| 1. |
- Bygren, Lars Olov, et al.
(författare)
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Change in food availability during pregnancy : Is it related to adult sudden death from cerebro- and cardiovascular disease in offspring?
- 2000
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Ingår i: American Journal of Human Biology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1042-0533 .- 1520-6300. ; 12:4, s. 447-453
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Maternal access to food during pregnancy affects birth weight and other characteristics of offspring. It has been suggested that fluctuations in food availability during infancy, ranging from plentiful to starvation, may influence cerebro-cardiovascular risk factors for the offspring during adult life. This study was designed to test the correlation between food availability changes during life before birth and adult sudden death from disease. This was a follow-up study of ancient cohorts in the parish of Skelleftea, Sweden, comprising 7,572 individuals born between 1805 and 1849 and still alive at age 40. Food availability variations in the parish during their prenatal life were ascertained from historical sources, the main outcome measures being overall mortality and mortality from sudden death in the age range 40-70 years. The risk of sudden death was almost doubled for those whose mothers were struck by a poor harvest during the early stages of pregnancy, but who experienced a good harvest toward the end. Yet almost the same over-risk was evident for the converse case: plentiful food supply in early pregnancy followed by a poor harvest toward the end. A stable maternal access to food during pregnancy is important for the offspring's risk of sudden death from cerebro- and cardiovascular disease as an adult.
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| 2. |
- Bygren, Lars Olov, 1936-, et al.
(författare)
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Change in paternal grandmothers' early food supply influenced cardiovascular mortality of the female grandchildren
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Genetics. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2156. ; 15, s. 12-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: This study investigated whether large fluctuations in food availability during grandparents' early development influenced grandchildren's cardiovascular mortality. We reported earlier that changes in availability of food - from good to poor or from poor to good - during intrauterine development was followed by a double risk of sudden death as an adult, and that mortality rate can be associated with ancestors' childhood availability of food. We have now studied transgenerational responses (TGR) to sharp differences of harvest between two consecutive years' for ancestors of 317 people in Overkalix, Sweden. Results: The confidence intervals were very wide but we found a striking TGR. There was no response in cardiovascular mortality in the grandchild from sharp changes of early exposure, experienced by three of the four grandparents (maternal grandparents and paternal grandfathers). If, however, the paternal grandmother up to puberty lived through a sharp change in food supply from one year to next, her sons' daughters had an excess risk for cardiovascular mortality (HR 2.69, 95% confidence interval 1.05-6.92). Selection or learning and imitation are unlikely explanations. X-linked epigenetic inheritance via spermatozoa seemed to be plausible, with the transmission, limited to being through the father, possibly explained by the sex differences in meiosis. Conclusion: The shock of change in food availability seems to give specific transgenerational responses.
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| 3. |
- Bygren, Lars Olov, 1936-, et al.
(författare)
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Epigenetics or ephemeral genetics? : Reply to Senn
- 2006
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Ingår i: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Nature publishing group. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438.
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 4. |
- Bygren, Lars Olov, 1936-, et al.
(författare)
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Longevity determined by parental ancestors' nutrition during their slow growth period
- 2001
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Ingår i: Acta Biotheoretica. - : Springer. - 0001-5342 .- 1572-8358. ; 49:1, s. 53-59
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Social circumstances often impinge on later generations in a socio-economic manner, giving children an uneven start in life. Overfeeding and overeating might not be an exception. The pathways might be complex but one direct mechanism could be genomic imprinting and loss of imprinting. An intergenerational "feedforward" control loop has been proposed, that links grandparental nutrition with the grandchild's growth. The mechanism has been speculated to be a specific response, e.g. to their nutritional state, directly modifying the setting of the gametic imprint on one or more genes. This study raises the question: Can overnutrition during a child's slow growth period trigger such direct mechanisms and partly determine mortality? Data were collected by following-up a cohort born in 1905 in Överkalix parish, northernmost Sweden. The probands were characterised by their parents' or grandparents' access to food during their own slow growth period. Availability of food in the area was defined by referring to historical data on harvests and food prices, records of local community meetings and general historical facts.If there was a surfeit of food in the environment when the paternal grandfather was a 9–12 year old boy a shortening of the proband survival could be demonstrated. The influence of parents', maternal grandparents' and paternal grandmothers' access to food during their slow growth period was discounted in a multivariable analysis. The results are indicative of very early programming mechanisms in human adaptation to the social environment.
