Diet, smoking and other aspects of adult lifestyle have a limited ability to explain why people develop coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obstructive lung disease in middle and old age. Recent research suggests that these diseases are importantly determined by failure of development of particular sugar or metabolic processes in foetal life and infancy. Non-insulin dependent diabetes, for example, may result from failure of growth of the pancreas during a critical early phase. The first chapters of this book on early life programming describe the origins of the hypothesis in geographical studies in England and Wales. This is followed by a series of unique studies of men and women born fifty and more years ago whose measurements at birth and growth and feeding in infancy were recorded at the time. Many thousands have been traced. In those who have died cause of death can be related to early growth. Examination of the living allows their blood pressures, cholesterol and insulin concentrations and other measurements to be related to particular, and different patterns of early growth.

The book Gamete and Embryo-fetal Origins of Adult Diseases introduces various diseases resulting from the abnormal gametogenesis and embryo development, which manifests as growth retardation, birth defects, or increased susceptibility to chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer in childhood and adult life, even fertility disorders and the risk of transgenerational transmission. Six common kinds of these diseases are discussed in separate chapters. The authors explore the connections between these diseases and epigenetic reprogramming, rapid cell differentiation and organ formation and environmental influences, including assisted reproductive technology and adverse intrauterine environments. With a summary of findings on the causes and progression of adult diseases at the phase of gametogenesis and embryo development, this book provides insights into the pathogenesis of disease and aids in the treatment and prevention of disease, meeting the requirement for improving the quality of the newborn population, and effectively preventing and curing major diseases at an early stage. This book offers new perspectives and will be an enlightening resource for obstetricians, paediatricians, epidemiologists, endocrinologists and sanitarians. Editor He-Feng Huang, M.D., is Professor and President of Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, China. Editor Jian-Zhong Sheng, Ph.D., is Professor at the Department of Pathology & Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, China.

This landmark publication provides the first definitive account of how and why subtle influences on the fetus and during early life can have such profound consequences for adult health and diseases. Although the epidemiological evidence for this link has long proved compelling, it is only much more recently that the scientific and physiological basis has begun to be studied in depth and fully understood. The compilation, written by many of the world's leading experts in this exciting field, summarizes these scientific and clinical advances.

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related conditions cause more than 40 percent of all deaths globally, and their substantial burden is rising, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Their burden extends well beyond health effects to include significant economic and societal consequences. Most of these conditions are related, share risk factors, and have common control measures at the clinical, population, and policy levels. Lives can be extended and improved when these diseases are prevented, detected, and managed. This volume summarizes current knowledge and presents evidence-based interventions that are effective, cost-effective, and scalable in LMICs.

"This second edition discusses contemporary challenges and debates related to the short and longer-term effects of maternal and infant nutrition, and of the nature of the relationship between mother and infant as a consequence of nutritive and nurturing behaviour."--Provided by publisher.