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Early life undernutrition and chronic diseases at older ages: The effects of the Dutch famine on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes

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  • Portrait, France
  • Teeuwiszen, Erica
  • Deeg, Dorly

Abstract

Nutritional conditions in early life may causally affect health at older ages. This paper examines the effects of early life exposure to the Dutch famine (Winter 1944-45) on the prevalence of heart diseases, peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) at ages 60-76. Analyses are performed using data from the fifth cycle of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Exposure to the famine is determined by reported place of residence during the Dutch famine, with those living in the cities in the West of the Netherlands defined as exposed (n = 278) and those living in the rural areas in the West or living in the North or East defined as non-exposed (n = 521). We successively compare the prevalence of heart diseases, PAD and DM at ages 60-76 of 370 males and 429 females exposed and non-exposed to the famine in early life. We distinguish four age classes of exposure in early life: gestation and infancy (ages 0-1), childhood (age 1-5), pre-adolescence (ages 6-10) and adolescence (ages 11-14). The analysis shows that exposure to severe undernutrition at ages 11-14 is significantly associated with a higher probability of developing DM and/or PAD at ages 60-76. The associations are found only in women, but not in men. If suggests that adolescence may be a critical period with respect to exposure to adverse (nutritional) conditions and that research should take this into account. These findings are relevant for children in developing countries who are exposed to severe nutritional deprivation.

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  • Portrait, France & Teeuwiszen, Erica & Deeg, Dorly, 2011. "Early life undernutrition and chronic diseases at older ages: The effects of the Dutch famine on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(5), pages 711-718, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:73:y:2011:i:5:p:711-718
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ye Luo & Linda J. Waite, 2005. "The Impact of Childhood and Adult SES on Physical, Mental, and Cognitive Well-Being in Later Life," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 60(2), pages 93-101.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bratti, Massimiliano & Frimpong, Prince Boakye & Russo, Simone, 2021. "Prenatal Exposure to Heat Waves and Child Health in Sub-saharan Africa," IZA Discussion Papers 14424, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Jiyuan Wang & Rob Alessie & Viola Angelini, 2023. "Exposure in utero to adverse events and health late‐in‐life: Evidence from China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 541-557, March.
    4. Xu, Hongwei & Li, Lydia & Zhang, Zhenmei & Liu, Jinyu, 2016. "Is natural experiment a cure? Re-examining the long-term health effects of China's 1959–1961 famine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 110-122.
    5. Popli, Gurleen & Gladwell, Daniel & Tsuchiya, Aki, 2013. "Estimating the critical and sensitive periods of investment in early childhood: A methodological note," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 316-324.
    6. Julia Mink, 2021. "The effects of major life events and exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes [Les effets d'événements majeurs de la vie et de l'exposition à des condition," SciencePo Working papers tel-03575191, HAL.
    7. Julia Mink, 2021. "The effects of major life events and exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes [Les effets d'événements majeurs de la vie et de l'exposition à des condition," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-03575191, HAL.

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