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The problem
Intervention: No intervention tested; this is an observational study examining the association between prenatal DEHP exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes through epigenetic pathways
Who it was tested with: 847 children from the Barwon Infant Study in Australia, with validation in independent datasets (n=66 blood samples, n=40 postmortem brain samples).
Experience from people who deliver programmes: stories, case studies and lessons learned. Valuable for understanding how and why, and for spotting what to test next, but not a measure of effect.
"Causal mediation analysis showed that both MPSDEHP and a network of 531 co-methylated genes mediated the effect of DEHP on increased autism and ADHD symptoms at ages 2 and 4 years". The study employed a prospective cohort design with objective measurement of both exposure (cord blood DEHP) and epigenetic outcomes (DNA methylation) before symptom assessment, combined with validation in independent datasets, providing robust evidence for the proposed biological mechanism.
Observational design limits causal inference; epigenetic changes measured but functional consequences not directly tested; single population may limit generalisability
Across countries and designs
40 studies · 42 countries
