Ancient remains put teeth into Barker hypothesis

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Ancient remains put teeth into Barker hypothesis

EurekAlert [uSA], 4-Feb-2010

 

Ancient human teeth are telling secrets that may relate to modern-day

health: Some stressful events that occurred early in development are

linked to shorter life spans. " Prehistoric remains are providing strong,

physical evidence that people who acquired tooth enamel defects while in

the womb or early childhood tended to die earlier, even if they survived

to adulthood, " says Emory University anthropologist George Armelagos.

Armelagos led a systematic review of defects in teeth enamel and early

mortality recently published in Evolutionary Anthropology. The paper is

the first summary of prehistoric evidence for the Barker hypothesis

†" the idea that many adult diseases originate during fetal

development and early childhood. " Teeth are like a snapshot into the

past, " Armelagos says. " Since the chronology of enamel development is

well known, it's possible to determine the age at which a physiological

disruption occurred. The evidence is there, and it's indisputable. "

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/eu-arp020410.php