By Alec Chaves
In the last few years, a lot of us have gained an appreciation and awareness for how diseases can be spread to others. Coronavirus disease (COVID) is a great example because it has proven to be one of the most transmissible diseases humankind has encountered in recent history. Respiratory diseases such as COVID are spread through droplets containing the virus (i.e., sneezing, coughing). Several other diseases, such as influenza, pneumonia, and even tuberculosis, are spread via similar means, which is one of the reasons we need to be diligent about our hygiene.
But what if I told you that other diseases like diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease can also be spread from person to person? Well, they can, but the way these diseases are spread is not something we typically think about. Recent data suggest that these diseases, more specifically the risk of getting these diseases, can be passed from parents to their children during pregnancy. Almost thirty years ago, a scientist named David Barker had an insightful idea to study the health of people that were born into harsh living conditions such as the world-war era Dutch and Ukrainian famines. Interestingly, he found that babies who were born to mothers who were underweight and starved during late pregnancy because of the famine had a 40% greater risk of developing diabetes later in life (60-70 years of age).
Barker’s findings sparked a whole new area of study involving the study of pregnancy and the importance of the womb in shaping the future health of babies at birth and through adulthood. What we have learned through these investigations is that situations that negatively impact the health of the mother, such as starvation and obesity, can increase their children’s risk for developing obesity later in life. Furthermore, because obesity is a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, researchers have also noted an increase in the early diagnoses of these diseases in children as well. Recently, investigators from the United Kingdom reported in the British Medical Journal that people born to mothers who had obesity during pregnancy had a 40% higher risk of dying before the age of 55.
It’s not all doom and gloom: things such as exercise, proper nutrition, and taking steps to improve mental health during pregnancy have been shown to improve children’s health and can help to prevent the negative consequences associated with the diseases mentioned previously. Furthermore, scientists are beginning to uncover the role of the father and what can be passed on through the sperm cell besides a genetic code. Although exciting, the field is still in its infancy (no pun intended) and there is still so much that needs to be done to figure out how to improve the health of children now and in the future.
