Does ageing originate in utero?

Ageing still remains a conundrum on the cellular and molecular level, while environmental factors and interactions further increase the complexity of the ageing process. On the other hand is cancer, for which 20 years ago, it was proposed by Trichopoulos that it might have intrauterine origin. We herein discuss the idea that parameters such as the influence of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signalling, of hormones and of the number of stem cells, as well as the effect of foetal and early life nutrition on ageing may also commence in utero and we provide epidemiological and biological data to advocate for this hypothesis. Finally, we analyse the public health implication of this hypothesis based on the World Health Organization (WHO) report that the burden of diseases, including ageing, may be due to impaired foetal development.