{"entity": "researcher", "timestamp": "2026-08-20T20:40:45.078Z", "family": "Letourneau", "given": "Nicole", "initials": "N", "orcid": "0000-0002-7468-915X", "affiliations": ["Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.", "Owerko Centre, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.", "Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.", "Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.", "Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada."], "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/6dcc08e4922148f298c76627218425f7.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/6dcc08e4922148f298c76627218425f7"}}, "publications": [{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "35a0867719f84908b9c53f4a81e61fea", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/35a0867719f84908b9c53f4a81e61fea.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/35a0867719f84908b9c53f4a81e61fea"}}, "title": "Sex-Specific Associations between Prenatal Exposure to Bisphenols and Phthalates and Infant Epigenetic Age Acceleration.", "authors": [{"family": "England-Mason", "given": "Gillian", "initials": "G", "orcid": "0000-0003-0633-5963", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/735da452964d4e619ae8571b76076862.json"}}, {"family": "Merrill", "given": "Sarah M", "initials": "SM"}, {"family": "Liu", "given": "Jiaying", "initials": "J"}, {"family": "Martin", "given": "Jonathan W", "initials": "JW", "orcid": "0000-0001-6265-4294", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/02199c0d99674e2ea5e96e6589c07a00.json"}}, {"family": "MacDonald", "given": "Amy M", "initials": "AM", "orcid": "0000-0001-7031-8952", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/54dfa0649518430e8850eb35f5c42803.json"}}, {"family": "Kinniburgh", "given": "David W", "initials": "DW"}, {"family": "Gladish", "given": "Nicole", "initials": "N"}, {"family": "MacIsaac", "given": "Julia L", "initials": "JL"}, {"family": "Giesbrecht", "given": "Gerald F", "initials": "GF"}, {"family": "Letourneau", "given": "Nicole", "initials": "N", "orcid": "0000-0002-7468-915X", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/6dcc08e4922148f298c76627218425f7.json"}}, {"family": "Kobor", "given": "Michael S", "initials": "MS"}, {"family": "Dewey", "given": "Deborah", "initials": "D", "orcid": "0000-0002-1323-5832", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/8935a7948f734de08bfd35e426fba159.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2024-08-10", "journal": {"title": "Epigenomes", "issn": "2075-4655", "volume": "8", "issue": "3", "issn-l": null}, "abstract": "We examined whether prenatal exposure to two classes of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) was associated with infant epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), a DNA methylation biomarker of aging. Participants included 224 maternal-infant pairs from a Canadian pregnancy cohort study. Two bisphenols and 12 phthalate metabolites were measured in maternal second trimester urines. Buccal epithelial cell cheek swabs were collected from 3 month old infants and DNA methylation was profiled using the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. The Pediatric-Buccal-Epigenetic tool was used to estimate EAA. Sex-stratified robust regressions examined individual chemical associations with EAA, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) examined chemical mixture effects. Adjusted robust models showed that in female infants, prenatal exposure to total bisphenol A (BPA) was positively associated with EAA (B = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.21, 1.24), and multiple phthalate metabolites were inversely associated with EAA (Bs from -0.36 to -0.66, 95% CIs from -1.28 to -0.02). BKMR showed that prenatal BPA was the most important chemical in the mixture and was positively associated with EAA in both sexes. No overall chemical mixture effects or male-specific associations were noted. These findings indicate that prenatal EDC exposures are associated with sex-specific deviations in biological aging, which may have lasting implications for child health and development.", "doi": "10.3390/epigenomes8030031", "pmid": "39189257", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC11348373"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "epigenomes8030031"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-08-20T13:40:34.408Z", "modified": "2026-08-20T13:40:34.489Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "1727294597754326ab923b4e9b5c4beb", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/1727294597754326ab923b4e9b5c4beb.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/1727294597754326ab923b4e9b5c4beb"}}, "title": "Sex-Specific Associations between Prenatal Exposure to Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate, Epigenetic Age Acceleration, and Susceptibility to Early Childhood Upper Respiratory Infections.", "authors": [{"family": "Merrill", "given": "Sarah M", "initials": "SM"}, {"family": "Letourneau", "given": "Nicole", "initials": "N", "orcid": "0000-0002-7468-915X", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/6dcc08e4922148f298c76627218425f7.json"}}, {"family": "Giesbrecht", "given": "Gerald F", "initials": "GF"}, {"family": "Edwards", "given": "Karlie", "initials": "K"}, {"family": "MacIsaac", "given": "Julia L", "initials": "JL"}, {"family": "Martin", "given": "Jonathan W", "initials": "JW"}, {"family": "MacDonald", "given": "Amy M", "initials": "AM", "orcid": "0000-0001-7031-8952", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/54dfa0649518430e8850eb35f5c42803.json"}}, {"family": "Kinniburgh", "given": "David W", "initials": "DW"}, {"family": "Kobor", "given": "Michael S", "initials": "MS"}, {"family": "Dewey", "given": "Deborah", "initials": "D", "orcid": "0000-0002-1323-5832", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/8935a7948f734de08bfd35e426fba159.json"}}, {"family": "England-Mason", "given": "Gillian", "initials": "G", "orcid": "0000-0003-0633-5963", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/735da452964d4e619ae8571b76076862.