impact of the environment on lifelong health Flashcards
What challenges could the fetus face in utero that might have lasting impact on its health
- Fetal infection in utero/ in the womb
- Maternal nutrition
- Maternal illness
- Maternal stress
- Maternal medication (may cross placenta & affect foetus)
- Environmental factors/exposures (e.g. pesticide exposure)
What are the 2 types of influences on an infant that can cause Long Term Health and Risk of Disease?
- Biological influences (nature)
- Social and environmental cues (nuture)
What are some examples of Biological influences that can have long term health effects on an infant?
- Genetics (what does it’s genes say?)
- Epigenetics (what genes are switched on? what time are they switched on?)
What are some examples of social and environmental cues that can have long term health effects on an infant?
Environment
Family, Neighbourhood, School
Nutrition (maternal and fetal/child)
Social - behaviours seen – substance use, care giver behaviour (see Still Face Experiment on Insendi)
Health Provisions (accessibility to healthcare)
What is meant by the DOHaD hypothesis?
“Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)”
a.k.a the Barker Hypothesis found that:
- Undernutrition in utero and Overnutrition as a child
- Lead to increased risk of ‘Metabolic Syndrome’, which in turn leads to increased risk of cardiovascular events
the idea that life influences can be predictors or influences of health status in adulthood
What were the conclusions found from Barker Hypothesis/ the tests he conducted?
- On average, adults who had a coronary event had been small at birth and thin at two years of age
- Thereafter put on weight rapidly.
- The risk of coronary events was more strongly related to the rate of change of childhood BMI, rather than to the BMI attained at any particular age of childhood.
Describe the mechanisms behind the DOHaD hypothesis
