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. 2010 Oct;59(10):2400-6.
doi: 10.2337/db10-0385. Epub 2010 Jul 9.

Exposure to the Chinese famine in early life and the risk of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes in adulthood

Yanping Li  1 , Yuna He, Lu Qi, Vincent W Jaddoe, Edith J M Feskens, Xiaoguang Yang, Guansheng Ma, Frank B Hu
Affiliations

Exposure to the Chinese famine in early life and the risk of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes in adulthood

Yanping Li et al. Diabetes. 2010 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: Early developmental adaptations in response to undernutrition may play an essential role in susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, particularly for those experiencing a "mismatched rich nutritional environment" in later life. We examined the associations of exposure to the Chinese famine (1959-1961) during fetal life and childhood with the risk of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

Research design and methods: We used the data for 7,874 rural adults born between 1954 and 1964 in selected communities from the cross-sectional 2002 China National Nutrition and Health Survey. Hyperglycemia was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥6.1 mmol/l and/or 2-h plasma glucose ≥7.8 mmol/l and/or a previous clinical diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.

Results: Prevalences of hyperglycemia among adults in nonexposed, fetal exposed, early-childhood, mid-childhood, and late-childhood exposed cohorts were 2.4%, 5.7%, 3.9%, 3.4%, and 5.9%, respectively. In severely affected famine areas, fetal-exposed subjects had an increased risk of hyperglycemia compared with nonexposed subjects (odds ratio = 3.92; 95% CI: 1.64-9.39; P = 0.002); this difference was not observed in less severely affected famine areas (odds ratio = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.25-1.31; P = 0.185). The odds ratios were significantly different between groups from the severe and less severe famine areas (P for interaction = 0.001). In severely affected famine areas, fetal-exposed subjects who followed an affluent/Western dietary pattern (odds ratios = 7.63; 95% CI: 2.41-24.1; P = 0.0005) or who had a higher economic status in later life experienced a substantially elevated risk of hyperglycemia (odds ratios = 6.20; 95% CI: 2.08-18.5; P = 0.001).

Conclusions: Fetal exposure to the severe Chinese famine increases the risk of hyperglycemia in adulthood. This association appears to be exacerbated by a nutritionally rich environment in later life.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Flow chart on the sampling method in each region* of the 2002 China National Nutrition and Health Survey. *The mainland of China is classified into 6 regions defined by the Chinese Bureau of Statistics according to their socioeconomic development. They are metropolis, general city, type I rural site, type II rural site, type III rural site, and type IV rural site.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Prevalence of hyperglycemia among birth cohorts according to early life famine exposure and later life dietary patterns (A1 and B1), socioeconomic status (A2 and B2), and BMI (A3 and B3) in severely (column A) and less severely affected famine areas (column B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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