The occurrence of long-term illnesses in adults has increased over the past decade, making it difficult for people to live their lives to the fullest. Data from the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) show a trend towards an increase in the number of years people with chronic diseases have to live with a disability. It becomes worse in resource-limited settings where individuals have to settle bills out of pocket.
Poor Children
Scientists have established particular risk factors responsible for chronic diseases: smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, and obesity. However, they also believe that early life factors like stress, malnutrition, poverty, and growth patterns could also contribute to the burden of long-term illnesses.
Their effects on diseases like ischemic heart disease and diabetes have been confirmed, but not on the bigger picture of multimorbidity. This is the occurrence of various chronic diseases in an individual, and scientists believe that early life factors influence the development of multimorbidity in some way.
Early life factors increase morbidity accumulation
Consistent with the global scientific approach, researchers have conducted numerous studies to explore the connection between early life factors and various chronic diseases. A study revealed a connection between multimorbidity and low birth weight in people between 46 and 48 years old. Another shows the link between childhood nutrition and multimorbidity. Other studies reveal the connection between the risk of having multimorbidity and early negative childhood experiences and parental socioeconomic status. But none of them actually display the trend of multiple diseases.
Markus and his colleagues have established that early life factors are a foundation for developing chronic, long-term diseases. They studied people who were born between 1934 and 1944 at Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland, and followed up with approximately 11,500 people from their 40s up to their 80s.
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They observed that the rate at which chronic diseases accumulate in people is strongly related to early life factors during pregnancy, birth, infancy, and childhood. These factors include mothers who were overweight, babies born small, and childhood obesity. Periods of war resulting in parental lack of finances and parental separation, which subsequently led to severe stress, were significant factors, and they noticed negative effects more in females than males. However, they had the biggest impact on older boys.
Addressing the background
The phase of childhood plays a huge role in our development and integration into society. Early life stress and instability can impact negatively the emotional, physical, and social health of children which they eventually carry on into adulthood. Parents should plan effectively and ensure that they create the appropriate environment a child can safely grow in as much as they can.
Clinical significance
To mitigate these negative effects, interventions and therapeutic strategies that address the nutrition and health of pregnant mothers can be formulated. Improving social support and access to healthcare services could also be beneficial for people going through socioeconomic crises.
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Conclusion
The nature vs nurture debate has raged on for a long time and shows no signs of slowing down. While this study does not resolve the debate, it shows that several factors not necessarily related to genetics and familial tendencies are significant risks for developing lifelong diseases. This has helped us identify certain risk factors which in our pursuit of the richest, fullest, possible life, can be mitigated if appropriate measures are put in place.
References
Haapanen, M. J., Vetrano, D. L., Mikkola, T. M., Calderón-Larrañaga, A., Dekhtyar, S., Kajantie, E., et al. (2023). Early growth, stress, and socioeconomic factors as predictors of the rate of multimorbidity accumulation across the life course: A longitudinal birth cohort study. The Lancet Healthy Longevity. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-7568(23)00231-3
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