Famine Exposure in Early Life and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Adulthood: Comparisons of Different Metabolic Syndrome Definitions

Abstract

This study examined the association between famine exposure in early life and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adulthood during the 1959–1961 Chinese Famine. Two cross-sectional surveys involving randomly selected Chinese adults aged 35–74 years in the Qingdao area were conducted. A total of 9,588 individuals were grouped into four birth cohorts of unexposed (born between January 1, 1962, and December 31, 1975), fetal-exposed (born between January 1, 1959, and December 31, 1961), childhood-exposed (born between January 1, 1949, and December 31, 1958), and adolescence/adult-exposed cohorts (born between January 1, 1931, and December 31, 1948). We assessed the prevalence rate of MetS in relation to famine exposure according to three definitions of MetS by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III), International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and China Diabetes Society (CDS). According to the CDS criterion, the prevalence rates of MetS were 17.8%, 25.7%, 31.1%, and 45.3% in the unexposed, fetal-, childhood-, and adolescence/adult-exposed cohorts, respectively (P<0.001). For the CDS criteria, compared with individuals without famine exposure, odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for MetS were 1.36 (1.02–1.81), 1.36 (1.06–1.75), and 1.60 (1.06–2.41) in women and 1.10 (0.79–1.53), 1.07 (0.79–1.42), and 1.21 (0.74–1.99) in men who were exposed in the fetal, childhood, and adolescence/adult periods, respectively, after adjustment for age, study cohorts, residential areas, education levels, income levels, current smoking, and current drinking. The same trend was observed in fetal and childhood exposure for the NCEP-ATP III and IDF definitions, except for a marginal effect in adolescence/adult exposure. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the odds ratios for MetS prevalence for the CDS definition were 1.37 (1.03–1.82), 1.40 (1.09–1.79), and 1.58 (1.04–2.40) among fetal, childhood, and adolescence/adult exposure in rural areas, respectively. The CDS definition is superior to the other definitions for determining the association between famine exposure and MetS with respect to early life. Famine exposure in early life is associated with an increased risk of MetS in later life, especially in women. Early-life malnutrition and later life overnutrition were critical in determining adulthood metabolic disorders.