Purpose of review: In this review, we provide essential background knowledge and an analytical framework for the application of placental-fetal molecular biomarkers in fetal origins chronic disease epidemiology. The widely available and highly quantitative placental hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is used as an example. hCG is currently used for diagnosing fetal genetic disorders; yet it can and should be expanded to understanding the fetal origins of chronic diseases. We provide justification and methods to do this.
Recent findings: Ten papers published in the last 5 years were identified with supportive findings relevant to the application of biomarkers of hCG in epidemiologic studies on the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD).
Summary: There is increasing and consistent evidence that placental-fetal biomarkers may be highly informative in observational studies, as exemplified by hCG, with the correct approaches for measurement and data analysis.
Keywords: directed acyclic graphs; epidemiology; fetal origins; hCG; human chorionic gonadotropin; placenta.