Developmental origins of health and disease

The volume provides us with information about the importance of a healthy pregnancy, the necessity of preventing at risk pregnancies, the impact of chronic placental insufficiency and the intrauterine growth retardation resulting from this. Research is based on epidemiological data from which clinical, experimental and epigenetic studies have resulted. These data show that perinatal events play a large role in perinatal and postnatal development as well as in the development of diseases in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Intrauterine growth retardation is linked to vascular and metabolic changes in the adult organism. Chronic placental insufficiency and its consequences can lead to a predisposition for coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, stroke, arterial hypertension and renal failure. It is argued that changes in bone development and a heightened risk of carcinomas are also a result. Focus is on so-called „fetal programming“ in critical phases of intrauterine growth. All articles are in English.