Abstract
Undernutrition in early life may have a long consequence of type 2 diabetes in adulthood. The current study was aimed to explore the association between famine exposure in fetal life during China’s Great Famine (1959–1961) and dysglycemia in adulthood. The cross-sectional data from 7830 adults from the 2010–2012 China National Nutrition and Health Surveillance was utilized. Participants who were born between 1960 and 1961 were selected as the exposed group, while the participants who were born in 1963 were selected as the unexposed group. Logistic regression was utilized to examine the relationship between fetal famine exposure and dysglycemia in adulthood. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the exposed and control group was 6.4% and 5.1%, respectively, and the risk of type 2 diabetes in the exposed group was 1.23 times higher than that of the control group (95%CI, 1.01–1.50; P = 0.042) in adulthood, and 1.40 times in the severely affected area (95%CI, 1.11–1.76; P = 0.004). The fasting plasma glucose of the exposed group was higher than that of the control group, which was only found in the severely affected area (P = 0.014) and females (P = 0.037). The association between famine and impaired fasting glucose was observed only in females (OR 1.31, 95%CI, 1.01–1.70; P = 0.040). Our results suggested that fetal exposure to Chinese famine increased the risk of dysglycemia in adulthood. This association was stronger in the severely affected area and females.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980 worldwide
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the exposed group was higher than the control group (6.4% vs. 5.1%, P = 0.016)
In the current study with a large sample of Chinese adults, we found that famine exposure in fetal life was associated with increased risks of type 2 diabetes in adulthood
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980 worldwide. Diabetes prevalence has risen faster in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries [1]. Diabetes is becoming a significant economic burden and a serious public health problem. Common non-communicable chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver diseases, have been recognized as “rich diseases”, which are affected by affluent energy diet or physical inactivity [4]. Increasing evidence supports that nutrition status in early life has a long consequence of chronic diseases in adults [5,6,7]
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