关键词: 生命历程, 口腔, 流行病学, 龋病, 牙周病

Abstract:

The traditional aetiological models for adult chronic disease during the second half of twentieth century that mainly emphasized on current adult lifestyle factors, such as cigarette smoking, diet and reduction of physical activity have been challenged by growing evidence which declared that progression of chronic disease begin in early life or the disease affected by the poor birth weight, prenatal infection, poor nutrition, and social and psychosocial disadvantage in early life. This relatively new research field is called life course epidemiology. Life course epidemiology is the study of the long term effects of early-life’s adverse/protective exposures or experience on individual’s health outcome and disease risk in later life. This paper aims to introduce the overall concept and theoretical models of this new epidemiology approach and to discuss the application of life course approach on the chronic oral disease.

Key words: life course, oral, epidemiology, dental caries, periodontal disease