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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

Reduced fetal vitamin D status by maternal undernutrition during discrete gestational windows in sheep
J. K. Cleal, M. R. Hargreaves, K. R. Poore, J. C. Y. Tang, W. D. Fraser, M. A. Hanson & L. R. Green, 2017, Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 8(3), 370-381
DOI: 10.1017/S2040174417000149
Type: article
Faster eating rates are associated with higher energy intakes during an ad libitum meal, higher BMI and greater adiposity among 4-5 year-old children
Anna Fogel, Ai Ting Goh, Lisa Fries, Suresh Sadananthan, Sendhil Velan, Narvin Michael, Mya Thway Tint, Marielle Fortier, Mei Jun Chan, Jia Ying Toh, Yap-Seng Chong, Kok Hian Tan, Fabian Yap, Lynette P. Shek, Michael J. Meaney, Birit Broekman, Yung Seng Lee, Keith Godfrey, Mary F.F. Chong & Ciaran G Forde, 2017, British Journal of Nutrition, 117(7), 1042-1051
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114517000848
Type: article
Plasma omega-3 fatty acids in pregnancy are inversely associated with postpartum weight retention in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort
See Ling Loy, Michelle Jia Hui Ng, Yin Bun Cheung, Keith Godfrey, Philip Calder, Ngee Lek, Fabian Yap, Falk Müller-Riemenschneider, Padmapriya Natarajan, Yap-Seng Chong, Kok Hian Tan, Lynette Pei-Chi Shek , Mary Foong-Fong Chong & Jerry Kok Yen Chan, 2017, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 105(5), 1158-1165
DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.116.151258
Type: article
ANRIL promoter DNA methylation
Karen Lillycrop, Robert Murray, Clara Cheong, Ai Ling Teh, Rebecca Clarke-Harris, Sheila Barton, Paula Costello, Emma Garratt, Eloise Cook, Philip Titcombe, Bhuvaneshwari Shunmuganathan, Samantha J. Liew, Yong-Cai Chua, Xinyi Lin, Yonghui Wu, Graham Burdge, Cyrus Cooper, Hazel Inskip, Neerja Karmani, James C. Hopkins, Caroline E. Childs, Carolina Paras Chavez, Philip C. Calder, Fabian Yap, Yung Lee, Yap-Seng Chong, Philip E. Melton, Lawrie Beilin, Rae-Chi Huang, Peter D. Gluckman, Nicholas Harvey, Mark A. Hanson, Joanna D. Holbrook & Keith M. Godfrey, 2017, EBioMedicine, 19, 60-72
DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2017.03.037
Type: article
Delivering an action-agenda for nutrition interventions addressing adolescents and young women: priorities for implementation & action
Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Zohra S. Lassi, Gilles Bergeron, Berthold Koletzko, Rehana salam, Angela Diaz, Mireille McLean, Robert E. Black, Luz Maria De-Refil, Parul Christian, Andrew M. Prentice, Jonathan D. Klein, William Keenan & Mark Hanson, 2017, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13352
Type: article
Higher maternal dietary protein intake and the risk for gestational diabetes mellitus in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort
Wei Wei Pang, M. Colega, Shirong Cai, Yiong Huak Chan, Padmapriya Natarajan, Ling-Wei Chen, Wee Meng Han, Kok Hian Tan, Yung Seng Lee, Seang-Mei Saw, Peter D. Gluckman, Keith M. Godfrey, Yap-Seng Chong, Rob M. van Dam & Mary Foong-Fong Chong, 2017, Journal of Nutrition
DOI: 10.3945/jn.116.243881
Type: article
High folate and low vitamin B12 status during pregnancy is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus
Jun S. Lai, Wei Wei Pang, Shirong Cai, Yung Seng Lee, Jerry Kok Yen Chan, Lynette Pei-Chi Shek , Fabian Yap, Kok Hian Tan, Keith Godfrey, Rob M. van Dam, Yap-Seng Chong & Mary F.F. Chong, 2017, Clinical Nutrition
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2017.03.022
Type: article