Early determinants of the ageing trajectory

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Developmental Biology
• Epigenetics

Background:

• Human life expectancy has risen significantly over 250 years.
• Aging is a plastic process driven by accumulated molecular damage.
• Genetic factors explain one-third of life expectancy variation; environmental and stochastic factors explain the rest.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of early life exposures on aging trajectory and life expectancy.
• To understand how maternal factors and fetal development influence offspring's long-term health and aging.
• To explore the mechanisms linking early life events to molecular damage and epigenetic alterations.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on life expectancy, aging, and early life exposures.
• Analysis of factors influencing fetal growth and placental development.
• Examination of evidence for molecular damage and epigenetic modifications resulting from early life events.

Main Results:

• Maternal factors (age, smoking, nutrition, etc.) and season of birth affect offspring life expectancy and age-related disease risk.
• Suboptimal fetal growth, especially when followed by childhood obesity, is linked to disadvantage.
• Early life exposures can lead to persistent molecular damage and epigenetic changes, impairing cellular defense mechanisms.

Conclusions:

• Early life exposures have profound, lasting implications for an individual's aging process and overall life expectancy.
• Interventions targeting maternal health and fetal development may influence long-term health outcomes.
• Aberrant epigenetic patterns established early in life can program an individual for accelerated aging and increased disease susceptibility.