Early-life Environmental Exposure and Disease (eBook)

This book offers valuable insights into the latest concepts and findings from epidemiologic, clinical and basic studies in the burgeoning area of early-life environmental exposure and diseases. The book is divided into five parts, starting with an overview of environmental exposure measurement and evaluation, followed by a review of the effects of exposure to various substances like tobacco smoke, pesticides and metals as well as stress on offspring's health.  It then discusses the developmental origins of a range of childhood diseases that affect growth, neural development and the immune system, and highlights the importance of longitudinal studies that measure exposure at potentially sensitive time points during childhood. It also provides up-to-date evidence of the intergenerational/transgenerational effects of early-life environmental exposure, especially via genetic and epigenetic pathways. Allowing readers to gain a thorough understanding of the predominating aspects of early-life environmental exposure and diseases, the book also provides a basis for developing environmental and health policies that could have wide and long-term impacts on human health.  

Prof. Xia is the Dean of the School of Public Health (SPH), Nanjing Medical University (NMU), Vice Director of the International Research Center of Environment and Human Health, and the PI of the State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology, China. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2007 and then joined the SPH at NMU. In 2014, he was awarded a professorship. Prof. Xia's work focuses on environmental chemicals and reproductive health, and his main research areas include the identification of environmental chemicals with reproductive toxicity; gene-environmental interactions and infertility; early-life environmental exposure and maternal & child health based on birth cohorts. In recent years, he has presided over 20 international and national projects and published more than 200 SCI papers in authoritative journals in toxicology, environmental health and reproductive health. He also holds over 10 national invention patents.

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This book offers valuable insights into the latest concepts and findings from epidemiologic, clinical and basic studies in the burgeoning area of early-life environmental exposure and diseases. The book is divided into five parts, starting with an overview of environmental exposure measurement and evaluation, followed by a review of the effects of exposure to various substances like tobacco smoke, pesticides and metals as well as stress on offspring's health.  It then discusses the developmental origins of a range of childhood diseases that affect growth, neural development and the immune system, and highlights the importance of longitudinal studies that measure exposure at potentially sensitive time points during childhood. It also provides up-to-date evidence of the intergenerational/transgenerational effects of early-life environmental exposure, especially via genetic and epigenetic pathways. Allowing readers to gain a thorough understanding of the predominating aspects of early-life environmental exposure and diseases, the book also provides a basis for developing environmental and health policies that could have wide and long-term impacts on human health.