Early origins of health and disease risk: The case for investigating adverse exposures and biological aging in utero, across childhood, and into adolescence

Abstract

In this article, we suggest that aging and development are two sides of the same coin, and that developing a comprehensive understanding of health and disease risk requires examining age‐related processes occurring throughout the earliest years of life. Compared to other periods in life, it is during this early period of acute vulnerability, when children's biological and regulatory systems are developing, that biological aging occurs most rapidly. We review theory and empirical research suggesting that processes of development and aging are intricately linked, and that early adversity may program biological parameters for accelerated aging and disease risk early in life, even though clinical signs of age‐related disease onset may not be evident until many years later. Following from this, we make the case for widespread incorporation of biological aging constructs into child development research.

Psychobiotics and the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Where Do We Go from Here?

“…Most of the microbiota is found in the large intestine, with a smaller fraction residing in the stomach and small intestine. The lifelong symbiotic relationship between microorganisms and the host begins as early as the time of birth, perhaps even in utero [1]. While the host provides the habitat and nutrition, these microorganisms return the favor with various significant benefits.…”

Childhood Maltreatment and Longitudinal Epigenetic Aging

“…9,[23][24][25] Beyond single loci analyses, the use of epigenetic predictive surrogates to examine alterations in DNAm represents one promising approach to better understand how maltreatment is associated with DNAm. 26 Surrogates are typically machine learning-derived algorithms from thousands of DNAm measures predicting an exposure, disease, or process. 9 One prominent set of surrogates, epigenetic clocks, are DNAm signatures predictive of chronological age or aging phenotypes.…”