Ordeals for the fetal programming hypothesis

BMJ 1999;318:885-886 ( 3 April )

Editorials

Ordeals for the fetal programming hypothesis

The hypothesis largely survives one ordeal but not another

Papers p 897

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

That antenatal experience could have dire consequences is ancient folklore. In 1921 Stockard gave scientific form to the ideain the "critical period" hypothesis: failure of a developing organismto progress from one stage of development to the next within presettime limits could lead to a permanent deficit. Since then severalstudies have addressed related hypotheses, though mostly in animals.From the 1950s human observational studies reported effects inlater life of various exposures $---$ for example, to radiation,^1-3famine,⁴ and viruses.⁵ In a large number of more recentpublications, Barker has elaborated the idea that fetal experiencemight "programme" cardiovascular health states in adult life.He has been ingenious in seeking out birth records of cohortsof a half century ago and more. Studies using such sources facesome irreparable difficulties $---$ for instance, incomplete samplesand attrition on follow up with selective bias, inadequate aswell as missing records, and . . . [Full text of this article]

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