[Implications of the Barker hypothesis for general practitioners]

Abstract

The Barker hypothesis states that there are foetal origins of adult disease. The hypothesis is primarily based on epidemiological associations between indicators of foetal malnutrition and mortality and morbidity in adulthood. The first association reported was between birth weight and coronary heart disease. Similar associations were found between birth weight and stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, serum lipids, and premature pubarche. In non-industrialized countries the associations appear to be even stronger. Although the Barker hypothesis has been criticized, the evidence from epidemiological studies and animal experiments appears sufficient to test it further and to consider the possible consequences for the physician. The first consequence could be that in taking a medical history from adults the physician should collect information about intrauterine growth. To facilitate this, communication between obstetricians, specialists in preventive child health care and paediatricians on the one hand and general practitioners and physicians on the other ought to be improved. A low birth weight, particularly smallness for gestational age, can be communicated to the adult patient as a potential risk factor for the diseases mentioned above and an extra reason to abstain from smoking and to avoid overweight.