Nutrition in early life and the programming of adult disease: a review

Abstract

Foetal development and infancy are life stages that are characterised by rapid growth, development and maturation of organs and systems. Variation in the quality or quantity of nutrients consumed by mothers during pregnancy, or infants during the first year of life, can exert permanent and powerful effects upon developing tissues. These effects are termed 'programming' and represent an important risk factor for noncommunicable diseases of adulthood, including the metabolic syndrome and coronary heart disease. This narrative review provides an overview of the evidence-base showing that indicators of nutritional deficit in pregnancy are associated with a greater risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular mortality. There is also a limited evidence-base that suggests some relationship between breastfeeding and the timing and type of foods used in weaning, and disease in later life. Many of the associations reported between indicators of early growth and adult disease appear to interact with specific genotypes. This supports the idea that programming is one of several cumulative influences upon health and disease acting across the lifespan. Experimental studies have provided important clues to the mechanisms that link nutritional challenges in early life to disease in adulthood. It is suggested that nutritional programming is a product of the altered expression of genes that regulate the cell cycle, resulting in effective remodelling of tissue structure and functionality. The observation that traits programmed by nutritional exposures in foetal life can be transmitted to further generations adds weight the argument that heritable epigenetic modifications play a critical role in nutritional programming.

Medical-Legal Strategies to Improve Infant Health Care: A Randomized Trial

“…Previous research suggests that the early provision of concrete support may protect against child neglect and abuse and reduce parental stress, 46 and promote the formation of positive attachment relationships. 47,48 Other programs to address the concrete needs of families through improvements in primary health care have been described: WE CARE features a simplified, selfadministered needs assessment coupled with practice guidance to specific resources. 49 Safe Environment for Every Kid uses a screening instrument, originally administered by physicians, to refer selected families to social work support.…”

Serotonin controlling feeding and satiety

“…Evidence has accumulated over the last decades that the nutritional environment during early developmental periods has a significant impact on physiology and pathophysiology in adult age [372,373,385,386]. In this context, the aforementioned role of 5-HT in neural development leads to the question how the developing serotonergic system interacts with the early nutritional environment.…”

Fetal Origins of Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease, and Type 2 Diabetes

“…Times of increased cell turnover, such as during fetal development and infancy, may be particularly susceptible both to epigenetic errors and to environmental influences [15]. In this chapter, we focus on DNA methylation and the in utero period, to include periconception, since this falls within the first 1,000 days window, and is also a period of exceptionally rapid cell differentiation and complex epigenetic remodeling (Figure 22.2).…”