Developmental origins of disease and epigenetics

Question 1

Who created the ‘Barker hypothesis’ and what did it propose?

Answer 1

• Sir David Barker
• Proposed that events in foetal and early life may contribute to the occurrence of diseases in adulthood

Question 2

Developmental exposure to what factors can lead to detrimental long term health outcomes to offspring

Answer 2

• stress
• obesity
• caloric-rich diets
• environmental chemicals

Question 4

what is the hypothesis of undernutrition?

Answer 4

proposes that several non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – including coronary heart disease (CHD) and T2D have their origins in prenatal life and in early childhood

Question 5

What factors is the intrauterine environment influenced by? And what does this effect?

Answer 5

Maternal factors, hormone and placental function

Affects the developing foetus via a number of pathways resulting in the programming of either positive or adverse health outcomes.

Question 6

In 1995, what did David barker state in regards to the foetal origins hypothesis?

Answer 6

‘the foetal origins hypothesis states that foetal undernutrition in middle to late gestation, leads to disproportionate foetal growth, which programmes later CHD’.

Question 7

What does the primary hypothesis suggest?

Answer 7

Primary hypothesis = being born small associated with poor health outcomes

Question 8

Question 9

What combination of things can influence gene methylation and gene expression?

Answer 9

Environmental factors, mothers health, nutritional status, microbiome

Question 10

Who is at the highest risk of CVD?

Answer 10

Those born small and grow most rapidly in infancy are at highest risk however a small infant at birth who remains small throughout infancy has no increased risk of adult CVD.

Question 11

What does birth size serve as a marker of?

Answer 11

• Prenatal environment
• Is a snapshot of the trajectory of intrauterine growth, that may predict long-term health outcomes

Question 12

Malnutrition and stress during prenatal life can have long terms effects by increasing the future risk of what 2 things in later life?

Answer 12

• increasing the future risk of CHD and T2D in later life

Question 13

What was the Dutch winter study?

Answer 13

The Dutch study looked into the short and long-term effects of famine exposure during intrauterine development.

Question 14

What was concluded from the Dutch winter study?

Answer 14

That Prenatal famine exposure had lasting consequences for health in later life.

The effects of famine depended on its timing during the gestation and the organs and tissues developing at that time, with most effects after exposure to famine in early gestation.

The effects of famine were widespread and affected the structure and function of many organs and tissues, resulted in altered behaviour and increased risks of chronic degenerative diseases and increased mortality.

The effects of famine were independent of size at birth, which suggests that programming may occur without altering size at birth.