Skip to main content
PMC home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 2000 Jul;55(7):555–561. doi: 10.1136/thorax.55.7.555

Atopy, lung function, and obstructive airways disease after prenatal exposure to famine

C Lopuhaa 1, T Roseboom 1, C Osmond 1, D Barker 1, A Ravelli 1, O Bleker 1, J S van der Zee 1, J H P van der Meulen 1
PMCID: PMC1745806  PMID: 10856314

Abstract

BACKGROUND—Associations have been found between a large head size at birth and atopy, and between low birth weight and obstructive airways disease. A study was undertaken of people born around the time of the Dutch famine in 1944-5 to determine the effects of maternal malnutrition during specific periods of gestation on the prevalence of obstructive airways disease and atopy.
METHODS—Nine hundred and twelve people aged about 50, born at term between November 1943 and February 1947 in Amsterdam, were asked about their medical history. Lung function was measured in 733and serum concentrations of total IgE and specific IgE against mite, pollen and cat were measured in 726. Those exposed in late, mid, and early gestation (exposed participants) were compared with those born before or conceived after the famine (non-exposed participants).
RESULTS—Exposure to famine during gestation affected neither the concentrations of total or specific IgE nor lung function values. The prevalence of obstructive airways disease was increased in people exposed to famine in mid gestation (odds ratio adjusted for sex 1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 to 2.6) and tended to be higher in those exposed in early gestation (odds ratio 1.5,95% CI 0.9 to 2.6).
CONCLUSIONS—The observed increase in the prevalence of obstructive airways disease in people exposed to famine in mid and early gestation was not parallelled by effects on IgE concentrations or lung function. The link between exposure to famine in mid and early gestation and obstructive airways disease in adulthood suggests that fetal lungs can be permanently affected by nutritional challenges during periods of rapid growth.



Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (143.8 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aalberse R. C., Nieuwenhuys E. J., Hey M., Stapel S. O. 'Horoscope effect' not only for seasonal but also for non-seasonal allergens. Clin Exp Allergy. 1992 Nov;22(11):1003–1006. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1992.tb03028.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Arshad S. H., Stevens M., Hide D. W. The effect of genetic and environmental factors on the prevalence of allergic disorders at the age of two years. Clin Exp Allergy. 1993 Jun;23(6):504–511. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1993.tb03238.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barker D. J., Godfrey K. M., Fall C., Osmond C., Winter P. D., Shaheen S. O. Relation of birth weight and childhood respiratory infection to adult lung function and death from chronic obstructive airways disease. BMJ. 1991 Sep 21;303(6804):671–675. doi: 10.1136/bmj.303.6804.671. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fergusson D. M., Crane J., Beasley R., Horwood L. J. Perinatal factors and atopic disease in childhood. Clin Exp Allergy. 1997 Dec;27(12):1394–1401. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2222.1997.1430947.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Godfrey K. M., Barker D. J., Osmond C. Disproportionate fetal growth and raised IgE concentration in adult life. Clin Exp Allergy. 1994 Jul;24(7):641–648. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1994.tb00968.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gregory A., Doull I., Pearce N., Cheng S., Leadbitter P., Holgate S., Beasley R. The relationship between anthropometric measurements at birth: asthma and atopy in childhood. Clin Exp Allergy. 1999 Mar;29(3):330–333. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2222.1999.00485.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Harding J., Liu L., Evans P., Oliver M., Gluckman P. Intrauterine feeding of the growth retarded fetus: can we help? Early Hum Dev. 1992 Jun-Jul;29(1-3):193–197. doi: 10.1016/0378-3782(92)90149-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Holt P. G., Sly P. D. Allergic respiratory disease: strategic targets for primary prevention during childhood. Thorax. 1997 Jan;52(1):1–4. doi: 10.1136/thx.52.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kelly Y. J., Brabin B. J., Milligan P., Heaf D. P., Reid J., Pearson M. G. Maternal asthma, premature birth, and the risk of respiratory morbidity in schoolchildren in Merseyside. Thorax. 1995 May;50(5):525–530. doi: 10.1136/thx.50.5.525. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Langley-Evans S. C., Phillips G. J., Jackson A. A. Fetal exposure to low protein maternal diet alters the susceptibility of young adult rats to sulfur dioxide-induced lung injury. J Nutr. 1997 Feb;127(2):202–209. doi: 10.1093/jn/127.2.202. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Langley S. C., Seakins M., Grimble R. F., Jackson A. A. The acute phase response of adult rats is altered by in utero exposure to maternal low protein diets. J Nutr. 1994 Sep;124(9):1588–1596. doi: 10.1093/jn/124.9.1588. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Matthes J. W., Lewis P. A., Davies D. P., Bethel J. A. Birth weight at term and lung function in adolescence: no evidence for a programmed effect. Arch Dis Child. 1995 Sep;73(3):231–234. doi: 10.1136/adc.73.3.231. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McCance R. A., Widdowson E. M. The determinants of growth and form. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1974 Jan 22;185(1078):1–17. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1974.0001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Mulay S., Browne C. A., Varma D. R., Solomon S. Placental hormones, nutrition, and fetal development. Fed Proc. 1980 Feb;39(2):261–265. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Oliveti J. F., Kercsmar C. M., Redline S. Pre- and perinatal risk factors for asthma in inner city African-American children. Am J Epidemiol. 1996 Mar 15;143(6):570–577. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a008787. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Oryszczyn M. P., Annesi-Maesano I., Campagna D., Sahuquillo J., Huel G., Kauffmann F. Head circumference at birth and maternal factors related to cord blood total IgE. Clin Exp Allergy. 1999 Mar;29(3):334–341. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2222.1999.00488.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ravelli A. C., van der Meulen J. H., Michels R. P., Osmond C., Barker D. J., Hales C. N., Bleker O. P. Glucose tolerance in adults after prenatal exposure to famine. Lancet. 1998 Jan 17;351(9097):173–177. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(97)07244-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Romagnani S. Human TH1 and TH2 subsets: regulation of differentiation and role in protection and immunopathology. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 1992;98(4):279–285. doi: 10.1159/000236199. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Rona R. J., Gulliford M. C., Chinn S. Effects of prematurity and intrauterine growth on respiratory health and lung function in childhood. BMJ. 1993 Mar 27;306(6881):817–820. doi: 10.1136/bmj.306.6881.817. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Schaubel D., Johansen H., Dutta M., Desmeules M., Becker A., Mao Y. Neonatal characteristics as risk factors for preschool asthma. J Asthma. 1996;33(4):255–264. doi: 10.3109/02770909609055366. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Schuurman J., Perdok G. J., Lourens T. E., Parren P. W., Chapman M. D., Aalberse R. C. Production of a mouse/human chimeric IgE monoclonal antibody to the house dust mite allergen Der p 2 and its use for the absolute quantification of allergen-specific IgE. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1997 Apr;99(4):545–550. doi: 10.1016/s0091-6749(97)70083-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Sears M. R., Holdaway M. D., Flannery E. M., Herbison G. P., Silva P. A. Parental and neonatal risk factors for atopy, airway hyper-responsiveness, and asthma. Arch Dis Child. 1996 Nov;75(5):392–398. doi: 10.1136/adc.75.5.392. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Seidman D. S., Laor A., Gale R., Stevenson D. K., Danon Y. L. Is low birth weight a risk factor for asthma during adolescence? Arch Dis Child. 1991 May;66(5):584–587. doi: 10.1136/adc.66.5.584. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Shaheen S. O., Sterne J. A., Montgomery S. M., Azima H. Birth weight, body mass index and asthma in young adults. Thorax. 1999 May;54(5):396–402. doi: 10.1136/thx.54.5.396. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Shaheen S. O., Sterne J. A., Tucker J. S., Florey C. D. Birth weight, childhood lower respiratory tract infection, and adult lung function. Thorax. 1998 Jul;53(7):549–553. doi: 10.1136/thx.53.7.549. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Shaheen S., Barker D. J. Early lung growth and chronic airflow obstruction. Thorax. 1994 Jun;49(6):533–536. doi: 10.1136/thx.49.6.533. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Slezak J. A., Persky V. W., Kviz F. J., Ramakrishnan V., Byers C. Asthma prevalence and risk factors in selected Head Start sites in Chicago. J Asthma. 1998;35(2):203–212. doi: 10.3109/02770909809068208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Stein C. E., Kumaran K., Fall C. H., Shaheen S. O., Osmond C., Barker D. J. Relation of fetal growth to adult lung function in south India. Thorax. 1997 Oct;52(10):895–899. doi: 10.1136/thx.52.10.895. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Witteman A. M., Stapel S. O., Perdok G. J., Sjamsoedin D. H., Jansen H. M., Aalberse R. C., van der Zee J. S. The relationship between RAST and skin test results in patients with asthma or rhinitis: a quantitative study with purified major allergens. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1996 Jan;97(1 Pt 1):16–25. doi: 10.1016/s0091-6749(96)70278-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES