Social and biological pathways linking early life and adult disease
Evidence is presented for a pathways model linking early life factors and adult disease, which takes account of the inter-relationships between social and biological risks throughout the lifecourse. Few studies, if any, have yet recorded adequate birth to death information which could be used to qua...
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Published in | British medical bulletin Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 210 - 221 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Oxford University Press
01.01.1997
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Evidence is presented for a pathways model linking early life factors and adult disease, which takes account of the inter-relationships between social and biological risks throughout the lifecourse. Few studies, if any, have yet recorded adequate birth to death information which could be used to quantify the effects of different factors and their timing. Hence, there is only limited understanding of the extent to which biological and social risks experienced at different life stages combine to influence adult disease. However, some of the pathways between early and later life are suggested when evidence from earlier stages of the lifecourse is linked to that from studies at older ages, in which adult disease risk factors have been established. Further support for pathway effects is provided by studies showing that health outcomes of early biological insults can depend on the subsequent social and biological environment. Thus, it is argued that adult disease will be more fully understood when account is taken of the combined effects of social and biological risk occurring at different life stages. |
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Bibliography: | ArticleID:53.1.210 istex:9D34CC67968B2F9AE02A8E52E36B524D4ECF3CA9 Dr Chris Power, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK ark:/67375/HXZ-RXF43DKH-0 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 0007-1420 1471-8391 |
DOI: | 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011601 |