摘要
Low birthweight is now known to be associated with increased rates of coronary heart disease and the related disorders stroke, hypertension and non-insulin- dependent diabetes. These associations have been extensively replicated in studi es in different countries and are not the result of confounding variables. They extend across the normal range of birthweight and depend on lower birthweights i n relation to the duration of gestation rather than the effects of premature bir th. The associations are thought to be consequences of developmental plasticity, the phenomenon by which one genotype can give rise to a range of different phys iological or morphological states in response to different environmental conditi ons during development. Recent observations have shown that impaired growth in i nfancy and rapid childhood weight gain exacerbate the effects of impaired prenat al growth. Coronary heart disease and the disorders related to it arise through a series of interactions between environmental influences and the pathways of de velopment that preceded them. These diseases are the product of branching pathwa ys of development in which the branchings are triggered by the environment befor e and after birth.
Low birthweight is now known to be associated with increased rates of coronary heart disease and the related disorders stroke, hypertension and non-insulin- dependent diabetes. These associations have been extensively replicated in studi es in different countries and are not the result of confounding variables. They extend across the normal range of birthweight and depend on lower birthweights i n relation to the duration of gestation rather than the effects of premature bir th. The associations are thought to be consequences of developmental plasticity, the phenomenon by which one genotype can give rise to a range of different phys iological or morphological states in response to different environmental conditi ons during development. Recent observations have shown that impaired growth in i nfancy and rapid childhood weight gain exacerbate the effects of impaired prenat al growth. Coronary heart disease and the disorders related to it arise through a series of interactions between environmental influences and the pathways of de velopment that preceded them. These diseases are the product of branching pathwa ys of development in which the branchings are triggered by the environment befor e and after birth.
