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Does Poverty Affect Human Epigenetics?

National Press Foundation
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Or vice versa? While TikTok videos about epigenetics and trauma rack up millions of likes, the science continues to evolve. by Anne Godlasky, National Press Foundation Epigenetics can be influenced by the environment. Epigenetics “refers to biochemical modifications that alter how our genes are expressed,” said Dr. Tracy Bale, director of the Center for Epigenetic Research in Child Health & Brain Development at the University of Maryland. “It’s not something that you only have when something bad happens. Epigenetics are present in all our cells all the time.” They do not affect the DNA sequence, but “they can absolutely be affected – the levels of them and the types of them – by our environment,” such as growing up in poverty and other risk factors for adverse childhood experiences, for example. Epigenetics and intergenerational trauma aren’t synonymous. “Now the question becomes, can [epigenetics] be inherited?” Bale said. Biochemical markers …...more
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Does Poverty Affect Human Epigenetics?
7Likes
360Views
2022Feb 25
Or vice versa? While TikTok videos about epigenetics and trauma rack up millions of likes, the science continues to evolve. by Anne Godlasky, National Press Foundation Epigenetics can be influenced by the environment. Epigenetics “refers to biochemical modifications that alter how our genes are expressed,” said Dr. Tracy Bale, director of the Center for Epigenetic Research in Child Health & Brain Development at the University of Maryland. “It’s not something that you only have when something bad happens. Epigenetics are present in all our cells all the time.” They do not affect the DNA sequence, but “they can absolutely be affected – the levels of them and the types of them – by our environment,” such as growing up in poverty and other risk factors for adverse childhood experiences, for example. Epigenetics and intergenerational trauma aren’t synonymous. “Now the question becomes, can [epigenetics] be inherited?” Bale said. Biochemical markers are essentially erased in the process of an embryo’s development. “Through all those cell divisions, whether it’s a mouse or a human, there is no known mechanism to propagate that … epigenetic mark,” Bale said. “It’s not the epigenetics that are transmitted.” But does that mean trauma can’t be passed down? Dr. Sierra Carter, a clinical psychologist and race and trauma researcher, said “humans are messy,” and it is difficult to separate “what are things that could be passed down, not only genetically but also through learned processes around how to survive in oppressive environments” — for instance, the way someone behaves as a parent with PTSD could influence children in that environment. “At the heart of intergenerational trauma is what is being passed down from those who directly experience a traumatic incident to subsequent generations,” Carter said. Whether it’s called intergenerational trauma, ancestral history, historical trauma, Carter described it as “a validation-seeking of pain.” Pain and poverty go together, but it’s multi-dimensional. “A lot of people who are dealing with poverty are made to feel really bad about themselves,” said Pam Fessler, author and former NPR correspondent who covered poverty for 13 years. “Knowing that there’s something else going on that they don’t necessarily have control over would actually make a lot of them feel like, ‘Oh, well maybe it’s not all my fault.’” Science around societal issues could influence public attitude and policy, the panelists agreed. Investigating potential solutions is part of a journalist’s job, as is providing context, Fessler said. “Don’t go into it looking at anybody as totally representative of poor people,” she said. “There are people in this country who become poor for brief periods of time, they go in and out of poverty. We have people who are basically stuck in poverty for generations … you’re covering a very diverse group of people.” Fessler said she always spent multiple days with sources, if she could, including visiting their home. “Invariably, you just saw the impact that it was having generationally, that you could see the children who were struggling because their parents were struggling. And often when I would talk to the parents, they would talk about the things that they had gone through as children.” Scientists and journalists alike must resist overstating studies’ findings. “These TikToks – my head exploded at watching people say that some grandpa experienced some train crash and now his granddaughter was afraid of elevators or whatever. I was like, ‘Okay, that’s just nonsense,’” Bale said. “But when we make overstatements, people’s takeaway and their understanding can go a little off the track.” She warns, also, of studies that suggest “mice with depression” or “mice experiencing trauma,” noting that mice can experience stressors but not “trauma” like humans. To understand the legitimacy and significance of a study, talk not only to the scientists who conducted it but to other respected scientists in the field. “Talking to the people who did the science can provide a lot of information about where they think it is going,” Carter said. Speakers: Dr. Tracy Bale, Director, Center for Epigenetic Research in Child Health & Brain Development, University of Maryland School of Medicine Dr. Sierra Carter, Director, Health Equity, Agency, Racism and Trauma (HEART) Lab; Psychology Professor, Georgia State University Pam Fessler, Author; Former Correspondent, NPR News Takeaways, transcript and resources: https://nationalpress.org/topic/does-... NPF website: https://nationalpress.org/ This program was funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Heising-Simons Foundation. NPF is solely responsible for the content.

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National Press Foundation

5.08K subscribers