Early-life undernutrition and depression later in life: a systematic review.

CONTEXT: Early adverse experience can have a long-term effect on growth and development and negative repercussions into adulthood. Among the various consequences of undernutrition is depression. OBJECTIVE: The present work aimed to evaluate the relationship between early-life undernutrition and depression in adult life. DATA SOURCES: Data were obtained from the PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases in November 2021 and were selected using the systematic bibliographic review manager program State of the Art Through Systematic Review. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted using the State of the Art Through Systematic Review program. DATA ANALYSIS: Of the 559 articles that were identified, 114 were duplicates, and 426 were excluded after inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to the title and abstract. One other relevant study was included. From the 20 remaining articles, 8 were excluded after the full-text screening. Finally, 12 articles remained for review in the present work. The studies described in these articles investigated humans, rats, or mice, and correlated early-life malnutrition and depression in adulthood as the principal outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Undernutrition in early life and later depression are linked. Furthermore, the knowledge that the risk factors for depression start at the beginning of life points to public health policies starting in intrauterine life and extending throughout childhood and adolescence.

How microplastic components influence the immune system and impact on children health: Focus on cancer.

BACKGROUND: As a result of human socioeconomic activity, industrial wastes have increased distressingly. Plastic pollution is globally distributed across the world due to its properties of buoyancy and durability. A big health hazard is the sorption of toxicants to plastic while traveling through the environment. Two broad classes of plastic-related chemicals are of critical concern for human health-bisphenols and phthalates. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine-disruptor compound (EDC) with estrogenic activity. It is used in the production of materials that are used daily. The endocrine modulating activity of BPA and its effects on reproductive health has been widely studied. BPA also has effects on the immune system; however, they are poorly investigated and the available data are inconclusive. Phthalates are also EDCs used as plasticizers in a wide array of daily-use products. Since these compounds are not covalently bound to the plastic matrix, they easily leach out from it, leading to high human exposure. These compounds exert several cell effects through modulating different endocrine pathways, such as estrogen, androgen, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, and arylhydrocarbon receptor pathways. The exposure to both classes of plastic derivatives during critical periods has detrimental effects on human health. METHODS: In this review, we have compiled the most important of their perinatal effects on the function of the immune system and their relationship to the development of different types of cancer. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: The administration of bisphenols and phthalates during critical stages of development affects important immune system components, and the immune function; which might be related to the development of different diseases including cancer.