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Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples

BACKGROUND: Historical trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples of North America is correlated with health disparities and is hypothesized to be associated with DNA methylation. Massive group traumas such as genocide, loss of land and foodways, and forced conversion to Western lifeways may be embodi...

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Autores principales: Rogers-LaVanne, Mary P., Bader, Alyssa C., de Flamingh, Alida, Saboowala, Sana, Smythe, Chuck, Atchison, Bernadine, Moulton, Nathan, Wilson, Amelia, Wildman, Derek E., Boraas, Alan, Uddin, Monica, Worl, Rosita, Malhi, Ripan S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10485934/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37679827
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01967-7
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author Rogers-LaVanne, Mary P.
Bader, Alyssa C.
de Flamingh, Alida
Saboowala, Sana
Smythe, Chuck
Atchison, Bernadine
Moulton, Nathan
Wilson, Amelia
Wildman, Derek E.
Boraas, Alan
Uddin, Monica
Worl, Rosita
Malhi, Ripan S.
author_facet Rogers-LaVanne, Mary P.
Bader, Alyssa C.
de Flamingh, Alida
Saboowala, Sana
Smythe, Chuck
Atchison, Bernadine
Moulton, Nathan
Wilson, Amelia
Wildman, Derek E.
Boraas, Alan
Uddin, Monica
Worl, Rosita
Malhi, Ripan S.
author_sort Rogers-LaVanne, Mary P.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Historical trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples of North America is correlated with health disparities and is hypothesized to be associated with DNA methylation. Massive group traumas such as genocide, loss of land and foodways, and forced conversion to Western lifeways may be embodied and affect individuals, families, communities, cultures, and health. This study approaches research with Alaska Native people using a community-engaged approach designed to create mutually-beneficial partnerships, including intentional relationship development, capacity building, and sample and data care. METHODS: A total of 117 Alaska Native individuals from two regions of Alaska joined the research study. Participants completed surveys on cultural identification, historical trauma (historical loss scale and historical loss associated symptoms scale), and general wellbeing. Participants provided a blood sample which was used to assess DNA methylation with the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC array. RESULTS: We report an association between historical loss associated symptoms and DNA methylation at five CpG sites, evidencing the embodiment of historical trauma. We further report an association between cultural identification and general wellbeing, complementing evidence from oral narratives and additional studies that multiple aspects of cultural connection may buffer the effects of and/or aid in the healing process from historical trauma. CONCLUSION: A community-engaged approach emphasizes balanced partnerships between communities and researchers. Here, this approach helps better understand embodiment of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples. This analysis reveals links between the historical trauma response and DNA methylation. Indigenous communities have been stigmatized for public health issues instead caused by systemic inequalities, social disparities, and discrimination, and we argue that the social determinants of health model in Alaska Native peoples must include the vast impact of historical trauma and ongoing colonial violence. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12939-023-01967-7.
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spelling pubmed-104859342023-09-09 Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples Rogers-LaVanne, Mary P. Bader, Alyssa C. de Flamingh, Alida Saboowala, Sana Smythe, Chuck Atchison, Bernadine Moulton, Nathan Wilson, Amelia Wildman, Derek E. Boraas, Alan Uddin, Monica Worl, Rosita Malhi, Ripan S. Int J Equity Health Research BACKGROUND: Historical trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples of North America is correlated with health disparities and is hypothesized to be associated with DNA methylation. Massive group traumas such as genocide, loss of land and foodways, and forced conversion to Western lifeways may be embodied and affect individuals, families, communities, cultures, and health. This study approaches research with Alaska Native people using a community-engaged approach designed to create mutually-beneficial partnerships, including intentional relationship development, capacity building, and sample and data care. METHODS: A total of 117 Alaska Native individuals from two regions of Alaska joined the research study. Participants completed surveys on cultural identification, historical trauma (historical loss scale and historical loss associated symptoms scale), and general wellbeing. Participants provided a blood sample which was used to assess DNA methylation with the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC array. RESULTS: We report an association between historical loss associated symptoms and DNA methylation at five CpG sites, evidencing the embodiment of historical trauma. We further report an association between cultural identification and general wellbeing, complementing evidence from oral narratives and additional studies that multiple aspects of cultural connection may buffer the effects of and/or aid in the healing process from historical trauma. CONCLUSION: A community-engaged approach emphasizes balanced partnerships between communities and researchers. Here, this approach helps better understand embodiment of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples. This analysis reveals links between the historical trauma response and DNA methylation. Indigenous communities have been stigmatized for public health issues instead caused by systemic inequalities, social disparities, and discrimination, and we argue that the social determinants of health model in Alaska Native peoples must include the vast impact of historical trauma and ongoing colonial violence. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12939-023-01967-7. BioMed Central 2023-09-08 /pmc/articles/PMC10485934/ /pubmed/37679827 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01967-7 Text en © The Author(s) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
spellingShingle Research
Rogers-LaVanne, Mary P.
Bader, Alyssa C.
de Flamingh, Alida
Saboowala, Sana
Smythe, Chuck
Atchison, Bernadine
Moulton, Nathan
Wilson, Amelia
Wildman, Derek E.
Boraas, Alan
Uddin, Monica
Worl, Rosita
Malhi, Ripan S.
Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples
title Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples
title_full Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples
title_fullStr Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples
title_full_unstemmed Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples
title_short Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples
title_sort association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in alaska native peoples
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10485934/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37679827
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01967-7
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