Abstract

Health in adult life is determined by the fetal environment in the uterus. The fetal programming of adult disease hypothesis has been confirmed in several studies in recent decades. The aim of this review was to present the current knowledge on the effect of assisted reproductive techniques, preeclampsia, diabetes before and during pregnancy, maternal undernutrition and obesity, as well as psychological stress during pregnancy on the offspring’s medical problems in future life.
Assisted reproductive technologies have been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (higher blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction) and asthma. Higher arterial blood pressure and body mass index, endothelial dysfunction, an increased risk for stroke, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and cardiovascular disease have been found in children exposed to preeclampsia.
Hyperglycaemia during pregnancy is associated with a significant risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The effects of maternal undernutrition on the child were already described by the epidemiologist David Barker 20 years ago. According to Barker’s hypothesis, the children of mothers with poor nutrition during pregnancy are more likely to have cardiometabolic complications: metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis and others. Severe maternal psychological stress during pregnancy can facilitate cognitive and behavioural disorders, cardiometabolic and neuropsychiatric diseases in children. Despite the results of several epidemiological studies, the cause and the mechanism of several associations are still unclear and further research is needed to better understand the pathophysiology of these diseases and to develop preventive methods.