Your lifespan may be influenced by the environment you experience before you are born, according to new research. The study suggests that factors during pregnancy could have lasting effects on health and ageing, potentially shaping how long people live.
Researchers, in a Correspondence paper published in Nature Health, have called for a new consortium named PROSPER to study how pre-pregnancy and early-life factors influence lifelong health, resilience and longevity. The PROSPER acronym stands for Pregestational and Pediatric Research for Optimal Healthspan and Early-life Resilience.
Researchers found evidence that conditions in the womb may affect the body's development in ways that continue throughout life. While genes remain important, the findings indicate that the prenatal environment can also play a significant role in determining long term health and resilience.
The scientists say the study adds to growing evidence that the earliest stages of life have a lasting impact on future wellbeing. Factors such as a mother's nutrition, stress levels and overall health during pregnancy may influence how the body's organs and systems develop before birth.
"Healthy longevity medicine - which seeks to translate insights from biogerontology into clinical practice - has primarily focused on adult populations, and interventions are applied only after decades of accumulated molecular and cellular changes associated with aging," write the researchers.
However, the researchers stress that these findings do not mean a person's future is fixed before birth. Healthy lifestyle choices, including a balanced diet, regular exercise, good sleep and avoiding smoking, remain important for improving health and reducing the risk of disease later in life.
The researchers hope their work will encourage greater attention to maternal health and prenatal care, as improving conditions during pregnancy could benefit health across an individual's lifetime.
