An overview of developmental origins of child diseases
WU Ting,ZHAO Yanjun,HUANG Lisu,ZHANG Jun
1. MOE-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children’s Environmental Health,Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine,Shanghai 200092,China;2. Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital,Chengdu 610091,Sichuan,China.
Abstract:The theory of fetal origin of adult diseases,often referred to as“Barker’s hypothesis”,is derived from a series of epidemiological studies of infant and adult mortality. This hypothesis states that under-nutrition during gestation is an important early origin of adult cardiac and metabolic disorders due to fetal programming that permanently shapes the body’s structure,function and metabolism,and contributes to adult diseases. Currently,most of the studies describe the association between early childhood development,adult diseases,such as diabetes,hypertension,coronary heart disease,abnormal lipids metabolism,obesity,cancer,etc. But few studies focus on child diseases. This review aims to provide an epidemiologic overview of the literature on fetal origin of child diseases,hoping to shed light on future prevention and intervention.