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| 5. |
- Edvinsson, Sören, 1953-
(författare)
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Den osunda staden : sociala skillnader i dödlighet i 1800-talets Sundsvall
- 1992
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study deals with the topic of social class and mortality. In particular, the analyses are concentrated on the question of how social differences developed in an era which was characterised by industrialisation, urbanisation and sanitary improvements. This work also discusses how the problems of social class and health were dealt with in the nineteenth Century. The development of medicai care and public health are especially studied. The development of mortality in different social classes is analysed on micro level in the town of Sundsvall during the 19th century, for which the parish registers for the period 1803-1894 have been transferred on to data. This town became the centre of an expansive saw mill area from the middle of the Century.In contrast to the view of contemporary witnesses, inequality seems to have been fairly small in some age groups, but the pattems diverged between them. Mortality among adults was largely dependent on cultural variables such as life style and attitudes, and social differences played a minor role. Men had much higher mortality than women. The development does not seem to have been primarily affected by industrialisation, urbanisation or sanitary improvements. For children 1-14 years old, on the other hand, conditions created by industrialisation and urbanisation seem to have been of the utmost importance. Child mortality increased from 1860, affecting first of all working class children. Overcrowding increased the spread of infectious diseases. Sanitary improvements may have had an effect on the mortality level from around 1880, but more definitely in the 1890's. The same is also the case regarding infant mortality. They may have had some impact on the initial decline in infant mortality, but the connection appears to be stronger in the 1890's. The social inequality in infant mortality was insignificant until late 19th centuiy, but increased at that time. Among infants, feeding practises were also of importance.
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| 6. |
- Kaati, Gunnar, 1940-, et al.
(författare)
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Cardiovascular and diabetes mortality determined by nutrition during parents' and grandparents' slow growth period
- 2002
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Ingår i: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 10:11, s. 682-688
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Overfeeding and overeating in families are traditions that are often transferred from generation to generation. Irrespective of these family traditions, food availability might lead to overfeeding, in its turn leading to metabolic adaptations. Apart from selection, could these adaptations to the social environment have transgenerational effects? This study will attempt to answer the following question: Can overeating during a child's slow growth period (SGP), before their prepubertal peak in growth velocity influence descendants' risk of death from cardiovascular disease and diabetes? Data were collected by following three cohorts born in 1890, 1905 and 1920 in Överkalix parish in northern Sweden up until death or 1995. The parents' or grandparents' access to food during their SGP was determined by referring to historical data on harvests and food prices, records of local community meetings and general historical facts. If food was not readily available during the father's slow growth period, then cardiovascular disease mortality of the proband was low. Diabetes mortality increased if the paternal grandfather was exposed to a surfeit of food during his slow growth period. (Odds Ratio 4.1, 95% confidence interval 1.33-12.93, P=0.01). Selection bias seemed to be unlikely. A nutrition-linked mechanism through the male line seems to have influenced the risk for cardiovascular and diabetes mellitus mortality.
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| 7. |
- Koch, Bo L., et al.
(författare)
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Inhalation of substance P and thiorphan : acute toxicity and effects on respiration in conscious guinea pigs.
- 1999
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Toxicology. - 0260-437X .- 1099-1263. ; 19:1, s. 19-23
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Substance P is a tachykinin and a biologically active neuropeptide. The peptide produces salivation, neuronal excitation, vasodilatation, increased vascular permeability and contraction of smooth muscles in the respiratory tract. The study was designed to evaluate the acute effects in guinea pigs of inhaled aerosolized Substance P (SP). Apart from the acute toxic effect of the peptide, the distribution in different organs was also investigated. The acute inhalation toxicity of SP (LC50, 15 min) when co-administrated with the neutral endopeptidase inhibitor thiorphan was 368 microg m(-3). The peptide caused an increase in respiratory rate proceeding a decrease in tidal volume. As the exposure proceeded, a decrease in both respiratory rate and further decreases in tidal volume were observed until either the animal died or the exposure was terminated. The decreases in respiratory rate and tidal volume were probably due to bronchoconstriction caused by SP. Eighteen per cent of the inhaled amount of radioactive SP was retained in the body, and the highest concentrations of radioactivity were found in the kidney, lung and liver. Substance P in combination with thiorphan administered as an aerosol is extremely toxic and highly potent. Exposure to the substance at extremely low air concentrations may result in incapacitation in humans.
