Intrauterine exposure to cigarette smoke is associated with increased ghrelin concentrations in adulthood.

Abstract:

BACKGROUND:The appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin is a fundamental regulator of human energy metabolism. A series of studies support the notion that long-term appetite and weight regulation may be already programmed in early life and it could be demonstrated that the intrauterine environment affects the ghrelin system of the offspring. Animal studies have also shown that intrauterine programming of orexigenic systems persists even until adolescence/adulthood. METHODS:We hypothesized that plasma ghrelin concentrations in adulthood may be associated with the intrauterine exposure to cigarette smoke. We examined this hypothesis in a sample of 19-year-olds followed up since birth in the framework of the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk, an ongoing epidemiological cohort study of the long-term outcome of early risk factors. RESULTS:As a main finding, we found that ghrelin plasma concentrations in young adults who had been exposed to cigarette smoke in utero were significantly higher than in those without prenatal smoke exposure. Moreover, individuals with intrauterine nicotine exposure showed a significantly higher prevalence of own smoking habits and lower educational status compared to those in the group without exposure. CONCLUSION:Smoking during pregnancy may be considered as an adverse intrauterine influence that may alter the endocrine-metabolic status of the offspring even until early adulthood.

journal_name

Neuroendocrinology

journal_title

Neuroendocrinology

authors

Paslakis G,Buchmann AF,Westphal S,Banaschewski T,Hohm E,Zimmermann US,Laucht M,Deuschle M

doi

10.1159/000363325

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2014-01-01 00:00:00

pages

123-9

issue

2

eissn

0028-3835

issn

1423-0194

pii

000363325

journal_volume

99

pub_type

杂志文章