Residential greenness-related DNA methylation changes

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Allergy; Allostatic load; DNA methylation; EWAS; Enrichment test; Greenness; Pathway analysis; Physical activity.