Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T02:49:45.344Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The birth and future health of DOHaD

Part of: Sir David Barker Symposium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2015

M. Hanson
M. Hanson*
Affiliation:
Institute of Developmental Sciences and NIHR Nutrition Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Professor M. Hanson, Academic Unit of Human Development and Health, University of Southampton, IDS Building, MP887 Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. (Email [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Professor David Barker, CBE, FRS, made an enormous contribution to biomedical research, which helped to change its direction and assisted translation to clinical medicine in the area of non-communicable disease (NCD). In this paper, I briefly note some of the studies, which led to his work, and describe how the underlying mechanisms came to be investigated by fetal physiologists. This is a unique aspect of the change in scientific emphasis, from a gene-centric and adult lifestyle view of NCD to a more holistic perspective, which placed emphasis on the importance of development that took place in the late 20th century. Early this century, the DOHaD Society was formed: I discuss some aspects of the formation of the Society and note the important role it is now playing in addressing the need to find early-life interventions to reduce NCD. This forms part of the unique legacy that David Barker has left to science and medicine.

Keywords

Barkerfetushumanphysiology
Type
Review
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 6 , Issue 5: Themed Issue: David Barker commemorative meeting, September 2014; Prenatal Exposures and Health Outcomes , October 2015 , pp. 434 - 437
Check for updates
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Kermack, W, McKendrick, A, McKinlay, P. Death rates in Great Britain and Sweden: some general regularities and their significance. Lancet 1934; 223(5770), 698–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Forsdahl, A. Are poor living conditions in childhood and adolescence an important risk factor for arteriosclerotic heart disease? Br J Prev Soc Med. 1977; 31, 91–95.Google ScholarPubMed
3. Dörner, G, Rodekamp, E, Plagemann, A. Maternal deprivation and overnutrition in early postnatal life and their primary prevention: historical reminiscence of an ‘ecological experiment’ in Germany. Hum Ontogenet. 2008; 2, 51–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Higgins, MW, Kellr, JB, Metzner, HL, Moore, FE, Ostrander, LD Jr. Studies of blood pressure in Tecumseh, Michigan. II. Antecedents in childhood of high blood pressure in young adults. Hypertension. 1980; 2, 117–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. Wadsworth, ME, Cripps, HA, Midwinter, RE, Colley, JR. Blood pressure in a National Birth Cohort at the age of 36 related to social and familial factors, smoking, and body mass. Br Med J. 1985; 291, 1534–1538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6. Barker, DJ, Osmond, C. Infant mortality, childhood nutrition, and ischaemic heart disease in England and Wales. Lancet. 1986; 1, 1077–1082.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7. Gennser, G, Rymark, P, Isberg, PE. Low birth weight and risk of high blood pressure in adulthood. Br Med J. 1988; 296, 1498–1500.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Barker, DJ, Osmond, C, Golding, J, Kuh, D, Wadsworth, ME. Growth in utero, blood pressure in childhood and adult life, and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Br Med J. 1989; 298, 564–567.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Barker, DJ, Winter, PD, Osmond, C, Margetts, B, Simmonds, SJ. Weight in infancy and death from ischaemic heart disease. Lancet. 1989; 2, 577–580.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10. Whincup, PH, Cook, DG, Shaper, AG. Early influences on blood pressure: a study of children aged 5-7 years. Br Med J. 1989; 299, 587–591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Dawes, GS, Borruto, F, Zacutti, A, Zacutti, A Jr eds. Fetal Autonomy and Adaptation, 1990. John Wiley, Chichester UK.Google Scholar
12. Lake, A, Chan, M. Putting science into practice for early child development. Lancet. 2014; 385, 1816–1817.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed