Genome biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Alesha A Hatton *Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia. a.hatton@uq.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3564-4052
Robert F Hillary *Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
Daniel L McCartneyCentre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
Sarah E HarrisLothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
Simon R CoxLothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
Kathryn L EvansCentre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
Rosie M WalkerCentre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
Matthew SudermanMedical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Paul YousefiMedical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Allan F McRae *Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
Riccardo E Marioni *Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.

Funding

Australian Research Council Future Fellowship FT200100837Medical Research Council MC_UU_00032/3Medical Research Council MC_UU_00032/4
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile height is a highly heritable trait with strong polygenic prediction, previous studies have postulated that minimal variation of its individual differences can be captured by DNA methylation (DNAm). We investigated the role of blood-based genome-wide DNAm in capturing the variance in adult height in a large population-based cohort of 7,654 unrelated individuals from Generation Scotland using DNAm profiled on the Illumina EPIC array. The posterior DNAm probe effects were used to construct a DNAm profile score (Methylation Profile Score-MPS) which was evaluated in three independent cohorts.

resultsGenome-wide DNAm captures 25.0% (95% credible interval (CrI) 17.2-31.9) of the phenotypic variation in height when applying Bayesian penalised regression using BayesR + conditional on genetic effects. The total variation captured jointly by DNAm and genetic effects (80.3%, 95% CrI 70.1-87.2) is larger than the marginal estimate based on genetic effects only (56.3%, 95% CrI 45.8-66.8). Out-of-sample prediction shows that the MPS is weakly correlated with measured height (Pearson correlation ranging from 0.14-0.26), as well as being associated with several health and lifestyle factors in the LBC1936 that are established correlates of height.

conclusionWith the advent of larger sample sizes in epigenomics anticipated to improve the power to detect associations between DNAm and complex traits, we urge caution when making assumptions around "null traits" based solely on methylome-wide association study results and encourage the use of whole-genome methods to assess the proportion of variation in a trait that may be captured by DNAm.

Indexed as

Body HeightDNA MethylationBayes TheoremFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansPhenotypeDNA methylationHeightMethylation profile score

Identifiers

PMID41559797
PMCPMC12905977

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