[Early-life stress and vulnerability for disease in later life].
BACKGROUND
The rapidly growing research field of developmental programming of health and disease risk investigates the early life origins of individual vulnerability for common, complex disorders that confer a major burden of disease.


OBJECTIVE
The present article introduces the concept of developmental programming of disease vulnerability and summarizes studies on the mental and physical health consequences of exposure to childhood trauma and prenatal stress. Biological mechanisms that mediate disease risk after early life stress are discussed. The possibility of transgenerational transmission of effects of childhood trauma in exposed women to their children and potential mechanisms of this transmission are also presented.


CONCLUSIONS
A substantial number of studies show associations between early life stress and risk for mental and somatic diseases in later life. The underlying mechanisms are currently being studied at the molecular and epigenetic level. Potentially, these findings will allow unprecedented opportunities to improve the precision of current clinical diagnostic tools and the success of interventions. However, there is currently a lack of translation of research findings related to developmental programming to clinical applications.
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Luisenstraβe 57, 10117, Berlin, Deutschland. sonja.entringer@charite.de.
Sonja
S
Entringer
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Luisenstraβe 57, 10117, Berlin, Deutschland.
Claudia
C
Buss
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Luisenstraβe 57, 10117, Berlin, Deutschland.
Christine
C
Heim
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D015984:Causality; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
Childhood trauma; Developmental programming; Epigenetics; Prenatal stress; Transgenerational transmission