Perinatal imprinting as a cause and consequence of health and social inequality
(PhD project)
Meanwhile, numerous studies point to the importance of influences in the sensitive time window from conception to the end of the second year of life with effects on the lifelong health of the offspring.
Fetal and early childhood development is particularly malleable to external influences during these first "1,000 days" (developmental plasticity), independent of the respective genetic predisposition. Suboptimal influences during this period - especially nutrition-related maternal factors (metabolic status, nutritional status) and the infant's diet - increase the risk of lifelong imprinting of future organ system functions and metabolic parameters, with a possible increase in risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, unfavourable lipid profiles and cardiovascular diseases. This mechanism is called "perinatal programming".
Via perinatal programming, health inequalities can already lead to an unfavourable imprinting of functional processes of the body during pregnancy and early childhood, thus having a relevant influence on health in later adulthood and can be "inherited" over generations. Due to the close link between health and social inequalities, children and adolescents from families with a low socioeconomic status (SES) are particularly affected by lifelong effects of suboptimal programming.
Published Publications
Walz H, Bohn B, Sander J, Eberle C, Alisch M, Oswald B, Kroke A. Access to Difficult-to-Reach Population Subgroups: A Family Midwife Based Home Visiting Service for Implementing Nutrition-related Preventive Activities - A Mixed Methods Explorative Study. aimsph. 2015;2:516-36.
Günther ALB, Walz H, Kroke A, Wudy SA, Riedel C, Kries R von, et al. Breastfeeding and Its Prospective Association with Components of the GH-IGF-Axis, Insulin Resistance and Body Adiposity Measures in Young Adulthood - Insights from Linear and Quantile Regression Analysis. PLoS ONE. 2013;8:e79436.
Publications in the review process
Ludwig-Walz H, Schmidt M, Günther ALB, Kroke A (2017): Association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI or weight and blood pressure in offspring's later life: a systematic review.
Published congress papers
Walz H, Schmidt M, Günther ALB, Kroke A. Influence of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI on offspring's blood pressure in later life...: A systematic review. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 53rd Scientific Congress of the German Society of Nutrition: [from 2 - 4 March 2016 at the University of Applied Sciences Fulda]. Bonn; 2016.
Schmidt M, Walz H, Druschel J, Günther, Anke LB, Kroke, Anja. Fathers' subjectively perceived opportunities to influence nutritional and health-related factors in the perinatal period: an exploratory qualitative study. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 53rd Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 2 - 4 March 2016 at the University of Applied Sciences Fulda]. Bonn; 2016.
Schmalzl M, Günther ALB, Kroke A, Walz H. Influence of alimentary carbohydrate intake in the prenatal period on later insulin sensitivity and risk of type 2 diabetes in offspring: A systematic review. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 53rd Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 2 - 4 March 2016 at Fulda University of Applied Sciences]. Bonn; 2016.
Marquardt N, Günther ALB, Pallada A, Walz H, Kroke A. Family midwives as low-threshold access to families in precarious situations: development potentials in the field of nutrition and health. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 53rd Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 2 - 4 March 2016 at Fulda University of Applied Sciences]. Bonn; 2016.
Walz H, Abt D, Brunner J, Alisch M, Kroke A. Importance of involving fathers during and after pregnancy in health promotion. In: Gesundheit Berlin-Brandenburg, Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Gesundheitsförderung, editor. Abstracts of the 20th Congress on Poverty and Health. The Public Health Congress in Germany.: [from 5 - 6 March 2015 at the Technical University of Berlin]. Berlin; 2015.
Walz H, Abt D, Brunner J, Alisch M, Kroke A. Nutrition during pregnancy and the first phases of life - from the perspective of fathers in difficult life situations. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 52nd Scientific Congress of the German Society for Nutrition: [from 11 - 13 March 2015 at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg]. Bonn; 2015.
Walz H, Butter A, Freytag-Leyer B, Brunner J, Alisch M, Kroke A. What information and health promotion services are available for (expectant) fathers? In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 52nd Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 11 - 13 March 2015 at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg]. Bonn; 2015.
Walz H, Bertram M, Kroke A. What influence do maternal feeding patterns during pregnancy have on the cognitive development of children up to 5 years of age? In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 52nd Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 11 - 13 March 2015 at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg]. Bonn; 2015.
Walz H, Bertram M, Kroke A. What influence does the consumption of certain foods or nutrients during pregnancy have on the cognitive development of children up to 5 years of age? In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 52nd Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 11 - 13 March 2015 at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg]. Bonn; 2015.
Walz H, Alisch M, Kroke A. Study protocol BaBi-LANG: Long-term observation of children from the age of 1 from families in difficult life situations. In: Rothenbacher D, editor. Abstract volume for the 9th annual conference of the German Society for Epidemiology: [from 19 - 20.9.2014 at the University of Ulm]. Ulm; 2014.
Walz H, Bohn B, Sander J, Eberle C, Alisch M, Oswald B, Kroke A. How can vulnerable people be reached to reduce adverse health-related perinatal programming effects? In: Koletzko B, editor. The Power Of Programming. International Conference on Developmental Origins of Obesity and Long-term Health: [from 13 - 15.3.2014 at the Klinikum der Universität München]. Munich; 2014.
Marquardt N, Walz H, Kroke A. Which offers exist for young families in the field of nutrition and physical activity? Characterisation of a model region. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 51st Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 12 - 14 March 2014 at the University of Potsdam]. Bonn; 2014.
Sander J, Walz H, Eberle C, Oswald B, Kroke A. Importance of perinatal programming in the work of family midwives. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 51st Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 12 - 14 March 2014 at the University of Potsdam]. Bonn; 2014.
Walz H, Kroke A. Relevance of the concept of perinatal programming for public health nutrition. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 51st Scientific Congress of the German Society of Nutrition: [from 12 - 14 March 2014 at the University of Potsdam]. Bonn; 2014.
Walz H, Bohn B, Eberle C, Alisch M, Oswald B, Kroke A. Preventing adverse health-related perinatal programming effects through social support. In: Koletzko B, editor. The Power Of Programming. International Conference on Developmental Origins of Obesity and Long-term Health: [from 13 - 15.3.2014 at the Klinikum der Universität München]. Munich; 2014.
Walz H, Bohn B, Eberle C, Oswald B, Kroke Anja. Frühe Hilfen in Hessen Analyse von Problemauspräprägung und Utilisation von Ernährungs- und Stillberatung in Abhängigkeit von Herkunft, Partnerschaft und sozioökonomischem Status. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 51st Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 12 - 14 March 2014 at the University of Potsdam]. Bonn; 2014.
Walz H. Significance of pregnant women's nutrition and breastfeeding for the development of diseases in the child later in life. In: Verband für Ernährung und Diätetik e.V., editor. 21st Aachener Diätetik Fortbildung: [from 13 - 15.09.2013 at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen]. Aachen; 2013.
Walz H, Günther ALB, Wudy SA, Joslowski G, Cheng G, Remer T, et al. Effects of breastfeeding on the components of the GH-IGF axis and insulin sensitivity in young adulthood. In: Schoch C, editor. Abstract volume of the 50th Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society: [from 20 to 22 March 2013 at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn]. Bonn; 2013.
Projektleitung
Prof. Dr. habil. Anja Kroke
Preventive Strategies in Nutrition • Nutritional Epidemiology
