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Nutrition in early life, and risk of cancer and metabolic disease: alternative endings in an epigenetic tale?

Nutrition in early life, and risk of cancer and metabolic disease: alternative endings in an epigenetic tale?
Nutrition in early life, and risk of cancer and metabolic disease: alternative endings in an epigenetic tale?
There is substantial evidence which shows that constraints in the early life environment are an important determinant of risk of metabolic disease and CVD. There is emerging evidence that higher birth weight, which reflects a more abundant prenatal environment, is associated with increased risk of cancer, in particular breast cancer and childhood leukaemia. Using specific examples from epidemiology and experimental studies, this review discusses the hypothesis that increased susceptibility to CVD, metabolic disease and cancer have a common origin in developmental changes induced in the developing fetus by aspects of the intra-uterine environment including nutrition which involve stable changes to the epigenetic regulation of specific genes. However, the induction of specific disease risk is dependent upon the nature of the environmental challenge and interactions between the susceptibility set by the altered epigenome and the environment throughout the life course.
cancer, metabolic disease, cvd, early life environment, epigenetics
0007-1145
619-630
Burdge, Graham C.
09d60a07-8ca1-4351-9bf1-de6ffcfb2159
Lillycrop, Karen A.
eeaaa78d-0c4d-4033-a178-60ce7345a2cc
Jackson, Alan A.
c9a12d7c-b4d6-4c92-820e-890a688379ef
Burdge, Graham C.
09d60a07-8ca1-4351-9bf1-de6ffcfb2159
Lillycrop, Karen A.
eeaaa78d-0c4d-4033-a178-60ce7345a2cc
Jackson, Alan A.
c9a12d7c-b4d6-4c92-820e-890a688379ef

Burdge, Graham C., Lillycrop, Karen A. and Jackson, Alan A. (2009) Nutrition in early life, and risk of cancer and metabolic disease: alternative endings in an epigenetic tale? British Journal of Nutrition, 101 (5), 619-630. (doi:10.1017/S0007114508145883).

Record type: Article

Abstract

There is substantial evidence which shows that constraints in the early life environment are an important determinant of risk of metabolic disease and CVD. There is emerging evidence that higher birth weight, which reflects a more abundant prenatal environment, is associated with increased risk of cancer, in particular breast cancer and childhood leukaemia. Using specific examples from epidemiology and experimental studies, this review discusses the hypothesis that increased susceptibility to CVD, metabolic disease and cancer have a common origin in developmental changes induced in the developing fetus by aspects of the intra-uterine environment including nutrition which involve stable changes to the epigenetic regulation of specific genes. However, the induction of specific disease risk is dependent upon the nature of the environmental challenge and interactions between the susceptibility set by the altered epigenome and the environment throughout the life course.

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More information

Published date: March 2009
Keywords: cancer, metabolic disease, cvd, early life environment, epigenetics
Organisations: Dev Origins of Health & Disease

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 69038
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/69038
ISSN: 0007-1145
PURE UUID: ec192456-d85c-4e3b-a654-23d85b7bfc43
ORCID for Graham C. Burdge: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7665-2967
ORCID for Karen A. Lillycrop: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7350-5489

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 16 Oct 2009
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:38

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