Developmental origins of metabolic disease: Life course and intergenerational perspectives
Abstract
Recent evidence demonstrates important maternal effects on an offspring's risk of developing metabolic disease. These effects extend across the full range of maternal environments and partly involve epigenetic mechanisms. The maternal effects can be explained in evolutionary terms, and there is some evidence for their transmission into succeeding generations. Unbalanced maternal diet or body composition, ranging from poor to rich environments, adversely influences the offspring's response to later challenges such as an obesogenic diet or physical inactivity, increasing the risk of disease. Adopting a life course approach that takes into account intergenerational effects has important implications for prevention of non-communicable diseases, particularly in populations undergoing rapid economic transition.
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Links between maternal obesity, excessive GWG, GDM or hyperglycaemia and hypertensive disorders and offspring BP, adiposity and glucose-insulin traits are supported by systematic reviews and large cohorts, whereas evidence that a specific placental phenotype mediates the long-term association is more limited.
“Their links with offspring blood pressure (BP), adiposity and glucose–insulin traits are supported by systematic reviews and large cohorts, whereas evidence that a specific placental phenotype mediates the long-term association is more limited [27].”
From Placental Pathophysiology and Developmental Programming of Adult Cardiometabolic Risk: A Narrative Review of Pregnancy Exposures (2026) · cites this paper as [27]
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- Authors
- Godfrey, K. M., Gluckman, P. D., & Hanson, M. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Southampton (GB)
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- Corresponding author
- Hanson, Mark A.
- Venue
- Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-04
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 199-205
- ISSN
- 1043-2760 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2007756733
- Cited by
- 485
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 42
- FWCI
- 5.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- British Heart Foundation (RG/07/009/23120)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Keywords
- developmental origins of health and disease, metabolic disorders, maternal effects, intergenerational transmission, epigenetics, life course, maternal diet, maternal body composition, obesogenic diet, physical inactivity, non-communicable disease prevention, economic transition, evolutionary medicine
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Metabolic Diseases, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Epigenesis, Genetic, Fetal Development
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