Maternal infections during pregnancy and offspring midlife inflammation.

Background: Microbial exposures early in life have been found to be associated with lower levels of inflammation in adulthood; however, the role of prenatal exposure to infection on offspring inflammatory profiles is unexplored. The aim was to study if maternal infections during pregnancy are associated with inflammation among offspring in later life and to determine if there are sensitive periods of exposure.

Methods: The study was comprised of 1719 participants in the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) who were also members of the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort (CPC).

Parental socioeconomic position and midlife allostatic load: a study of potential mediators.

Background: The mechanisms underlying the association of parental socioeconomic position with later life allostatic load remain unclear. The present study aims to examine potential pathways underlying this association: personality, social relations, intelligence and education.

Methods: The study comprised 361 members of the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort who participated in two subsequent follow-ups: the Prenatal Development Project (mean age 27 years) and the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank study (mean age 50 years).

Prenatal and early postnatal stress and later life inflammation.

Background: Evidence suggests that maternal psychological and social stress during the prenatal period and in childhood represent an important condition that may adversely impact the anatomy and physiology of the developing child with implications for a number of health-related conditions and disorders. In a large prospective study, we aim to address if social stressors in the prenatal and early postnatal periods, as individual exposures as well as their accumulation, are associated with a range of inflammatory markers in late middle-aged offspring.

Methods: The study sample includes Danish men and women born between 1959 and 1961 (n = 1206) who were members of the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort and participated in the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank in 2009-2011 (age 49-52).

Understanding the relation between socioeconomic position and inflammation in post-menopausal women: education, income and occupational prestige.

Background: The role of occupational prestige, a direct measure of the perceived status of job and job holder, in inflammation is unknown. To contribute to understanding the pathways by which socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with inflammation, we aimed to estimate the direct effects of education, income and occupational prestige on C-reactive protein (CRP) and to describe the relationship between these markers and CRP.

Methods: The study was based on 2026 post-menopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative-Observational Study.

Psychosocial risk factors for the metabolic syndrome: A prospective cohort study.

Background/objectives: Metabolic deregulations and development of metabolic syndrome may be an important pathway underlying the relationship between stress and cardiovascular disease. We aim to estimate the effect of a comprehensive range of psychosocial factors on the risk of developing metabolic syndrome in men and women.

Methods: The study population consisted of 3621 men and women from the Copenhagen City Heart Study who were free of metabolic syndrome at baseline and reexamined after 10years.

Late midlife C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 in middle aged danish men in relation to body size history within and across generations.

Objective: The aim was to estimate the effects of ponderal index at birth and body mass index (BMI) in early adulthood on C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and to quantify the effects through subsequent measures of body size. In a subanalysis, the contributions of maternal BMI to the inflammatory status of offspring were investigated.

Methods: The study was based on 2,986 Danish males from the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank.