Prenatal exposure to famine and the development of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes in adulthood across consecutive generations: a population-based cohort study of families in Suihua, China

Abstract

Prenatal exposure to famine remarkably increases hyperglycemia risk in 2 consecutive generations of Chinese adults independent of known T2D risk factors, which supports the notion that prenatal nutrition plays an important role in the development of T2D across consecutive generations of Chinese adults. This trial was registered at www.chictr.org.cn as ChiCTR-ECH-13003644.

Early-Life Nutritional Programming of Type 2 Diabetes: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evidence

“…In a recent study conducted in Suihua, China, the evidence was obtained that programming effects can be manifested not only in those prenatally exposed to famine population (F1 generation), but also in the F2 progeny [73]. In this research, prenatal exposure to the Chinese Famine has been linked to a 1.75-fold enhanced risk of T2D and 1.93-fold enhanced risk of hyperglycaemia in F1 adult offspring in comparison with unexposed individuals.…”

Epigenetic Mechanisms of Transmission of Metabolic Disease across Generations

“…For example, either maternal or paternal prenatal exposure to famine (Chinese famine of 1959–1961) has been associated with increased hyperglycemia in offspring; these effects are greater when both parents had prenatal exposure (Li et al, 2016). Moreover, studies from a population born in the Overkalix region of northern Sweden from 1890 to 1920 analyzed food availability during specific phases of childhood.…”

‘The abiding condition was hunger’: assessing the long-term biological and health effects of malnutrition and hunger in Canada’s residential schools

“…Maternal obesity and diabetes have also been associated with greater risk of inter-uterine growth failure, both low and high birthweight with their attendant risks, growth faltering, and the development of insulin resistance and diabetes, in offspring (Leddy et al 2008). These effects appear to continue into the following generation: adult grandchildren of famine survivors have significantly higher BMI and prevalence of obesity than the general population (Li et al 2016, Veenendaal et al 2013). Among grandchildren, there is an interesting reversal of the first-generation pattern, whereby these effects are significant among grandchildren whose fathers (not mothers) are the offspring of famine survivors (Veenendaal et al 2013).…”

“…Compared to controls, children exposed to twentieth-century famines are significantly more likely to be obese (van Abeelen et al 2012b;Wang et al 2010). Scholars report higher BMI and fasting plasma glucose, unfavourable lipid profiles, higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, and higher incidence of heart attack and stroke at ages 40 to 60 among famine survivors (Li et al 2016;Huang et al 2010;Wang et al 2010). Women exposed as girls to the Dutch Famine are significantly more as likely to develop diabetes than their non-exposed peers (van Abeelen et al 2012a).…”

“…Much recent work on the long-term health effects of nutritional deprivation has been carried out by Ana Lydia Sawaya and colleagues on malnourished populations living in Sao Paulo, Brazil Martins and Sawaya 2006). Recent reviews of the literature on child malnutrition (de Onis and Branca 2016;Li et al 2016) also provide excellent resources for those seeking to understand the health implications of dietary restriction in childhood.…”