L2 Reading - Fetal Origins of Mental Health: The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Hypothesis

abstract (findings)

• developmental origins of health + disease hypothesis suggests that intrauterine signals (fetal programming/developmental signals) affect fetal growth quality + lead to “program” tissue differentiation, leading to specifical health outcomes (increasing risk for later chronic illness + psychopathology)

• researchers propose that antenatal maternal adversity (hardships) affect biological pathways that influence fetal growth + neurodevelopment

• these models have little support because of weak to no associations between maternal anxiety, depression, stress & fetal growth

• compromised fetal development appears to result in a “meta-plastic” state that increases sensitivity to influences after birth

• challenges to the study of fetal origins of metal health: observational studies fail to consider underlying genetic factors + unclear if observed relationship b/w fetal growth and neurodevelopment have meaningful clinical relevance

what catalyzed the interest in fetal origins of chronic/non-communicable diseases?

• relation b/w birth weight + metabolic health

• broadly continuous relationship → as birth weight increases, risk for metabolic disease decreases (up till macrosomia/ normal birth weight)

how is DOHaD seen in psychiatry/psych + studies?

• in psychiatry/psych, early developmental influences are emphasized as determinants of mental health + human capacity

• DOHaD studies can show individual differences in vulnerability to adverse mental health outcomes

fetal origins of brain health

• fetal growth and psychopathology

  • birth weight used as proxy measure for info on fetal growth, though along with gestational age + birth length may also reflect diff underlying mechanisms that independently affect MH outcomes

    • e.g., ADHD risk (as well as SZ, alcohol + drug use disorders, anxiety disorders, etc.) increases among children w/ <2.5 kg birth weight; also increases w macrosomia

    • low birth weight also predicts impairments of exec function (attention + working memory), depressive symptoms, measures of negative emotional reactivity in childhood, and psychosis-like symptoms

• antenatal maternal mood + psychopathology