Fetal Programming of Body Composition, Obesity, and Metabolic Function: The Role of Intrauterine Stress and Stress Biology

Table 1

Long-term effects of prenatal stress exposure in young adults: summary of our studies.

Outcome	Finding	Potential implications	Reference
Body composition and metabolic function	↑ BMI; ↑ % body fat; ↑ Insulin 2 h after oral glucose tolerance test; ↑ Leptin; ↓ Fasting HDL; ↑ fasting VLDL	Risk for cardiometabolic disorders/type 2 diabetes	Entringer et al. 2008 Am J Ob Gyn [90]
Endocrine system	↑ ACTH, ↓ cortisol in response to psychosocial stress test; ↓ Cortisol levels in response to ACTH1-24 stimulation test	Susceptibility for psychosomatic disorders	Entringer et al. 2009 Horm Behav [91]
Immune system	TH2 shift in TH1/TH2 balance after PHA stimulation; ↑ IL-6, IL-10 after PHA stimulation	Risk for allergies, atopic disease, and asthma	Entringer et al. 2008 Dev Psychobiol [92]
Cognitive function	↓Working memory performance after hydrocortisone administration	Impaired prefrontal cortex-related executive function	Entringer et al. 2009 Behav Neurosci [93]
Cellular aging	↓ Leukocyte telomere length	Risk for age-related degenerative disorders	Entringer et al. 2011 PNAS [94]

BMI: body mass index; HDL: low-density lipoprotein; VLDL: very low-density lipoprotein; ACTH: adrenocorticotrophic hormone; PHA: phytohemagglutinin; TH: T-helper cell; IL: interleukin.