Upcoming Webinars

This is one of 26 chapters published in the Handbook of Life Course Health Development.   Abstract: Estimates project that one in three US adults may have diabetes in 2050. Until very recently, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was a disease diagnosed in adults, but as the childhood obesity epidemic has spread, the diagnosis of T2DM in adolescents has become more common. Early indicators suggest that the disease may be more severe and more difficult to manage when diagnosed in adolescents. It is projected that adolescents with T2DM will lose approximately 15 years of life. The economic burden of T2DM rises significantly as the years with disease increase. This grim forecast highlights …

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate, across all populations and age groups. Estimates suggest that 20% of women will be obese by 2025—a sobering statistic, particularly considering that obesity during pregnancy increases risk of adverse health outcomes to both mother and child. What’s more, obesity during pregnancy increases the risk of life-long health problems in children, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. This Series in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology examines the growing burden of maternal obesity worldwide in terms of its impact on clinical management and intergenerational health, and highlights the need for a focus on the pre-pregnancy period, along with a whole-of-society …

Extensive experimental animal studies and epidemiological observations have shown that environmental influences during early development affect the risk of later pathophysiological processes associated with chronic, especially noncommunicable, disease (NCD). This field is recognized as the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD). We discuss the extent to which DOHaD represents the result of the physiological processes of developmental plasticity, which may have potential adverse consequences in terms of NCD risk later, or whether it is the manifestation of pathophysiological processes acting in early life but only becoming apparent as disease later. We argue that the evidence suggests the former, through the operation of conditioning processes induced across the normal range …

This webinar, part of the LCRN’s series based on the Handbook of Life Course Health Development, features Pamela Salsberry, PhD, FAAN.   Dr. Salsberry is Professor and Director of the PhD Program in the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University. She uses a life course approach to study the effects of social and environmental factors on health, specifically childhood obesity, maturational processes, and health status. Dr. Salsberry is interested in studying the development of health disparities in low-income and minority women as well as exploring social justice concerns within the health care system having examined health services access in numerous studies. Most of this work has focused on barriers …

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) emerged among children, due in large measure to a strong physiological link between increased weight states and T2DM. In this article, cumulative risk factors for T2DM across childhood and its underlying mechanisms are reviewed. The points of intervention for T2DM should occur throughout childhood. The use of Halfon and Hochstein’s framework enables practitioners and researchers in the nursing field to better understand a child’s individual risk for T2DM. Only with this long view will prevention and interventions be successful in stemming the tide of the “twin epidemic” threatening children worldwide. Read full article

Many of the most common and costly chronic adult health conditions have their origins in childhood and adolescence. This recognition is leading to both a profound shift in our understanding about the developmental origins of diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and a greater focus on how different risk and protective factors influence the developmental pathways that determine optimal health across the life span. Scientific breakthroughs in the basic, clinical and epidemiological sciences reveal how different stressors and exposures during what are now termed “critical” or “sensitive” periods of development can affect growth, tissue differentiation and physiologic set points that influence an individual’s response to …

This paper examines the links between the disease environment around the time of a woman’s birth and her health at the time she delivers her own infant. Our results suggest that exposure to disease in early childhood significantly increases the incidence of diabetes in the population of future mothers. The exposed mothers are less likely to be married, have fewer years of education, are more likely to gain over 60 pounds while pregnant and are more likely to smoke while pregnant. Not surprisingly then, exposure increases the probability of low birth weight in the next generation, at least among whites. Among whites, this effect remains when we control for maternal …