Publication details
Chování a zdraví II : Geny, chování a komplexní choroby
| Title in English | Health and behaviour II : Genes, behaviour and complex diseases |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Hygiena |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Hygiene |
| Keywords | epigenetics; behaviour; lifestyle; civilization-linked diseases; prevention |
| Description | Non-infectious diseases represent a serious health problem in current society. Their ethiology is complex as they result from a time-evolving interaction of genes and environmental factors, a significant part of which are based on individual behaviour and lifestyle. Lifestyle can modify the impact of genetic load; behaviour and lifestyle are themselves determined by genes to a certain extent. Lifelong environmental influences on the genome are largely mediated epigenetically. Epigenetic mechanisms modify the activity of genes and form susceptibility to disease, modifying manifestation of a genetic predisposition later in life and potentially participating in pathogenesis. Prenatal and early postnataly induces changes of the epigenome can be passed on to susequent generation of offsprings. Nutritional factors and smoking are major inducers of these epigenetic alternations. The most studied epigenetic mechanisms in relation to environmentally induced modification of gene expression are DNA methylation, post translational histone modifications and non-coding RNA regulatory activities. The potential reversibility of epigenetic processes opens up new possibilities for the prevention of somplex diseases. Knowledge of the interaction of genes, behaviour and environment confirm the validity of primary preventive measures and may contribute to changing attitudes to health. |