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Prenatal programming of adult mineral metabolism: Relevance to blood pressure, dietary prevention strategies, and cardiovascular disease
Author(s) -
Schulter Günter,
Goessler Walter,
Papousek Ilona
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.22206
Subject(s) - blood pressure , endocrinology , population , medicine , physiology , chemistry , environmental health
Objectives: Mounting evidence indicates that adult health outcomes such as the development of cardiovascular disease or diabetes can trace some of their roots back to prenatal development. This study investigated the epigenetic impact of a particular prenatal hormonal condition on specific health‐related consequences, i.e., on concentrations of minerals and mineral metabolism in adults. Methods: In 70 university students, the second‐to‐fourth digit length (2D:4D) was measured as a proxy of prenatal sex steroid action, and the concentrations of sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and calcium (Ca) were determined in hair samples by inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry. Mineral concentrations and the mineral ratios Na/K, Na/Mg, and Na/Ca were analyzed in multivariate analyses of variance, with digit ratios and sex of participants as grouping variables. The results were validated in a replication cohort from the general population, and with a wider age‐range. In addition, the correlation of mineral concentrations and mineral ratios with blood pressure was examined. Results: Men with relatively lower (i.e., more masculine) and women with relatively higher (i.e., more feminine) digit ratios had higher Na/K, Na/Mg, and Na/Ca ratios than their counterparts. Virtually identical results were obtained in the replication study. Moreover, Na concentrations and Na/K ratios were significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the individual variation in mineral metabolism can be predicted by 2D:4D, indicating that prenatal sex steroid action may be involved in the epigenetic programming of specific metabolic conditions which are highly relevant to adult health and disease. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.