ArticleJRSM short reports2012
The fetal origins of adult disease: a narrative review of the epidemiological literature.
Article in JRSM short reports, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 127 citations in OpenAlex.
- Low birth weight as a predictor of adverse health outcomes during adulthood in twins: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in the Brain: The Example of Neurodevelopment Alterations upon Exposure In Utero to Synthetic Sex Hormones.Journal of xenobiotics · 2025Review
- Multi- and Transgenerational Histological and Transcriptomic Outcomes of Developmental TCDD Exposure in Zebrafish (International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Life course socioeconomic position and cognitive aging in later life: A scoping review.Advances in life course research · 2025Article
- Early menopause in mothers and the risks of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus in female and male offspring: a population-based cohort study.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2025Article
- Impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in a prenatally-androgenized rat model of polycystic ovary syndrome in later life.Experimental physiology · 2025Article
- Cancer Survivorship and the Significance of an Integrated Diachronic Life Course Perspective.Sociology of health & illness · 2025Review
- Maternal Intake of Laminarin Improves Infant Growth and Health by Fortifying Metabolite Profiles of Colostrum and Milk.Journal of agricultural and food chemistry · 2024Article
- Long-term effects of child nutritional status on the accumulation of health human capital.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Environmental Exposure Science and Human Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Prenatal Exposure to Bisphenol A: Is There an Association between Bisphenol A in Second Trimester Amniotic Fluid and Fetal Growth?Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Myocardial function including estimates of myocardial work in young adults born very preterm or with extremely low birthweight - a cohort study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2023Article
- Effect of Resveratrol on Pregnancy, Prenatal Complications and Pregnancy-Associated Structure Alterations.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Management of obesity across women's life course: FIGO Best Practice Advice.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2023Article
- Pre-birth acquisition of personhood: Incremental accrual of attributes as the framework for individualization by serial and concurrently acting developmental factors.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2023Review
- Maternal hyperandrogenism is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and overweight in adolescent and adult female offspring: a long-term population-based follow-up study.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2022Article
- Presence of parabens, phenols and phthalates in paired maternal serum, urine and amniotic fluid.Environment international · 2022Article
- Article
- Amino acid restriction alters survival mechanisms in pancreatic beta cells: possible role of the PI3K/Akt pathway.European journal of nutrition · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The fetal origins of adult disease (FOAD) hypothesis suggests that risk factors from intrauterine environmental exposures affect the fetus' development during sensitive periods, and increases the risk of specific diseases in adult life. This link was initially observed between prenatal exposures and adult coronary heart disease, but corresponding observations have later been published for a range of chronic conditions. Although the hypothesis has been praised as an essential shift in our understanding of determinants for health, the hypothesis has also been criticized on a number of accounts, both methodologically and theoretically. The aim of this paper is to critically discuss the FOAD-hypothesis, in relation to the epidemiological evidence. We conclude that much of the research literature on the FOAD-hypothesis finds support for the hypothesis. Despite this, it is still unclear if the effects are independent and what the public health relevance is. Notwithstanding the heart of the hypothesis - that environmental influences during gestation have an effect on later development - should be considered a major insight and constitutes a complement to a focus on genetic and more proximal factors (such as adult lifestyle) as causes of adult disease. As the search for determinants for disease and health continues, the FOAD-hypothesis is likely to remain an important perspective. It may however be better positioned as part of a broader life course perspective, rather than as an independent hypothesis.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.