A recent study published in Scientific Reports revealed that stress and trauma could leave lasting epigenetic marks on DNA across generations. While the short-term effects of trauma on physical health have long been known, including issues like headaches, changes in appetite and sleep patterns, fear, anxiety, and concentration problems, a new study suggested that severe traumas like war could imprint lasting epigenetic marks on DNA.
The concept of trauma being passed down from generation to generation is not a new idea. Previous studies have shown that traumatic experiences can increase the likelihood of subsequent generations developing depression and other mental health problems. In a groundbreaking study, DNA samples from 48 Syrian families spanning three generations were examined. Anthropologist Catherine Panter-Brick from Yale University stated, “Our findings provide evidence that violence could leave epigenetic marks on the genome.”
In the research, the DNA of 10 families exposed to violence in Syria in the 1980s and 22 families affected by the 2011 civil war was compared to genetic material from 16 families who fled Syria before 1980 and escaped years of internal unrest. Scientists analyzed 850,000 DNA methylation sites where small chemical tags called methyl groups are added to DNA.
Researchers identified 21 regions in the DNA of mothers and children directly exposed to violence that showed changes in epigenetic markers. Changes were also found in 14 genomic regions in the grandchildren of women who survived attacks in the 1980s. Furthermore, individuals born from mothers who experienced violence in the womb were observed to age faster at a cellular level. The exact impacts of these changes on health are still unclear.