Prenatal and childhood exposures are associated with thymulin concentrations in young adolescent children in rural Nepal.
J Dev Orig Health Dis
; 11(2): 127-135, 2020 04.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31475652
ABSTRACT
The thymus undergoes a critical period of growth and development early in gestation and, by mid-gestation, immature thymocytes are subject to positive and negative selection. Exposure to undernutrition during these periods may permanently affect phenotype. We measured thymulin concentrations, as a proxy for thymic size and function, in children (n = 290; aged 9-13 years) born to participants in a cluster-randomized trial of maternal vitamin A or ß-carotene supplementation in rural Nepal (1994-1997). The geometric mean (95% confidence interval) thymulin concentration was 1.37 ng/ml (1.27, 1.47). A multivariate model of early-life exposures revealed a positive association with gestational age at delivery (ß = 0.02; P = 0.05) and higher concentrations among children born to ß-carotene-supplemented mothers (ß = 0.19; P < 0.05). At â¼9-12 years of age, thymulin was positively associated with all anthropometric measures, with height retained in our multivariate model (ß = 0.02; P < 0.001). There was significant seasonal variation concentrations tended to be lower pre-monsoon (ß = -0.13; P = 0.15), during the monsoon (ß = -0.22; P = 0.04), and pre-harvest (ß = -0.34; P = 0.01), relative to the post-harvest season. All early-life associations, except supplementation, were mediated in part by nutritional status at follow-up. Our findings underscore the known sensitivity of the thymus to nutrition, including potentially lasting effects of early nutritional exposures. The relevance of these findings to later disease risk remains to be explored, particularly given the role of thymulin in the neuroendocrine regulation of inflammation.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Efeitos Tardios da Exposição Pré-Natal
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Fator Tímico Circulante
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Timo
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Desnutrição
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
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Etiology_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Infant
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Male
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Newborn
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Pregnancy
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Dev Orig Health Dis
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos