Background and Objective: Stress is associated with various responses depending on the kind and the intensity of exposure, the number of stressful events and the period of life (age of exposure). Stress modulates the epigenetic machinery, modulating gene expression and impacting health across life. The objective of this narrative review is to identify the impact of social stress on epigenetics and recognise the consequences on mental health. Methods: This narrative review was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar from January 2015 to June 2025; search terms used to identify relevant publications were: “stress AND epigenetics”, “stress and DNA methylation”, “stress AND early-life”, “stress AND Covid-19”, “stress AND work”. Language was restricted to English. Key Content and Findings: This review aims to describe the impact of social stressors (i.e., trauma following abuse, crime, war, workplace stress) during early life, pregnancy and work-related stress on DNA methylation/demethylation at neonatal/child- and adult-age. Social stressors can perturb neuronal development, epigenetic age and adult health by modulation of DNA methylation at selected genes. Furthermore, maternal stress during pregnancy has been observed to perturb the child and mother epigenome, increasing the risk of epigenetic inheritance of these biomarkers in future generations. Work-related stress during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with high working hours and reduced sleep time, represents an additional factor that contributes to the development of non-communicable diseases. Conclusions: Social stressors, in early life and in adulthood age can perturb mental health with long-term effects later in life; preventive strategies to promote epigenetic reversibility at a young age should be considered to avoid stress-induced intergenerational epigenetic inheritance. Actions to counterbalance stress-associated work include scheduling work hours with breaks to improve physical and emotional well-being. Guidelines for training and clinical practice with clear and precise instructions can be helpful to manage stress in healthcare personnel; furthermore, an educational program for people could represent a useful tool for social support.
Impact of social stress on epigenetics: an updated narrative review
Gabbianelli Rosita
Primo
2025-01-01
Abstract
Background and Objective: Stress is associated with various responses depending on the kind and the intensity of exposure, the number of stressful events and the period of life (age of exposure). Stress modulates the epigenetic machinery, modulating gene expression and impacting health across life. The objective of this narrative review is to identify the impact of social stress on epigenetics and recognise the consequences on mental health. Methods: This narrative review was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar from January 2015 to June 2025; search terms used to identify relevant publications were: “stress AND epigenetics”, “stress and DNA methylation”, “stress AND early-life”, “stress AND Covid-19”, “stress AND work”. Language was restricted to English. Key Content and Findings: This review aims to describe the impact of social stressors (i.e., trauma following abuse, crime, war, workplace stress) during early life, pregnancy and work-related stress on DNA methylation/demethylation at neonatal/child- and adult-age. Social stressors can perturb neuronal development, epigenetic age and adult health by modulation of DNA methylation at selected genes. Furthermore, maternal stress during pregnancy has been observed to perturb the child and mother epigenome, increasing the risk of epigenetic inheritance of these biomarkers in future generations. Work-related stress during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with high working hours and reduced sleep time, represents an additional factor that contributes to the development of non-communicable diseases. Conclusions: Social stressors, in early life and in adulthood age can perturb mental health with long-term effects later in life; preventive strategies to promote epigenetic reversibility at a young age should be considered to avoid stress-induced intergenerational epigenetic inheritance. Actions to counterbalance stress-associated work include scheduling work hours with breaks to improve physical and emotional well-being. Guidelines for training and clinical practice with clear and precise instructions can be helpful to manage stress in healthcare personnel; furthermore, an educational program for people could represent a useful tool for social support.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
