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Research project

Hanson RG/15/17/31749 Epigenetic Biomarkers and Determinants of Cardiovascular Risk in Children

Project overview

This application aims to determine: early biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk at birth/during childhood; the window(s) when early life interventions to reduce the risk of obesity and CVD are most effective; and the nature of potentially effective intervention(s). In the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) prospective preconception cohort, we have discovered perinatal epigenetic biomarkers of later CVD risk in mechanistically relevant genes, now confirmed in our other cohorts. We will determine how these biomarkers relate to the trajectory of adiposity, cardiovascular structure, function and fitness in SWS children to age 12yrs. Using SWS samples collected at birth and age 12yrs we will extend our panel of epigenetic biomarkers and investigate interactions with fixed genetic variants in relation to CVD risk. Then we will relate the resulting biomarker panel to CVD risk in children from ongoing cohorts in which pre- or post-natal interventions to modify risk factors are being made.

Staff

Lead researchers

Emeritus Professor Mark Hanson

Research interests
  • Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)
  • Maternal and Child Health
  • Developmental nutrition and epigenetic mechanisms
Connect with Mark

Email: M.Hanson@soton.ac.uk

Other researchers

Professor Cyrus Cooper

Prof Rheumatology Clinical Epidemiology
Research interests
  • Key research contributions have been:
  • discovery of the developmental influences which contribute to the risk of osteoporosis and hi…
  • demonstration that maternal vitamin D insufficiency is associated with sub-optimal bone miner…
Connect with Cyrus

Email: cc@mrc.soton.ac.uk

Professor Keith Godfrey

Associate Dean – KEE
Connect with Keith

Email: kmg@mrc.soton.ac.uk

Emeritus Professor Hazel Inskip MSc, PhD, FFPH

Connect with Hazel

Email: hmi@mrc.soton.ac.uk

Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs

Arachidonic acid and DHA status in pregnant women is not associated with cognitive performance of their children at 4 or 6–7 years
Sarah R. Crozier, Charlene M. Sibbons, Helena L. Fisk, Keith M. Godfrey, Philip C. Calder, Catharine R. Gale, Sian M. Robinson, Hazel M. Inskip, Janis Baird, Nicholas C. Harvey, Cyrus Cooper & Graham C. Burdge, 2018, British Journal of Nutrition, 119(12), 1400-1407
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114518000806
Type: article
Preconception maternal iodine status is positively associated with IQ but not with measures of executive function in childhood
Sian Robinson, Sarah Crozier, Elizabeth Miles, Catharine Gale, Philip Calder, Cyrus Cooper, Hazel Inskip & Keith Godfrey, 2018, Journal of Nutrition, 148(6), 959-966
DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxy054
Type: article
Relation of placental alkaline phosphatase expression in human term placental to maternal and offspring fat mass
Birgit Hirschmugl, Sarah Crozier, Nina Matthews, Eva Kitzinger, Ingeborg Klymiuk, Hazel Inskip, Nicholas Harvey, Cyrus Cooper, Colin P. Sibley, Jocelyn D. Glazier, Christian Wadsack, Keith Godfrey, Gernot Desoye & Rohan Lewis, 2018, International Journal of Obesity, 42(6), 1202-1210
DOI: 10.1038/s41366-018-0136-8
Type: article
Pregnancy trimester-specific exposure to ambient air pollution and child respiratory health outcomes in the first 2 years of life
Shu-E. Soh, Anne Goh, Oon Hoe Teoh, Keith M. Godfrey, Peter D. Gluckman, Lynette Pei-Chi Shek & Yap-Seng Chong, 2018, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(5)
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15050996
Type: article
Origins of lifetime health around the time of conception
T.P. Fleming, A. Watkins, M.A. Velazquez, J. C. Mathers, A.M. Prentice, J. Stephenson, Mary Barker, R. Saffery, Chittaranjan S. Yajnik, Judith Eckert, Mark Hanson, T. Forrester, Peter D. Gluckman & Keith Godfrey, 2018, The Lancet, 391(10132), 1842–1852
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30312-X
Type: article
Epigenome-wide association study of adiposity and future risk of obesity-related diseases
2018, International Journal of Obesity, 1-14
DOI: 10.1038/s41366-018-0064-7
Type: article
Maternal and fetal genetic contribution to gestational weight gain
Nicole M. Warrington, Rebecca Richmond, Bjarke Feenstra, Ronny Myhre, Romy Gaillard, Lavinia Paternoster, Carol A. Wang, Robin N Beaumont, Shikta Das, Mario Murcia, Sheila Barton, Ana Espinosa, Elisabeth Thiering, Mustafa Atalay, Niina Pitkänen, Ioanna Ntalla, Anna E Jonsson, Rachel M. Freathy, Ville Karhunen, Carla M.T. Tiesler, Catherine Allard, Andrew Crawford, Susan M. Ring, Mads Melbye, Per Magnus, Fernando Rivadeneira, Line Skotte, Torben Hansen, Julie Marsh, Mònica Guxens, John Holloway, Harald Grallert, Vincent W.V. Jaddoe, William L Lowe, Theano Roumeliotaki, Andrew T. Hattersley, Virpi Lindi, Katja Pahkala, Kalliope Panoutsopoulou, Marie Standl, Claudia Flexeder, Luigi Bouchard, Ellen Aagaard Nohr, Loreto Santa Marina, Manolis Kogevinas, Harri Niinikoski, George Dedoussis, Joachim Heinrich, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Timo A. Lakka, Eleftheria Zeggini, Olli T. Raitakari, Leda Chatzi, Hazel Inskip, Mariona Bustamante, Marie-France Hivert, Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin, Thorkild I.A. Sørensen, Craig Pennell, Janine F. Felix, Bo Jacobsson, Frank Geller, David M. Evans & Debbie A. Lawlor, 2018, International Journal of Obesity, 42(4), 775-784
DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2017.248
Type: article