Early-Life Famine Exposure and Later-Life Outcomes: Evidence from Survivors of the Greek Famine

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Neelsen ◽  
Thomas Stratmann
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Famine Exposure

Association between the Great China Famine exposure in early life and risk of arthritis in adulthood

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 790-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenghe Wang ◽  
Zhiyong Zou ◽  
Bin Dong ◽  
Jun Ma ◽  
Luke Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Elevated Risk ◽  
Exposed Group ◽  
Nutrition Intervention ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Famine Exposure ◽  
Stratified Analysis

BackgroundThe association between famine exposure in early life and risk of arthritis (combination of osteoarthritis and inflammatory arthritis) in adulthood is unclear. The aim of this study is to explore the association.MethodsA total of 4124 subjects were selected from the national data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2011–2012. Doctor-diagnosed arthritis was self-reported in participants’ questionnaire. Birthdates were used to categorise participants into famine-exposed and non-exposed groups. Logistic regression model was used to explore the association of famine exposure in early life with the risk of arthritis in adulthood.ResultsThe prevalence of arthritis in both infant-exposed and preschool-exposed groups was significantly higher than those in the non-exposed group (35.0% and 30.6% vs 27.3%; p<0.05). Compared with the non-exposed group, the infant-exposed group showed a significantly elevated risk of arthritis in adulthood after adjusting for confounding factors (OR=1.65; 95% CI 1.29 to 2.11; p<0.001). In the stratified analysis, we found that participants who lived in severely affected areas (OR=1.91; 95% CI 1.41 to 2.59; p<0.001), who are female (OR=2.21; 95% CI 1.57 to 3.11; p<0.001) and those with a body mass index ≥24.0 kg/m2 (OR=2.46; 95% CI 1.70 to 3.55; p<0.001) in the infant-exposed group had increased risk of arthritis in adulthood. Similar results were additionally observed when age-balanced control group was used.ConclusionGreat China Famine exposure in infancy may be associated with an elevated risk of arthritis in adulthood, particularly in women and participants with adiposity. These findings suggest nutrition intervention in infancy and weight control in later life may reduce the risk of arthritis in adulthood.

scholarly journals Predicting Later-Life Outcomes of Early-Life Exposures

2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (10) ◽  
pp. 1353-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Boekelheide ◽  
Bruce Blumberg ◽  
Robert E. Chapin ◽  
Ila Cote ◽  
Joseph H. Graziano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Early Life Exposures

scholarly journals Famine Exposure in Early Life and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Adulthood: Comparisons of Different Metabolic Syndrome Definitions

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Ning ◽  
Jie Ren ◽  
Xin Song ◽  
Dong Zhang ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Early Life ◽  
International Diabetes Federation ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Marginal Effect ◽  
Odds Ratios ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Famine Exposure ◽  
Adult Exposure

This study examined the association between famine exposure in early life and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adulthood during the 1959–1961 Chinese Famine. Two cross-sectional surveys involving randomly selected Chinese adults aged 35–74 years in the Qingdao area were conducted. A total of 9,588 individuals were grouped into four birth cohorts of unexposed (born between January 1, 1962, and December 31, 1975), fetal-exposed (born between January 1, 1959, and December 31, 1961), childhood-exposed (born between January 1, 1949, and December 31, 1958), and adolescence/adult-exposed cohorts (born between January 1, 1931, and December 31, 1948). We assessed the prevalence rate of MetS in relation to famine exposure according to three definitions of MetS by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III), International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and China Diabetes Society (CDS). According to the CDS criterion, the prevalence rates of MetS were 17.8%, 25.7%, 31.1%, and 45.3% in the unexposed, fetal-, childhood-, and adolescence/adult-exposed cohorts, respectively (P<0.001). For the CDS criteria, compared with individuals without famine exposure, odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for MetS were 1.36 (1.02–1.81), 1.36 (1.06–1.75), and 1.60 (1.06–2.41) in women and 1.10 (0.79–1.53), 1.07 (0.79–1.42), and 1.21 (0.74–1.99) in men who were exposed in the fetal, childhood, and adolescence/adult periods, respectively, after adjustment for age, study cohorts, residential areas, education levels, income levels, current smoking, and current drinking. The same trend was observed in fetal and childhood exposure for the NCEP-ATP III and IDF definitions, except for a marginal effect in adolescence/adult exposure. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the odds ratios for MetS prevalence for the CDS definition were 1.37 (1.03–1.82), 1.40 (1.09–1.79), and 1.58 (1.04–2.40) among fetal, childhood, and adolescence/adult exposure in rural areas, respectively. The CDS definition is superior to the other definitions for determining the association between famine exposure and MetS with respect to early life. Famine exposure in early life is associated with an increased risk of MetS in later life, especially in women. Early-life malnutrition and later life overnutrition were critical in determining adulthood metabolic disorders.

scholarly journals What a general paediatrician needs to know about early life programming

2015 ◽  
Vol 100 (11) ◽  
pp. 1058-1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C Williams ◽  
Amanda J Drake
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Epigenetic Modifications ◽  
Early Exposure ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Epidemiological Evidence ◽  
Early Life Programming ◽  
General Paediatrician

The process whereby early exposure to an adverse environment has an influence on later life outcomes has been called ‘early life programming’. While epidemiological evidence for this has been available for decades, only in recent years have the mechanisms, in particular epigenetic modifications, for this process begun to be elucidated. We discuss the evidence for early life programming, the possible mechanisms, how effects may be transmitted across generations, and conclude by looking at some examples relevant to general paediatrics.

scholarly journals Controlling, Confounding, and Construct Clarity: A Response to Criticisms of 'Revisiting the Marshmallow Test'

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler W. Watts ◽  
Greg J. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Multivariate Regression ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Delay Of Gratification ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Regression Techniques ◽  
Predictive Relations

Longitudinal studies of development often rely on correlational methods to examine linkages between early-life constructs and later-life outcomes. As highlighted by responses to our article, “Revisiting the Marshmallow Test: A Conceptual Replication Investigating Links Between Delay of Gratification and Later Outcomes,” interpretations of these linkages can be difficult. In this commentary, we address criticisms that our approach “over-controlled” for key factors related to a child’s ability to delay gratification, allay concerns over multicollinearity, and discuss how multivariate regression techniques can help clarify the interpretation of observed predictive relations.

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