Understanding and acting on the developmental origins of health and disease in Africa would improve health across generations

Norris, Shane A.; Daar, Abdallah S.; Balasubramanian, D.; Byass, Peter; Kimani-Murage, Elizabeth; Macnab, Andrew; Pauw, Christoff; Singhal, Atul; Yajnik, Chittaranjan S.; Akazili, James; Levitt, Naomi; Maatoug, Jihène; Mkhwanazi, Nolwazi; Moore, Sophie E.; Nyirenda, Moffat; Pulliam, Juliet R. C.; Rochat, Tamsen; Said‐Mohamed, Rihlat; Seedat, Soraya; Sobngwi, Eugène; Tomlinson, Mark; Toska, Elona; Schalkwyk, Cari van

doi:10.1080/16549716.2017.1334985

Cited by 28 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The rationale for pre-conception interventions is powerful, though not well-researched [12], and a recent review found no benefits on childhood health outcomes of maternal antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation starting in mid-pregnancy [13]. Norris et al have made an outline of an intergenerational cycle for priority in an African context [14].…”

Section: Public Health Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What are the public health implications of the life course perspective?

Aagaard‐Hansen

Norris

Maindal

et al. 2019

Global Health Action

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During the past decades innovative research has shown that exposure to harmful events during pregnancy and early infancy ('the first 1000 days') has an impact on health at subsequent stages of the life course and even across generations. Recently it has been shown that even the pre-conception period is of outmost importance, and other scholars have made the case that the 1000 days should be extended to a period of 8000 days post-conception. The present contribution aims to bridge further the gap between research evidence and public health policy by applying a holistic 'full-cycle' perspective. Thus, a conceptual framework is suggested for guiding public health prioritization, including the variables of 'impact on the next generation', 'plasticity' and 'available interventions with documented impact'. This framework could guide decision makers in selecting at which stages of the life course to invest (and not), and furthermore it points to some pertinent research priorities.

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Section: Public Health Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What are the public health implications of the life course perspective?

Aagaard‐Hansen

Norris

Maindal

et al. 2019

Global Health Action

Self Cite

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“…As for the next steps and interventions, it is critical that these take a life-course as well as a multi-disciplinary approach to be able to affect multiple generations. 31,34,43,44 A few to consider include:…”

Section: Underlying Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: the relevance to developing nations

andy¹,

Nyirenda²

2018

ESPE

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Low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, are experiencing rapid increases in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which may not be fully explained by urbanization and associated traditional risk factors such as tobacco smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet or physical inactivity. In this commentary, we draw attention to the concept of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD), where environmental insults in early life can contribute to long-term risk of NCDs, the impact of which would be particularly important in LMICs where poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation and infections are still prevalent.

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“…However, these positive results are tempered by burgeoning NCD rates. [8] Africa faces substantial challenges due to persistent infectious diseases and escalating NCDs. [8] NCDs kill 40 million people worldwide each year comprising 70% of all deaths.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%