Swedish scientist Carl Bornehag has been working with Whyatt's team over the years, and may be able to replicate the prenatal phthalate-exposure study with his subjects, who represent an entirely different demographic than Whyatt's.
We have found and replicated strong associations between prenatal and early life factors and epigenetic age in children.
A further large cross-sectional study of women in prenatal care replicated the finding of an association between low serum folate levels and obesity (2).
Our study replicates findings that prenatal anxiety does not have a significant effect on mode of delivery and use of epidural anaesthetic in the first stage of labour [ 62].
Unfortunately, for the most part, the environmental risk factors identified have not been replicated, although some association between prenatal maternal smoking and Tourette syndrome, tic severity or comorbid conditions such as OCD or ADHD has been identified in multiple studies.
Furthermore, their children also were small for gestational age, suggesting that such effects can be transmitted across generations, a finding replicated in animal studies of prenatal malnutrition and toxic exposure.
Our earlier observations of raised tail-cuff pressures in animals subject to prenatal protein restriction have been replicated in studies using both radiotelemetry and swivel-cannulation systems [46], [47], as have studies which have focused upon antenatal glucocorticoid administration to induce hypertension [48].Data analysis included correction for body weight.
This study used the same overall design and a comparable population sample as a previous pilot study (Grandjean et al. 2006) and replicated the associations observed in that study between prenatal pesticide exposure and visuospatial deficits and increased blood pressure.
To replicate this, a single prenatal influenza vaccine containing 25 μg EtHg was administered approximately 4 weeks before estimated delivery to all pregnant dams giving birth to infants assigned to the 2008 study group.
While the study has yet to be replicated by another research team, it suggests that the older brother effect is rooted in prenatal factors.
