Dr. Lahti-Pulkkinen et al. Reply

Abstract

In their Letter to the Editor, "Antenatal Depression, Epigenetic Gestational Age, Childhood Psychiatric Symptoms, and the Need to Consider the Possible Effects of Unaccounted Confounders," Ghosh et al.¹ suggested that unaccounted confounders might explain the associations of child epigenetic gestational age at birth with maternal antenatal depression and child psychiatric problems reported in the article by Suarez et al., "The Epigenetic Clock at Birth: Associations With Maternal Antenatal Depression and Child Psychiatric Problems."² Although the covariates mentioned in the letter, namely maternal substance use during pregnancy and socioeconomic circumstances, are indeed important factors possibly affecting both maternal and child psychopathology risk, we did not adjust for them in our analyses, as they were not associated with child epigenetic gestational age in our study sample.