Table 3. Age and sex adjusted hazard rate ratios (HR) for a methylation index according to three time periods of energy restriction in the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer (7.3 years of follow-up).

	Hunger Winter (1944–45)§				War Years (1940–44)§		Economic Depression(1932–40)§
	Non-western *	Western rural	Western city	Western areas combined †	Rural area in 1942 *	Urban area in 1942	Father had a job *	Father did not have a job
Person years at risk	16,894	4483	7630	12,133	12,391	11,737	27,575	3608
Number of genes methylated ‡ :
0–1
Number of cases	102	24	49	73	82	85	171	20
HR (95% CI)	1.00	0.92 (0.58–1.46)	1.06 (0.74–1.50)	1.01 (0.74–1.37)	1.00	0.95 (0.69–1.30)	1.00	0.86 (0.54–1.39)
2–3
Number of cases	107	24	39	63	90	66	180	18
HR (95% CI)	1.00	0.87 (0.55–1.37)	0.82 (0.56–1.19)	0.84 (0.61–1.15)	1.00	0.68 (0.49–0.94)	1.00	0.75 (0.46–1.24)
4–7
Number of cases	84	11	32	43	49	55	122	15
HR (95% CI)	1.00	0.51 (0.27–1.30)	0.83 (0.55–1.26)	0.72 (0.49–1.04)	1.00	1.02 (0.68–1.52)	1.00	0.90 (0.52–1.56)

^*reference category.

^†category created from adding together individuals who lived in a western rural area and a western urban area.

^‡methylation index including the five CIMP markers (CACNA1G, IGF2, NEUROG1, RUNX3, and SOCS1), MLH1, and the APC gene.

§ Hunger Winter: it was assumed that individuals residing in a western area of the Netherlands, especially a western urban area during the Hunger Winter would have experienced the greatest degree of energy restriction; War Years: it was assumed that individuals who resided in an urban area during the mid-point of the War would have experienced the greatest degree of energy restriction; Economic Depression: it was assumed that individuals who had an unemployed father during the Economic Depression would have experienced a higher degree of energy restriction compared to those whose father was employed.