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Early life predictors of the physiological stress response later in life

Eero Kajantie1, Katri Räikkönen

  • 1National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Helsinki, Finland. eero.kajantie@helsinki.fi

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|November 26, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Low birth weight in infants increases the risk of adult chronic diseases by programming the physiological stress response. This early life factor impacts blood pressure and stress axes, with sex-specific effects observed.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)
  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Human Physiology

Background:

  • Low birth weight is linked to increased risk of chronic adult diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and depression.
  • Physiological stress response programming is emerging as a key mechanism connecting early life conditions to adult health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review human studies examining biological markers of early life as indicators of stress response.
  • To explore the association between early life factors and laboratory-induced stress response outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Review of human studies focusing on birth weight and gestation length as early life indicators.
  • Analysis of associations with biological markers: blood pressure, autonomic nervous system (ANS), and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) response.
  • Examination of sex-specific differences in these associations.

Main Results:

  • Early life indicators like birth weight are associated with altered blood pressure, ANS, and HPAA responses.
  • Sex-specific patterns observed: low birth weight linked to higher ANS response in females, and higher peripheral vascular resistance and HPAA response in males.
  • The concept of early life programming of stress response is supported by current evidence.

Conclusions:

  • Early life factors, particularly birth weight, significantly influence the programming of the physiological stress response system.
  • Understanding these sex-specific programming effects is crucial for identifying individuals at risk for chronic adult diseases.
  • Future research should focus on specific early life exposures and real-life stress responses to refine predictive models.

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