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Editorial
. 2012 Feb;41(1):5-9.
doi: 10.1093/ije/dys006.

Is epidemiology ready for epigenetics?

Caroline L Relton, George Davey Smith
Editorial

Is epidemiology ready for epigenetics?

Caroline L Relton et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2012 Feb.
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
‘The Last Drop’. Judith Leyster, c.1630–1631. Philadelphia Museum of Art, reproduced by kind permission of Philadelphia Museum of Art
Figure 2
Figure 2
The epigenome as a biosensor of exposure and/or outcome. (A) Multiple factors have been proposed to influence epigenetic patterns including epigenetic inheritance systems, stochastic events, germ-line genetic variation and the environment. The epigenome is commonly postulated to mediate the influence of these factors upon intermediate phenotypes and subsequently disease. This linear unidirectional relationship is simplistic and does not account for the complexities of various feedback loops, as shown in (B). The red arrows highlight how intermediate phenotypes and/or disease states might impact directly upon the epigenome (reverse causation). Additionally, disease might alter the environmental exposure and thus its observed association with the epigenome. The blue dashed arrows highlight the potential for feedback from all stages of the pathway to influence epigenetic inheritance systems. The question marks indicate that these links have, as yet, no robust evidence base in humans
Figure 3
Figure 3
Waddington's Epigenetic Space (reproduced from Scarr and McCartney27), where genotype, environment and chance coalesce to produce phenotype
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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