The fetal, neonatal, and infant environments—the long-term consequences for disease risk

The developmental origins of health and disease can be understood by reference to the fundamentals of developmental plasticity. It is essential to distinguish between those environmental effects acting during development that are disruptive from those that have adaptive value. The latter are likely...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Early human development 2005, Vol.81 (1), p.51-59
Main Authors: Gluckman, Peter D., Cutfield, Wayne, Hofman, Paul, Hanson, Mark A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation (Physiology)
Adaptation, Physiological
Analysis
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Causes and theories of causation
Development
Developmental origins of adult disease
Disease Susceptibility - embryology
Disease Susceptibility - physiopathology
Diseases
Embryology: invertebrates and vertebrates. Teratology
Environment
Female
Fetal Development - genetics
Fetal Development - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Health aspects
Human physical development
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature
Infants
Infants (Premature)
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
New Zealand
Organogenesis. Fetal development
Organogenesis. Physiological fonctions
Origin
Phenotype
Predictive adaptive responses
Pregnancy
Prematurity
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
Programming
United Kingdom
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Summary:The developmental origins of health and disease can be understood by reference to the fundamentals of developmental plasticity. It is essential to distinguish between those environmental effects acting during development that are disruptive from those that have adaptive value. The latter are likely to underpin programming and the developmental origins of adult disease. It is suggested that greater disease risk is created by a mismatch between the environment predicted during the plastic phase of development and the actual environment experienced in the postplastic phase. This plastic phase extends from conception to after birth at least for some systems. It is not necessary to invoke a particular mechanism in the neonatal or infant period. There is increasing evidence that prematurity can be associated with long-term consequences, and this is to be anticipated from conceptual considerations. Different preventative strategies may be relevant in different populations.
ISSN:0378-3782
1872-6232
DOI:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2004.10.003