Early Life Programming As a Target for Prevention of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders

Overview

Journal BMC Med

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2014 Feb 25

PMID 24559477

Citations 42

Authors

Andrew James Lewis

Megan Galbally

Tara Gannon

Christos Symeonides

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This paper concerns future policy development and programs of research for the prevention of mental disorders based on research emerging from fetal and early life programming. The current review offers an overview of findings on pregnancy exposures such as maternal mental health, lifestyle factors, and potential teratogenic and neurotoxic exposures on child outcomes. Outcomes of interest are common child and adolescent mental disorders including hyperactive, behavioral and emotional disorders. This literature suggests that the preconception and perinatal periods offer important opportunities for the prevention of deleterious fetal exposures. As such, the perinatal period is a critical period where future mental health prevention efforts should be focused and prevention models developed. Interventions grounded in evidence-based recommendations for the perinatal period could take the form of public health, universal and more targeted interventions. If successful, such interventions are likely to have lifelong effects on (mental) health.

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