Early Life Nutrition, Growth and Kidney Function in Children : the Generation R Study

In this thesis, we examined early life determinants of growth and childhood kidney function.Adverse environmental exposures during early life may lead to fetal growth adaptations and influence on the development of chronic kidney disease in later life,as indicated by many lines of evidence. From both an etiological and a prevention perspective, it is important to identify specific factors, especially modifiable factors that lead to an impaired kidney development. The studies presented in this thesis were mainly focused on the identification of specific nutritional factors during fetal life and early childhood factors that are associated with growth patterns and childhood kidney function. The findings of this thesis suggest that early life nutrition is associated with fetal growth patterns and childhood kidney function. Further studies are needed to unravel these mechanisms and to identify whether these subclinical changes in kidney development have consequences for the development of chronic kidney disease in later life.

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