As natural experiments, famines provide a unique opportunity to test the health consequences of nutritional deprivation during the critical period of early life. Using data on 4972 Chinese born between 1956 and 1963 who participated in a large mental health epidemiology survey conducted between 2001 and 2005, we investigated the potential impact of exposure to the 1959-1961 Chinese Famine in ut...

CONTEXT Schizophrenia is a common major mental disorder. Intrauterine nutritional deficiency may increase the risk of schizophrenia. The main evidence comes from studies of the 1944-1945 Dutch Hunger Winter when a sharp and time-limited decline in food intake occurred. The most exposed cohort conceived during the famine showed a 2-fold increased risk of schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE To determine w...

"Ireland experienced dramatic levels of emigration in the century following the Famine of 1845-1849. The paper surveys the recent cliometric literature on post-Famine emigration and its effects on Irish living standards. The conclusions are that the Famine played a significant role in unleashing the subsequent emigration; and that emigration was crucial for the impressive increase in Irish livi...

BACKGROUND Energy restriction in prenatal life has detrimental effects on later life health and longevity. Studies in rats have shown that the shortening of telomeres in key tissues plays an important role in this association. OBJECTIVE The aim of the current study was to investigate leukocyte telomere length in relation to prenatal famine exposure. DESIGN The Dutch famine birth cohort cons...

Sexual differentiation of the human brain has been suggested to take place through exposure to sex steroids during intrauterine development. Animal experiments have shown that interference in this process by underfeeding of the mother can result in feminization of the male offspring. We explored the possible effects of prenatal exposure to famine on sexual orientation and gender identity in hum...

As the number of children who are immigrants or refugees continues to grow due a variety issues taking place around world, i.e., war, political unrest, famine, and persecution, how do schools meet their needs? The article provides advice on working with importance viewing them through an asset-based lens.

OBJECTIVE An adverse fetal environment may permanently modify the effects of specific genes on glucose tolerance, insulin secretion, and insulin sensitivity. In the present study, we assessed a possible interaction of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma2 Pro12Ala polymorphism with prenatal exposure to famine on glucose and insulin metabolism. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD...

OBJECTIVE Evidence from the 1944-1995 Dutch Hunger Winter and the 1959-1961 Chinese famines suggests that those conceived or in early gestation during famines, have a 2-fold increased risk of developing schizophrenia in adult life. We tested the hypothesis in a second Chinese population and also determined whether risk differed between urban and rural areas. METHOD The risk of schizophrenia w...

1 Mason JB. Lessons on nutrition of displaced people. J Nutr 2002;132:2096S–2103S. 2 World Health Organization (WHO). Management of Nutrition in Major Emergencies. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2000. 3 World Health Organization (WHO). Physical status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry. Report of a WHO expert committee. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1995. 4 University of Nair...

Objective: This study aimed to assess the association between exposure to the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961) during early life and hypertension in adulthood. Methods: From 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 hypertensi...