PULLMAN, WA. – (MyBellinghamNow.com) The results of a new study could help Washington State University researchers predict incidence of inherited disease.

The study from the journal Environmental Epigenetics shows that exposure to multiple different toxicants across generations can amplify those health problems.

To get the data, researchers exposed pregnant rats to a fungicide, exposed their offspring to jet fuel, then exposed the next generation to DDT.

Then when bred to a fifth unexposed generation, the rats had a 70 percent higher incidence of obesity, kidney disease and prostate disease.

The study also showed a change to the rats’ genes that could have a significant impact on evolution.

It does not recreate how generations of humans have been exposed to these toxins, but humans were exposed to DDT in the 1950s, plastics in the 1970s, and then modern herbicides that are still in use today.

Researchers at WSU are working to identify biomarkers for inherited health conditions in humans including obesity, autism and pre-term birth.