Unheard, unseen and unprotected: DOHaD council’s call for action to protect the younger generation from the long-term effects of COVID-19

Roseboom, Tessa J.; Ozanne, Susan E.; Godfrey, Keith M.; Isasi, Carmen R.; Itoh, Hiroaki; Simmons, Rebecca A.; Bansal, Amita; Barker, Mary; Plösch, Torsten; Sloboda, Deb M.; Matthews, Stephen G.; Fall, Caroline; Poston, Lucilla; Hanson, Mark A.

doi:10.1017/s2040174420000847

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…For example, prenatal anxiety is associated with shorter gestation and has adverse implications for fetal neurodevelopment and child outcomes ( Dunkel Schetter & Tanner, 2012 ). Fear of COVID-19 is therefore a significant long-term public health concern, not only as a function of its mental health consequences for pregnant individuals (which may be short- or long-term) but also because the effects on child development will unfold over the lifespan of the children born during this pandemic ( Hagemann, Silva, Davis, Gibson, & Prescott, 2021 ; Roseboom et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of COVID-19, mental health, and pregnancy outcomes in the pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic study

Giesbrecht

Rojas

Patel

et al. 2022

Journal of Affective Disorders

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Background Sustained fear during pregnancy has the potential to increase psychological distress and obstetric risk. This study aimed to (1) identify factors and characteristics associated with fear of COVID-19, (2) investigate the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and maternal anxiety and depression, and (3) determine the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and pregnancy outcomes. Methods 9251 pregnant Canadians were recruited between April – December 2020. Participants self-reported (scale of 0-100) the degree of threat they perceived from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in relation to themselves and their unborn baby. Results Mean fear scores indicated moderate to elevated concern. In multivariable linear regression, fear of COVID-19 was associated with food insecurity, ethnicity, geographic location, history of anxiety prior to pregnancy, having a chronic health condition, pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, and stage of pregnancy at study enrollment. Higher COVID-19 fear was associated with increased odds of depression, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.75, p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.66-1.85, and anxiety, aOR=2.04, p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.94-2.15). Furthermore, fear of COVID-19 was associated with a 192-gram reduction in infant birthweight, and a 6.1-day reduction in gestational age at birth. Limitations The sample has higher education compared to the Canadian population and cannot test causal effects. Conclusion This study suggests that sociodemographic, health, and obstetric factors may contribute to increased fear of COVID-19 and associated adverse psychological and pregnancy outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of COVID-19, mental health, and pregnancy outcomes in the pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic study

Giesbrecht

Rojas

Patel

et al. 2022

Journal of Affective Disorders

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“…This simplified picture may be further reinforced by the common convention in biomedical research of reporting relationships in a binary fashion, as being present or absent, depending on whether a threshold for statistical significance has been reached (Wasserstein & Lazar, 2016 ). While there has been a strong push to do away with a focus on binary or “bright line” assessments of the significance of findings in fields like biostatistics and epidemiology (Cummins & Marks, 2020 ), in fields like DOHaD and environmental epigenetics, this practice remains common and risks reinforcing the idea that whole populations faced with early life adversity and stress experience negative “programming” and carry “biological baggage” or “scarring” as a result of those experiences (Escher, 2018 ; McEniry, 2013 ; Roseboom et al, 2021 ), a notion that can take on wider and more complex significance when applied to the issue of race‐based health inequity (Singh et al, 2019 ; McEwen et al, 2019 : 7). As Dorothy Roberts again has warned, the new “biosocial” sciences offer the potential to document the harms of unequal structural violence; however, when devoid of context and relying on simplified causal models, they also risk obscuring wider political relationships that cause harm and even perpetuate the notion of inequality “as a product of flaws in peoples' bodies” (2016: 127).…”

Section: A Scoping Review Of Environmental Epigenetics Dohad and Race...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A biosocial return to race? A cautionary view for the postgenomic era

Meloni

Moll

Issaka

et al. 2022

American J Hum Biol

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Recent studies demonstrating epigenetic and developmental sensitivity to early environments, as exemplified by fields like the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) and environmental epigenetics, are bringing new data and models to bear on debates about race, genetics, and society. Here, we first survey the historical prominence of models of environmental determinism in early formulations of racial thinking to illustrate how notions of direct environmental effects on bodies have been used to naturalize racial hierarchy and inequalities in the past. Next, we conduct a scoping review of postgenomic work in environmental epigenetics and DOHaD that looks at the role of race/ethnicity in human health (2000–2021). Although there is substantial heterogeneity in how race is conceptualized and interpreted across studies, we observe practices that may unwittingly encourage typological thinking, including: using DNA methylation as a novel marker of racial classification; neglect of variation and reversibility within supposedly homogenous racial groups; and a tendency to label and reify whole groups as pathologized or impaired. Even in the very different politico‐economic and epistemic context of contemporary postgenomic science, these trends echo deeply held beliefs in Western thinking which claimed that different environments shape different bodies and then used this logic to argue for essential differences between Europeans and non‐Europeans. We conclude with a series of suggestions on interpreting and reporting findings in these fields that we feel will help researchers harness this work to benefit disadvantaged groups while avoiding the inadvertent dissemination of new and old forms of stigma or prejudice.

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“…37 Investment in efficient routine data collection and monitoring of population, maternal and child health is recommended to determine the immediate and longer-term effects of COVID-19 and the additional needs of people of reproductive age. 38,39 The implications of preconception surveillance extend beyond research and policy advocacy, to directly and indirectly improve patient care and inform the development and evaluation of education and awareness campaigns. Discussions with relevant stakeholders (Fig.…”

Section: Sally Shillaker Health Visitor Academy Of Research and Impro...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterising and monitoring preconception health in England: a review of national population-level indicators and core data sources

Schoenaker

Stephenson

Connolly³

et al. 2021

J Dev Orig Health Dis

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Initiatives to optimise preconception health are emerging following growing recognition that this may improve the health and well-being of women and men of reproductive age and optimise health in their children. To inform and evaluate such initiatives, guidance is required on indicators that describe and monitor population-level preconception health. We searched relevant databases and websites (March 2021) to identify national and international preconception guidelines, recommendations and policy reports. These were reviewed to identify preconception indicators. Indicators were aligned with a measure describing the prevalence of the indicator as recorded in national population-based data sources in England. From 22 documents reviewed, we identified 66 indicators across 12 domains. Domains included wider (social/economic) determinants of health; health care; reproductive health and family planning; health behaviours; environmental exposures; cervical screening; immunisation and infections; mental health, physical health; medication and genetic risk. Sixty-five of the 66 indicators were reported in at least one national routine health data set, survey or cohort study. A measure of preconception health assessment and care was not identified in any current national data source. Perspectives from three (healthcare) professionals described how indicator assessment and monitoring may influence patient care and inform awareness campaign development. This review forms the foundation for developing a national surveillance system for preconception health in England. The identified indicators can be assessed using national data sources to determine the population’s preconception needs, improve patient care, inform and evaluate new campaigns and interventions and enhance accountability from responsible agencies to improve preconception health.

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Unheard, unseen and unprotected: DOHaD council’s call for action to protect the younger generation from the long-term effects of COVID-19

Abstract: unseen and unprotected: DOHaD council's call for action to protect the younger generation from the long-term effects of COVID-19.

Cited by 15 publications

References 16 publications

Fear of COVID-19, mental health, and pregnancy outcomes in the pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic study

Fear of COVID-19, mental health, and pregnancy outcomes in the pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic study

A biosocial return to race? A cautionary view for the postgenomic era

Characterising and monitoring preconception health in England: a review of national population-level indicators and core data sources

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