Publications by authors named "Dawayland O Cobb"

Importance: Disasters experienced by an entire community provide opportunities to understand individual differences in risk for adverse health outcomes over time. DNA methylation (DNAm) differences may help to distinguish individuals at increased risk following large-scale disasters.

Objective: To examine the association of epigenetic age acceleration with probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD symptom severity in women.

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Objective: Military servicemen deployed to war zones are at increased risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and successful adaptation to stress is important. Epigenetic alterations in response to trauma have been identified as mechanism of adaptation and may therefore predict deployment-related PTSD symptoms. To date, human studies of epigenetic marks for traumatic stress have been largely constrained by short-term analyses of one or two time points.

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Article Synopsis
  • PCBs, banned for decades, continue to pose health risks such as type 2 diabetes and cancer due to widespread exposure, which affects gene expression and epigenetic modifications.
  • A study measured DNA methylation in blood samples, identifying 1,345 CpG sites linked to higher PCB levels, particularly in regions important for gene activity and immune function.
  • Findings suggest that PCB exposure alters epigenetic marks correlated with immune responses, highlighting the need for further research to understand how these changes may impact health outcomes.
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Article Synopsis
  • Michigan residents faced health risks after polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) were accidentally mixed into the food supply, leading to different health problems in men and women.
  • A study analyzed DNA methylation using samples from 381 women and 277 men with PBB exposure, revealing 675 methylation sites in men but only 17 in women, with no overlap between the sexes.
  • The findings suggest that PBB exposure affects the epigenome differently for men and women, potentially explaining the distinct adverse health effects observed in each sex.
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Purpose: Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have been shown to affect multiple biologic processes especially steroid-hormone processes. We sought to determine differences in DNA methylation exists between women with and without endometriosis following exposure to polybrominated biphenyl (PBB).

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 305 females in the Michigan PBB Registry.

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Background: Michigan residents were directly exposed to endocrine-disrupting compounds, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to certain endocrine-disrupting compounds may affect thyroid function, especially in people exposed as children, but there are conflicting observations. In this study, we extend previous work by examining age of exposure's effect on the relationship between PBB exposure and thyroid function in a large group of individuals exposed to PBB.

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Advanced age increases risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. However, people do not age at the same rate, and biological age (frequently measured through DNA methylation) can be older than chronological age. Environmental factors have been associated with the rate of biological aging, but it is not known whether persistent endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) like polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) would associate with age acceleration.

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Endocrine-disrupting compounds are associated with altered epigenetic regulation and adverse health outcomes, although inconsistent results suggest that people have varied responses to the same exposure. Interpersonal variation in response to environmental exposures is not identified using standard, population-based methods. However, methods that capture an individual's response, such as analyzing stochastic epigenetic mutations (SEMs), may capture currently missed effects of environmental exposure.

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In 1973, Michigan residents were exposed to polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) when it was accidentally added to farm animal feed. Highly exposed individuals and their children have experienced endocrine-related health problems, though the underlying mechanism behind these remains unknown. We investigated whether PBB exposure is associated with variation in DNA methylation in peripheral blood samples from 658 participants of the Michigan PBB registry using the MethylationEPIC BeadChip, as well as investigated what the potential function of the affected regions are and whether these epigenetic marks are known to associate with endocrine system pathways.

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