Osteoporosis may have its origins in early life, but the consequences are not apparent until late adult life, meaning that opportunities that can reduce its occurrence or severity may be overlooked. It remains an extremely common health burden in all societies, with enormous public health consequences due to the morbidity and mortality of the resulting fractures. Wood et al. discuss the developmental origins of osteoporosis and outline some of the modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors in early life, both antenatal and postnatal. They review data relating to birth size and early growth in both preterm and term born infants and emerging data on the role of epigenetic mechanisms.
Osteoporosis is primarily characterized by a depletion of bone mineral mass, but when combined with alterations in bone architecture results in greater bone fragility and increased fracture risks. Bone mineral content and density in adulthood depends predominantly on growth and mineralization and the peak bone mass achieved in early adulthood. Risks for osteoporosis are therefore determined early in life although the subsequent loss of bone mineral after peak bone mass is also an important factor. Bone mass shows strong tracking during childhood and adolescent growth and into adulthood. Genetic factors may account for differences and gender also influences bone composition with males attaining greater bone mass.
Environmental influences, especially modifiable lifestyle factors, during both childhood and adulthood include smoking, medication use e.g. corticosteroids, and exercise, although much of the variance in bone mass remains unexplained and may reflect differences in metabolic programming of systems controlling skeletal growth during critical periods. Optimizing early growth through diet has positive and lasting effects on bone mineralization, with breast milk exposure thought to be of major importance in certain groups.
Overall the paper provides strong evidence for the developmental origins of osteoporosis, and highlights the importance of prevention at all stages of the life course, including optimizing the in-utero environment and maternal nutrition, and the importance of infant nutrition as preventative strategies.
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Bentham Science Publishers. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Disclaimer: DoveMed is not responsible for the adapted accuracy of news releases posted to DoveMed by contributing universities and institutions.
Primary Resource:
L Wood, C., Stenson, C., & Embleton, N. (2015). The Developmental Origins of Osteoporosis. Current Genomics, 16(6), 411-418.
and connect with fellow professionals
At DoveMed, our utmost priority is your well-being. We are an online medical resource dedicated to providing you with accurate and up-to-date information on a wide range of medical topics. But we're more than just an information hub - we genuinely care about your health journey. That's why we offer a variety of products tailored for both healthcare consumers and professionals, because we believe in empowering everyone involved in the care process.
Our mission is to create a user-friendly healthcare technology portal that helps you make better decisions about your overall health and well-being. We understand that navigating the complexities of healthcare can be overwhelming, so we strive to be a reliable and compassionate companion on your path to wellness.
As an impartial and trusted online resource, we connect healthcare seekers, physicians, and hospitals in a marketplace that promotes a higher quality, easy-to-use healthcare experience. You can trust that our content is unbiased and impartial, as it is trusted by physicians, researchers, and university professors around the globe. Importantly, we are not influenced or owned by any pharmaceutical, medical, or media companies. At DoveMed, we are a group of passionate individuals who deeply care about improving health and wellness for people everywhere. Your well-being is at the heart of everything we do.
0 Comments
Please log in to post a comment.