Early Life Determinants of Physical and Mental Health

Dear Colleagues,

Early life is a critical period of the whole life cycle. The concept of developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) has been verified in various chronic adult diseases such as obesity, diabetes, asthma, CVD, etc. Adverse early life exposures even influence disease risk across generations.

In recent decades, the leading burden on human health has shifted from infectious diseases to chronic diseases. Taking into account the continuous medical costs in the later period, it is significant to determine adverse exposures in order to reduce the potential risk of disease in the early period. Among published articles, several early determinators have been reported to influence later physical and mental health, such as adverse maternal outcomes (HDP, GDM, preterm birth, low-weight birth, and high-weight birth), maternal environmental exposures (particulate matter, heavy metals, and emerging contaminants), and nutritional conditions (vitamins, proteins, and lipids). However, more detailed and more rigorous studies are still required in order to confirm these risk factors, especially in some complex health problems such as obesity and neurodevelopment disorders.

We are pleased to invite you to provide clinicians and researchers with evidence-based findings on potential risk factors that should be modified or avoided in the early years of life. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome, including clinical trials, cohort studies, and observational studies. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: maternal care, childcare, environment exposure, nutrition condition, obesity, and neurodevelopment disorders.

I/We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Yuelong Ji
Guest Editor

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• early life
• mental health
• physical health
• maternal exposure
• children exposure
• biomarkers
• neurodevelopment
• DOHaD