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2024-01-26", "journal": {"title": "Epigenomes", "issn": "2075-4655", "volume": "8", "issue": "1", "issn-l": null}, "abstract": "Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a common plasticizer that can affect immune system development and susceptibility to infection. Aging processes (measured as epigenetic age acceleration (EAA)) may mediate the immune-related effects of prenatal exposure to DEHP. This study's objective was to examine associations between prenatal DEHP exposure, EAA at three months of age, and the number of upper respiratory infections (URIs) from 12 to 18 months of age using a sample of 69 maternal-child pairs from a Canadian pregnancy cohort. Blood DNA methylation data were generated using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip; EAA was estimated using Horvath's pan-tissue clock. Robust regressions examined overall and sex-specific associations. Higher prenatal DEHP exposure (B = 6.52, 95% CI = 1.22, 11.81) and increased EAA (B = 2.98, 95% CI = 1.64, 4.32) independently predicted more URIs. In sex-specific analyses, some similar effects were noted for boys, and EAA mediated the association between prenatal DEHP exposure and URIs. In girls, higher prenatal DEHP exposure was associated with decreased EAA, and no mediation was noted. Higher prenatal DEHP exposure may be associated with increased susceptibility to early childhood URIs, particularly in boys, and aging biomarkers such as EAA may be a biological mechanism. Larger cohort studies examining the potential developmental immunotoxicity of phthalates are needed.", "doi": "10.3390/epigenomes8010003", "pmid": "38390895", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC10885049"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "epigenomes8010003"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-08-20T13:40:32.355Z", "modified": "2026-08-20T13:40:32.466Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "73ab8704141845b8ae0717df4193c749", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/73ab8704141845b8ae0717df4193c749.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/73ab8704141845b8ae0717df4193c749"}}, "title": "Associations between maternal folate status and choline intake during pregnancy and neurodevelopment at 3-4 years of age in the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study.", "authors": [{"family": "Irvine", "given": "Nathalie", "initials": "N"}, {"family": "England-Mason", "given": "Gillian", "initials": "G", "orcid": "0000-0003-0633-5963", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/735da452964d4e619ae8571b76076862.json"}}, {"family": "Field", "given": "Catherine J", "initials": "CJ", "orcid": "0000-0001-7285-4767", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/2078f443da354e70a59c595387dc9592.json"}}, {"family": "Letourneau", "given": "Nicole", "initials": "N", "orcid": "0000-0002-7468-915X", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/6dcc08e4922148f298c76627218425f7.json"}}, {"family": "Bell", "given": "Rhonda C", "initials": "RC", "orcid": "0000-0002-4298-9641", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/f7f9a00807f845cabdbc69fc1bb1af0b.json"}}, {"family": "Giesbrecht", "given": "Gerald F", "initials": "GF", "orcid": "0000-0001-7259-0685", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/69d4546a05aa4502b211c6cce2c8e26b.json"}}, {"family": "Kinniburgh", "given": "David W", "initials": "DW"}, {"family": "MacDonald", "given": "Amy M", "initials": "AM", "orcid": "0000-0001-7031-8952", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/54dfa0649518430e8850eb35f5c42803.json"}}, {"family": "Martin", "given": "Jonathan W", "initials": "JW", "orcid": "0000-0001-6265-4294", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/02199c0d99674e2ea5e96e6589c07a00.json"}}, {"family": "Dewey", "given": "Deborah", "initials": "D", "orcid": "0000-0002-1323-5832", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/8935a7948f734de08bfd35e426fba159.json"}}, {"family": "APrON Study Team", "given": "", "initials": ""}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2023-06-00", "journal": {"title": "J Dev Orig Health Dis", "issn": "2040-1752", "volume": "14", "issue": "3", "pages": "402-414", "issn-l": null}, "abstract": "Folate and choline are methyl donor nutrients that may play a role in fetal brain development. Animal studies have reported that prenatal folate and choline supplementation are associated with better cognitive outcomes in offspring and that these nutrients may interact and affect brain development. Human studies that have investigated associations between maternal prenatal folate or choline levels and neurodevelopmental outcomes have reported contradictory findings and no human studies have examined the potential interactive effect of folate and choline on children's neurodevelopment. During the second trimester of pregnancy, maternal red blood cell folate was measured from blood samples and choline intake was estimated using a 24-h dietary recall in 309 women in the APrON cohort. At 3-5 years of age, their children's neurodevelopment was assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence - Fourth EditionCND, NEPSY-II language and memory subtests, four behavioral executive function tasks, and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition. Adjusted regressions revealed no associations between maternal folate and choline levels during pregnancy and most of the child outcomes. On the Dimensional Change Card Sort, an executive function task, there was an interaction effect; at high levels of choline intake (i.e., 1 SD above the mean; 223.03 mg/day), higher maternal folate status was associated with decreased odds of receiving a passing score (\u03b2 = -0.44; 95%CI -0.81, -0.06). In conclusion, maternal folate status and choline intake during the second trimester of pregnancy were not associated with children's intelligence, language, memory, or motor outcomes at 3-4 years of age; however, their interaction may have an influence children's executive functions.", "doi": "10.1017/S2040174423000041", "pmid": "36939090", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "mid", "key": "NIHMS1873444"}, {"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC10202845"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "S2040174423000041"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-08-20T08:08:07.630Z", "modified": "2026-08-20T08:08:07.954Z"}]}