Upcoming Webinars

This is one of 26 chapters published in the Handbook of Life Course Health Development.   Abstract: Long-term survival for infants born extremely prematurely (<28 weeks of gestation) and extremely low birth weight (<1000 g) has increased dramatically due to obstetrical and neonatal advances. However, poverty, inequality, and resulting health disparities are significant contributors to women who give birth to preterm infants and also impact their children’s healthy development and education. While the vast majority of survivors of extreme prematurity do not have the most severe forms of neurodevelopmental disability (i.e., cerebral palsy, blindness, sensorineural hearing loss >55 dB, and intellectual disability), half of survivors can be expected to require special education services at …

This is one of 26 chapters published in the Handbook of Life Course Health Development.   Abstract: The prenatal period is a critical developmental stage for obesity and metabolic outcomes. In light of the global obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) epidemic and growing evidence of early life origins of obesity and diabetes, early identification of individuals at high risk and early prevention of obesity and metabolic syndrome are a key to achieve primary prevention and reverse the trends of the obesity and T2DM epidemics. This chapter will discuss the impact of important preconceptional and prenatal factors, including maternal obesity and/or diabetes, gestational weight gain, and maternal micronutrient status, on in …

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 …

Background: Early life may be a “critical period” when appetite and regulation of energy balance are programmed, with lifelong consequences for obesity risk. Insight into the potential impact of modifying early-life risk factors on later obesity can be gained by evaluating their combined effects. Objective: The objective was to examine the relation between the number of early-life risk factors and obesity outcomes among children in a prospective birth cohort (Southampton Women’s Survey). Design: Five risk factors were defined: maternal obesity [prepregnant body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) >30], excess gestational weight gain (Institute of Medicine, 2009), smoking during pregnancy, low maternal vitamin D status ( Results: Of the children, 148 …

This webinar, part of the LCRN’s series based on the Handbook of Life Course Health Development, features Michael Msall, MD.   Dr. Msall, a Board Certified developmental and behavioral pediatrician, is Professor and Section Chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and Professor of Community Health Sciences in The Institute for Molecular Pediatric Sciences at The University of Chicago. He has been an active researcher into the neurodevelopmental assessment of children receiving new technologies since 1982. Dr. Msall’s research has focused on advancing knowledge between developmental processes, genetics, neurobiology, and child disability outcomes. Current research in progress includes themes on (1) the demography of child disability; (2) assessing developmental and functional outcomes …

Objectives. We sought to determine if and to what extent a woman’s exposure to stressful life events prior to conception (PSLEs) were associated with subsequent infant birth weight by using a nationally representative sample of US women.   Methods. We examined 9350 mothers and infants participating in the first wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort in 2001. Weighted regressions estimated the effect of exposure on very low and low birth weight, adjusting for maternal sociodemographic and health factors and stress during pregnancy.   Results. Twenty percent of women experienced any PSLE. In adjusted analyses, exposed women were 38% more likely to have a very low birth weight …

A growing economics literature establishes a causal link between in utero shocks and health and human capital in adulthood. Most studies rely on extreme negative shocks such as famine and pandemics. We are the first to examine the impact of a positive and policy-driven change in economic resources available in utero and during childhood. In particular, we focus on the introduction of a key element of the U.S. safety net, the Food Stamp Program, which was rolled out across counties in the U.S. between 1961 and 1975. We use the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to assemble unique data linking family background and county of residence in early childhood to …

OBJECTIVES: We investigated early childhood disparities in high body mass index (BMI) between Black and White US children. METHODS: We compared differences in Black and White children’s prevalence of sociodemographic, prenatal, perinatal, and early life risk and protective factors; fit logistic regression models predicting high BMI (≥ 95th percentile) at age 4 to 5 years to 2 nationally representative samples followed from birth; and performed separate and pooled-survey estimations of these models. RESULTS: After adjustment for sample design-related variables, models predicting high BMI in the 2 samples were statistically indistinguishable. In the pooled-survey models, Black children’s odds of high BMI were 59% higher than White children’s (odds ratio [OR] = …

Recognizing the utility of a life course perspective, this special issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health examines the impact of experience in shaping brain and behavior from the prenatal period through adolescence. This issue is based on a conference, “Stress and the Brain: Implications for Health, Development and Learning,” held at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in April 2011. It was a collaboration of the Schools of Education and Public Health and was sponsored by the Carol and Eugene Ludwig Fund. The conference brought together a multidisciplinary group of experts to consider the role of stress, adversity, and experience broadly defined, during the prenatal, childhood, and …

Epidemiological, clinical, physiological, cellular, and molecular evidence suggests that the origins of obesity and metabolic dysfunction can be traced back to intrauterine life and supports an important role for maternal nutrition prior to and during gestation in fetal programming. The elucidation of underlying mechanisms is an area of interest and intense investigation. In this perspectives paper we propose that in addition to maternal nutrition-related processes it may be important to concurrently consider the potential role of intrauterine stress and stress biology. We frame our arguments in the larger context of an evolutionary-developmental perspective that supports roles for both nutrition and stress as key environmental conditions driving natural selection and developmental …