Eariy life is key to disease risk

摘要

Lawrence O. Gostin calls for action to curb non-communicable diseases (Nature 511,147-149; 2014). Interventions in early life can also make a big difference. There is now overwhelming evidence that factors in a child's early environment, during periods of developmental plasticity-including in utero -are major risk determinants for non-communicable disease in later life (see, for example, R. Barouki et al. Environ. Health 11,42; 2012).