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Global DNA Methylation and Cognitive Impairment: A Population-Based Study from Haryana, North India

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Abstract

Epigenetic modifications have been implicated in the development of cognitive impairment. However, the relationship between DNA methylation levels and cognitive impairment can be greatly influenced by environmental factors some blood-based nutrition markers. The present study aims to understand the relationship between global DNA methylation levels and cognitive impairment independently and in light of micronutrient status among North Indian adults. This study was conducted among 614 individuals, aged 30 to 79 years from Palwal, Haryana. Cognitive impairment (CI) was assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels were estimated using chemiluminescence technique. Estimation of global DNA methylation (5mC) levels was performed using the ELISA-based colorimetric technique. Appropriate comparison tests (based on normality distribution) were applied to compare the levels of global DNA methylation in different study groups. Logistic regression models were run to examine association between global DNA methylation and CI. Median 5mC levels of both mild and moderate/severe CI groups were significantly lower than that of the control group. Individuals in the 1st quartile of 5mC, with those in the 4th quartile as the reference, were at a significantly increased risk of both mild and moderate/severe CI. Vitamin B12, but not folate, appeared to mediate global DNA hypomethylation among CI cases. Cognitive impairment may be associated with Global DNA hypomethylation in the studied North Indian population. Vitamin B12 sufficiency may help improve the methylation levels among the cases of cognitive impairment. There is a need to develop population and context-specific epigenetic markers for cognitive impairment.

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Data Availabilty Statement

The data supporting the findings of this study will be made available by the authors on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge all the kind participants for their invaluable time and cooperation in the present study. We also thank the Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi for providing the required facilities to conduct the study.

Funding

The present study was supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India (DST/CSRI/2018/162G) and Indian Council of Medical Research (45/01/2022-ANTHRO/BMS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India

    Kevingu Khate, Vineet Chaudhary, Debashis Bhattacharjee, Anshika Kaushik, Kallur Nava Saraswathy & Naorem Kiranmala Devi

  2. Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, 122102, India

    Gagandeep Kaur Walia

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India

    Nandita Babu

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  1. Kevingu Khate
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Contributions

KNS and NB supervised the project and data collection. KNS conceptualised the manuscript. DB and AK performed lab analyses for global DNA methylation. KK performed data analyses and wrote the first draft. VC, GKW, NKD and KNS critically revised the manuscript for intellectual content. All the authors approved the final version of the manuscript for publication.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Naorem Kiranmala Devi.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Human Ethics

The present study was conducted following the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki for biomedical studies involving human subjects. Moreover, the present study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee, Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi (Ref No. Anth/2018/2890/1/28-12-2018). Prior to recruitment and data collection, pre-informed voluntary written consent, transcribed in local language was obtained from each participant.

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Khate, K., Chaudhary, V., Bhattacharjee, D. et al. Global DNA Methylation and Cognitive Impairment: A Population-Based Study from Haryana, North India. Ind J Clin Biochem (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12291-024-01205-z

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