Sex-specific associations of asthma acquisition with changes in DNA methylation during adolescence.

Background: Underlying biological mechanisms involved in sex differences in asthma status changes from pre- to post-adolescence are unclear. DNA methylation (DNAm) has been shown to be associated with the risk of asthma.

Objective: We hypothesized that asthma acquisition from pre- to post-adolescence was associated with changes in DNAm during this period at asthma-associated cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites and such an association was sex-specific.