Perceived stress and its relationship to global DNA methylation: North Texas Healthy Heart Study

Global DNA Methylation is a measurable marker of epigenetic changes, which are changes to DNA that have been associated with several environmental and lifestyle factors. Mouse models have shown heritable changes in DNA methylation in response to induced stress. We hypothesized that perceived stress in adults would be associated with changes in global DNA methylation. We also explored the relationship between physical activity levels and self-reported sense of control and the stress/methylation relationship. 128 subjects from the North Texas Healthy Heart Study who had given blood samples made up our cohort. There was no association found between stress, sense of control or physical activity and global methylation. Age, gender, smoking status, history of binge drinking and vitamin usage had no effect on methylation level. However, African American subjects in our study had significantly higher global methylation, as well as higher perceived stress than Caucasian or Hispanic participants.