Table 3. Blood pressure, height and BMI by exposure to the 1959–1961 Chinese Great Famine during fetal development and infancy (<2 years postnatal).
| Exposure to the famine | Not exposed(n = 4872) | Fetal development only(n = 1156) | Infancy only(n = 3126) | Fetal development and infancy(n = 2911) |
| Blood pressure | ||||
| SBP*, mmHg | 124.2±0.4 | 124.9±0.5 | 127.2±0.4τ | 125.7±0.4τ |
| Difference* | reference | 0.7 (−0.2, 1.6) | 3.0 (2.4, 3.6)τ | 1.5 (0.9, 2.2)τ |
| DBP*, mmHg | 80.2±0.3 | 80.9±0.3 | 81.8±0.3 | 80.8±0.3 |
| Difference* | reference | 0.7 (0.2, 1.3)‡ | 1.6 (1.2, 2.0)τ | 0.6 (0.2, 1.0)‡ |
| Hypertension | 539 (11.1) | 144 (12.5) | 605 (19.4)τ | 405 (13.9)τ |
| Crude OR | reference | 1.15 (0.94, 1.40) | 1.91 (1.68, 2.17)τ | 1.31 (1.13, 1.50)τ |
| Adjusted OR* | reference | 1.16 (0.95, 1.42) | 1.83 (1.61, 2.08)τ | 1.31 (1.14, 1.51)τ |
| BMI, * kg/m2, males | 23.3±0.09 | 23.3±0.14 | 23.5±0.10 | 23.2±0.10 |
| Difference* | reference | −0.03 (−0.30, 0.25) | 0.12 (−0.08, 0.31) | −0.18 (−0.38, 0.02) |
| Obesity (≥28 kg/m2) | 140 (5.9) | 34 (5.8) | 89 (5.9) | 61 (4.2)† |
| Crude OR | reference | 0.99 (0.67, 1.45) | 1.00 (0.76, 1.31) | 0.70 (0.52, 0.95)† |
| Adjusted OR* | reference | 1.00 (0.68, 1.47) | 1.02 (0.77, 1.35) | 0.72 (0.53, 0.98)† |
| BMI, * kg/m2, females | 22.6±0.28 | 22.6±0.30 | 22.8±0.28 | 22.7±0.28 |
| Difference* | reference | −0.02 (−0.23, 0.28) | 0.17 (−0.03, 0.38) | 0.12 (−0.09, 0.33) |
| Obesity (≥28 kg/m2) | 133 (5.3) | 32 (5.6) | 107 (6.7) | 94 (6.4) |
| Crude OR | reference | 1.07 (0.72, 1.59) | 1.26 (0.97, 1.64) | 1.23 (0.94, 1.62) |
| Adjusted OR* | reference | 1.08 (0.72, 1.61) | 1.21 (0.93, 1.58) | 1.24 (0.94, 1.63) |
| Height * , cm, males | 168.0±0.2 | 167.5±0.3 | 166.8±0.2τ | 167.2±0.2τ |
| Difference* | reference | −0.5 (−1.0, 0.05) | −1.1 (−1.5, −0.8)τ | −0.8 (−1.1, −0.4)τ |
| Short (<10th percentile) | 212 (9.0) | 64 (11.0) | 203 (13.4) | 137 (9.5) |
| Crude OR | reference | 1.27 (0.94, 1.71) | 1.59 (1.29, 1.95)τ | 1.07 (0.86, 1.35) |
| Adjusted OR* | reference | 1.31 (0.97, 1.76) | 1.57 (1.28, 1.93)τ | 1.12 (0.89, 1.40) |
| Height, * cm, females | 158.7±0.5 | 158.3±0.5 | 157.5±0.5τ | 157.9±0.5τ |
| Difference* | reference | −0.4 (−0.9, 0.1) | −1.2 (−1.5, −0.9)τ | −0.8 (−1.2, −0.5)τ |
| Short (<10th percentile) | 208 (8.3) | 47 (8.2) | 215 (13.4)τ | 153 (10.5)† |
| Crude OR | reference | 1.00 (0.72, 1.39) | 1.71 (1.39, 2.09)τ | 1.28 (1.02, 1.59)† |
| Adjusted OR* | reference | 1.05 (0.75, 1.46) | 1.66 (1.35, 2.04)τ | 1.27 (1.02, 1.59)† |
Data presented are adjusted least square mean±standard error, or adjusted mean difference (95% CI) for continuous outcomes (blood pressure, BMI, height), and n (%) or odds ratio (95% CI) for dichotomous outcomes (hypertension, obesity, short stature).
Adjusted for socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics (see Table 2); for blood pressure and hypertension, further adjusted for short stature and BMI; subjects with anti-hypertensive treatment were included in the models for hypertension, but excluded in the models for SBP and DBP.
p<0.05,
p<0.01,
p<0.001 for comparisons to the non-famine reference cohort. All p values were<0.05 in tests for the overall differences in mean blood pressure or the risk of hypertension across the four study groups.
SBP = systolic blood pressure; DBP = diastolic blood pressure; BMI = Body mass index; OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval.