International Journal of Epidemiology 2002;31:390-394
© International Epidemiological Association 2002
Life Course Epidemiology |
Commentary: Can adult anthropometry be used as a ‘biomarker’ for prenatal and childhood exposures?
University of Bristol, Department of Social Medicine, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2PR, UK.
Life Course Epidemiology
Life course epidemiology is concerned with investigating the effect on health of accumulating and interacting biological, social, and psychosocial processes.1 Parental health and genetic endowment together with intrauterine, childhood and early adult exposures may all influence an individual's health, but investigating their joint effects presents two important challenges. The first is that many of the exposures studied are socially patterned, therefore identifying the relevant factors using observational studies, which are prone to confounding, is problematic. Randomized controlled trials with long follow-up are the best means of identifying the long-term effects of possible interventions on health.2 The second challenge is that there are few cohort studies with exposure and health information from before birth until old age. Most of the studies where data have been prospectively recorded at different stages of the life course3–6 are either of relatively young
Indirect Measures of Fetal, Infant and Childhood Exposures
Body Shape and Disease
The 1946 Cohort
Leg Length, Trunk Length and Chronic Disease Risk
References
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