Abstract
ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the association between exposure to the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961) during early life and hypertension in adulthood.MethodsFrom July to September 2009, 1224 eligible adults were recruited in a cross-sectional survey using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method in Chongqing China. A questionnaire was used to collect information of hypertension and sociodemographic factors. Participants were categorized as childhood, fetal, and none exposure to famine based on the date of birth.ResultsOf the sample, 12.3% reported having hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension varied by famine status: 11.9% in childhood exposure, 16.1% in fetal exposure, and 10.2% in non-exposure group. After adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, compared with non-exposure group, fetal exposure group had an increased likelihood of having hypertension with odds ratio of 1.79 (95%CI 1.13-2.84). Although there was no significant gender and famine interaction, the positive association between famine exposure and hypertension was stronger among women than men.ConclusionFetal exposure to the Chinese famine may be associated with an increased risk of arthritis in adulthood in women.
Highlights
Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors of cardiovascular diseases as well as other chronic diseases
Fetal exposure group had the lowest rate of breast-feeding in early life (75.3%) as compared with childhood (81.1%) or nonexposure group (84.7%)
Fetal exposure to famine had the highest prevalence of self-reported hypertension
Summary
Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors of cardiovascular diseases as well as other chronic diseases. According to the 2015 China Health and Family Planning Statistical Yearbook, the prevalence of hypertension among adults in China increased from 25.0% in 2002 to 38% in 2012 [2]. Among adults aged 45 to 59 years the prevalence of control, treatment and awareness of Previous research suggests that the risk factors of chronic diseases in adulthood may originate from adverse exposures or undernutrition during fetal period [5, 6]. Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to Chinese famine in early life is related to increased risk of diabetes [9], short height [10], metabolic syndrome [5], and weight gain [11] among adults.
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