[Reading Science] The Harsh Great Depression Even Altered Human Genes

US Research Team's Epigenome Analysis Reveals
Unique Patterns in Great Depression Generation
"Linked to Faster Aging and Higher Chronic Disease Incidence"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] A study has revealed that the Great Depression of the 1920s also affected human genes. Analyzing the genes of people born during that time showed they tended to age faster than other generations.

According to the international journal Nature on the 22nd, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a paper by a research team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the 8th with these findings.

The Great Depression in the United States occurred between 1929 and 1939, causing severe economic hardship, with up to 25% of American workers unemployed at its peak. The research team collected genes from about 800 people born in the 1930s and analyzed the epigenome of their cells. The epigenome refers to chemical markers attached to DNA that determine when, where, and how much genes are expressed in each cell. While it does not cause changes in the basic DNA sequence, it induces genetic variation due to nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental factors, and is also passed on to future generations.

As a result, the research team concluded that the higher rates of chronic diseases and mortality in that generation are related to their unique intracellular epigenome patterns. They also found that people born in states with higher unemployment and wage cuts had more severe cellular aging than normal, whereas those born in states with relatively better economic conditions showed less severity. The team believes that this generation was adversely affected because they were exposed to hardships such as starvation and stress from the early stages of fetal development after conception.

Lauren Schmitz, co-author and professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said, "This study confirms that if society creates programs to support the health management of pregnant women, it can reduce health disparities among children."