Residential greenness-related DNA methylation changes

Ayoung Jeong; Ikenna C. Eze; Danielle Vienneau; Kees de Hoogh; Dirk Keidel; Thomas Rothe; Luc Burdet; John W. Holloway; Debbie Jarvis; Florian Kronenberg; Gianfranco Lovison; Medea Imboden; Nicole Probst-Hensch

Environment International (Jan 2022)

Residential greenness-related DNA methylation changes

Ayoung Jeong,
Ikenna C. Eze,
Danielle Vienneau,
Kees de Hoogh,
Dirk Keidel,
Thomas Rothe,
Luc Burdet,
John W. Holloway,
Debbie Jarvis,
Florian Kronenberg,
Gianfranco Lovison,
Medea Imboden,
Nicole Probst-Hensch

Affiliations

Ayoung Jeong: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland; Corresponding authors at: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse57, 4051 Basel, Switzerland (A. Jeong). Head Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4051 Basel, Switzerland (N. Probst-Hensch).
Ikenna C. Eze: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland
Danielle Vienneau: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland
Kees de Hoogh: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland
Dirk Keidel: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland
Thomas Rothe: Spital Davos, Davos, Switzerland
Luc Burdet: Hôpital Intercantonal de la Broye, Payerne, Switzerland
John W. Holloway: Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, UK
Debbie Jarvis: MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK; Population Health and Occupational Disease, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
Florian Kronenberg: Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Gianfranco Lovison: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland; Department of Economics, Business and Statistics, University of Palermo, Italy
Medea Imboden: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland
Nicole Probst-Hensch: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland; Corresponding authors at: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse57, 4051 Basel, Switzerland (A. Jeong). Head Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4051 Basel, Switzerland (N. Probst-Hensch).

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 158
p. 106945

Abstract

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Background: Residential greenness has been associated with health benefits, but its biological mechanism is largely unknown. Investigation of greenness-related DNA methylation profiles can contribute to mechanistic understanding of the health benefits of residential greenness. Objective: To identify DNA methylation profiles associated with greenness in the immediate surroundings of the residence. Methods: We analyzed genome-wide DNA methylation in 1938 blood samples (982 participants) from the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA). We estimated residential greenness based on normalized difference vegetation index at 30 × 30 m cell (green30) and 500 m buffer (green500) around the residential address. We conducted epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) to identify differentially methylated CpGs and regions, and enrichment tests by comparing to the CpGs that previous EWAS identified as associated with allergy, physical activity, and allostatic load-relevant biomarkers. Results: We identified no genome-wide significant CpGs, but 163 and 56 differentially methylated regions for green30 and green500, respectively. Green30-related DNA methylation profiles showed enrichments in allergy, physical activity, and allostatic load, while green500-related methylation was enriched in allergy and allostatic load. Conclusions: Residential greenness may have health impacts through allergic sensitization, stress coping, or behavioral changes. Exposure to more proximal greenness may be more health-relevant.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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