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| 8. |
- Pembrey, Marcus E., et al.
(författare)
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Sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses in humans
- 2006
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Ingår i: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 14, s. 159-166
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transgenerational effects of maternal nutrition or other environmental 'exposures' are well recognised, but the possibility of exposure in the male influencing development and health in the next generation(s) is rarely considered. However, historical associations of longevity with paternal ancestors' food supply in the slow growth period (SGP) in mid childhood have been reported. Using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), we identified 166 fathers who reported starting smoking before age 11 years and compared the growth of their offspring with those with a later paternal onset of smoking, after correcting for confounders. We analysed food supply effects on offspring and grandchild mortality risk ratios (RR) using 303 probands and their 1818 parents and grandparents from the 1890, 1905 and 1920 Överkalix cohorts, northern Sweden. After appropriate adjustment, early paternal smoking is associated with greater body mass index (BMI) at 9 years in sons, but not daughters. Sex-specific effects were also shown in the Överkalix data; paternal grandfather's food supply was only linked to the mortality RR of grandsons, while paternal grandmother's food supply was only associated with the granddaughters' mortality RR. These transgenerational effects were observed with exposure during the SGP (both grandparents) or fetal/infant life (grandmothers) but not during either grandparent's puberty. We conclude that sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses exist in humans and hypothesise that these transmissions are mediated by the sex chromosomes, X and Y. Such responses add an entirely new dimension to the study of gene–environment interactions in development and health.
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| 9. |
- Pembrey, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Human transgenerational responses to early-life experience : potential impact on development, health and biomedical research
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Genetics. - : BMJ. - 0022-2593 .- 1468-6244. ; 51:9, s. 563-572
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mammalian experiments provide clear evidence of male line transgenerational effects on health and development from paternal or ancestral early-life exposures such as diet or stress. The few human observational studies to date suggest (male line) transgenerational effects exist that cannot easily be attributed to cultural and/or genetic inheritance. Here we summarise relevant studies, drawing attention to exposure sensitive periods in early life and sex differences in transmission and offspring outcomes. Thus, variation, or changes, in the parental/ancestral environment may influence phenotypic variation for better or worse in the next generation(s), and so contribute to common, non-communicable disease risk including sex differences. We argue that life-course epidemiology should be reframed to include exposures from previous generations, keeping an open mind as to the mechanisms that transmit this information to offspring. Finally, we discuss animal experiments, including the role of epigenetic inheritance and non-coding RNAs, in terms of what lessons can be learnt for designing and interpreting human studies. This review was developed initially as a position paper by the multidisciplinary Network in Epigenetic Epidemiology to encourage transgenerational research in human cohorts.
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| 10. |
- Tinghög, Petter, et al.
(författare)
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Migration and mortality trajectories : a study of individuals born in the rural community of Överkalix, Sweden
- 2011
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Ingår i: Social Science and Medicine. - Oxford : Elsevier. - 0277-9536 .- 1873-5347. ; 73:5, s. 744-751
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Migration may result in exposure to factors that are both beneficial and harmful for good health. How the act of migration is associated with mortality, or whether the socio-economic condition of migrants prior to migration influences their mortality trajectory, is not well understood. In the present study, a cohort of 413 randomly selected individuals born in the rural community of Överkalix, Sweden, between 1890 and 1935 were followed from birth to either death or old age. Around 50% of the study-population moved away from Överkalix at one time or another. To adjust for a potential bias resulting from self-selection among the migrants, the father’s occupational status was used together with parents’ and grandparents’ longevity. Overall, migration could not be shown to predict mortality when the backgrounds of the migrants were taken into account. Nonetheless, socio-economic background conditions appeared to moderate the association, decreasing the mortality rates for migrants with relatively good pre-migratory socio-economic conditions, while increasing it for migrants with poorer pre-migratory conditions. However, further scrutiny revealed that this effect modification mainly affected the female migrants’ mortality. In conclusion, the study suggests that there is no general association between migration and mortality, but that migrants with better socio-economic resources are more likely to improve their mortality trajectories than migrants with poorer resources. Better pre-migratory conditions hence appear to be important for avoiding health-adverse circumstances and gaining access to health beneficial living conditions when moving to foreign environments – especially for women.
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