Supervisors info:
Δέσποινα Μπριάνα, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Παναγιώτα Περβανίδου, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Αργύρης Ντινόπουλος, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
BACKGROUND: According to the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis (DOHaD) and fetal programming, changes in the intrauterine environment at critical periods of organogenesis affect the risk of developing chronic diseases, including psychiatric disorders.
AIM: The primary aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the potential correlation between abnormal fetal growth and offspring’s mental health and secondarily to study possible confounding factors.
METHODOLOGY: A systematic review of the literature was carried out, according to the PRISMA Statement. We searched studies assessing symptoms or disorders of mental health of people born with abnormal fetal growth. The search was conducted in the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Cochrane Collaboration and included studies published up to December 2019. Original studies published in English, without age restrictions were included in the systematic review.
RESULTS: 17 published studies met the inclusion criteria: (n = 2) related to schizophrenia, (n = 1) eating disorders, (n = 2) depression, (n = 1) generalized anxiety disorder, (n = 1) suicide ideation, (n=4) internalizing/externalizing problems and (n = 7) mental health in general. A correlation was found with mental health in 6/7 studies, schizophrenia (n = 2/2), generalized anxiety disorder (n = 1/1), depression (n = 2/2), suicide attempt (n = 1/1) but not for completed suicide, eating disorders (n = 1/1), internalizing problems (n = 3/4), while the results concerning externalizing problems were contradictory.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this systematic review support an association between abnormal fetal growth and psychiatric disorders. However, several genetic, perinatal, epigenetic, environmental and social confounding factors are implicated in this relationship. More studies with larger samples and similar design methods are necessary to draw safe conclusions.
Keywords:
Developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis, Intrauterine growth restriction, Small for gestational age, Large for gestational age, Mental health, Psychiatric disorders
