Table 3.
Adult characteristics of the Dutch famine birth cohort study from the age of 50 years, divided in columns based on the gestational period of prenatal famine exposure
| Age | Ref | Adult characteristics | Born before | Late gestation | Mid gestation | Early gestation | Conceived after | Mean (SD) | N |
| 50 | 33 | Coronary heart disease (%) | 3.8 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 8.8§ | 2.6 | 3.3 | 736 |
| 35 | LDL:HDL cholesterol* | 2.91 | 2.82 | 2.69 | 3.26 | 2.94 | 2.90 (1.53) | 704 | |
| 31 | 120 min. Glucose* (mmol/L) | 5.7 | 6.3§ | 6.1§ | 6.1§ | 5.9 | 6.0 (1.4) | 702 | |
| 120 min. insulin* (mmol/L) | 160 | 200§ | 190§ | 207§ | 181 | 181 (2.4) | 694 | ||
| 37 | Fibrinogen (g/l) | 3.02 | 3.05 | 3.05 | 3.21 | 3.10 | 3.07 (0.6) | 725 | |
| Factor VII* (% of standard) | 127.7 | 130.7 | 132.7 | 116.9§ | 132.6 | 129.4 (1.4) | 725 | ||
| 42 | SBP (mm Hg) | 126.0 | 127.4 | 124.8 | 123.4 | 125.1 | 125.5 (15.5) | 739 | |
| DBP (mm Hg) | 86.2 | 86.4 | 84.4 | 84.8 | 85.2 | 85.6 (9.9) | 739 | ||
| 45 | BMI* (kg/m†) | 26.7 | 26.7 | 26.6 | 28.1¶§ | 27.2 | 27.0 (1.2) | 741 | |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 91.8 | 92.4 | 91.0 | 95.6¶§ | 92.5 | 92.3 (13) | 741 | ||
| 41 | Perceived health poor (%) | 4.5 | 6.4 | 3.7 | 10.3§ | 5.3 | 5.5 | 912 | |
| 38 | Microalbuminuria (ACR 2.5) (%) | 8 | 7 | 12§ | 9 | 4 | 7 | 724 | |
| 39 | FEV1/FVC (x100) | 0.72 | 0.72 | 0.72 | 0.72 | 0.74 | 0.72 (0.1) | 726 | |
| Obstructive airways disease (%) | 15.5 | 15.0 | 24.8§ | 23.0 | 17.3 | 18.1 | 726 | ||
| Total IgE* (IU/mL) | 31.0 | 27.2 | 28.9 | 27.9 | 33.1 | 30.4 (4.6) | 726 | ||
| 91 | Mortality 18–50 years (%) | 5.3 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 5.0 | 3.6 | – | 2254 | |
| 58 | 43 | ΔSBP (mm Hg) Stroop response |
19 | 20 | 19 | 23§ | 19 | 20 (16) | 721 |
| 36 | 120 min. glucose* (mmol/L) | 5.8 | 6.2§ | 6.2§ | 6.2§ | 5.9 | 6.0 | 678 | |
| 120 min. insulin* (pmol/L) | 242 | 263§ | 254§ | 269§ | 240 | 249 (2.1) | 672 | ||
| 40 | >39% of energy from fat (%) | 25.9 | 28.7 | 20.2 | 40.7§ | 24.9 | – | 730 | |
| 44 | Stroop Task Score† (% correct) | 42.3 | 36.5 | 40.0 | 27.5§ | 43.9 | 38.5 (55.7) | 714 | |
| AH4 test Score† (% correct) | 70.9 | 72.4 | 71.8 | 76.0 | 73.3 | 72.4 (19.0) | 727 | ||
| Memory task retrieval (%) | 81.8 | 78.5 | 83.2 | 79.7 | 79.6 | 80.7 (19.9) | 583 | ||
| Mirror task errors per round† | 13 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 12 (30) | 643 | ||
| 46 | Breast cancer (%) | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 8.7§ | 0.8 | 3.2 | 475 | |
| 92 | Mortality 18–57 years (%) | 9.1 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 5.9 | – | 2245 | |
| 51 | HADS-A score | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 4.9 (3.1) | 639 | |
| HADS-A ≥8 points (OR) | 1.0 (ref) | 0.7 | 1.1 | 2.7**§ | 1.0 | – | 369 | ||
| HADS-D | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 4.9**§ | 3.6 | 3.2 (3.1) | 369 | ||
| HADS-D ≥8 points (OR) | 1.0 (ref) | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | – | 369 | ||
| 63 | 47 | Overall adult mortality (HR) | 1.0 (ref) | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.9¶§ | 1.0 (ref) | – | 1125 |
| Cardiovascular mortality (HR) | 1.0 (ref) | - (zero deaths) | 0.6 | 4.6¶§ | 1.0 (ref) | – | 1125 | ||
| Cancer mortality (HR) | 1.0 (ref) | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.3¶§ | 1.0 (ref) | – | 1125 | ||
| Breast cancer mortality (HR) | 1.0 (ref) | 2.1 | 1.5 | 8.3¶§ | 1.0 (ref) | – | 1125 | ||
| 68 | 48–50 | ICV (mL) | 1138 | – | – | 1101**§ | 1176 | 1138 (85) | 52 |
| BrainAGE score (years) | −1.81 | – | – | 2.53**§ | 0.53 | – | 52 | ||
| Spatial Coefficient of Variance of a CBF image | 0.60 | – | – | 0.64§ | 0.59 | 0.61 (0.08) | 50 | ||
| 52 | Grip strength (kg) | 46.33 | – | – | 42.1§ | 46.33 | – | 67 | |
| Physical performance score (points) | 9.73 | – | – | 8.9§ | 9.73 | – | 67 | ||
| Transgenerational - F2 offspring of F1¶ | |||||||||
| Age | Ref | Adult characteristics | Born before | Exposure to famine | Conceived after | Mean (SD) | n | ||
| 33 | 53 | Birth weight (grams) | 3476 | 3484 | 3468 | – | 856 | ||
| Ponderal index (kg/m3) | 26.6 | 27.8§ | 26.5 | – | 856 | ||||
| F2 poor health‡ (%) | 16 | 18 | 14 | – | 856 | ||||
| Age | Ref | Adult characteristics | Unexposed to famine | Exposed to famine | Mean (SD) | n | |||
| 35 | 54 | Adult weight (kg) | 78.9 | 79.1 | 79.0 | 209 | |||
| Adult BMI* (kg/m†) | 25.7 | 25.0 | 25.3 | 209 | |||||
| Transgenerational - F2 offspring of F1** | |||||||||
| Age | Ref | Adult characteristics | Born before | Exposure to famine | Conceived after | Mean (SD) | n | ||
| 30 | 53 | Birth weight (grams) | 3304 | 3298 | 856 | – | 640 | ||
| Ponderal index (kg/m3) | 25.9 | 25.9 | 26.3 | – | 640 | ||||
| F2 poor health‡ (%) | 12 | 12 | 8 | – | 640 | ||||
| Age | Ref | Adult characteristics | Unexposed to famine | Exposed to famine | Mean (SD) | n | |||
| 35 | 54 | Adult weight (kg) | 73.5 | 78.8§ | 75.3 | 151 | |||
| Adult BMI* (kg/m†) | 23.8 | 25.2§ | 24.3 | 151 | |||||
*Geometric means (SD).
†Medians (IQR).
‡Congenital: asphyxia, developmental delay, Down syndrome, congenital heart disorders; cardiovascular and metabolic: diabetes, acquired cardiovascular conditions, obesity; psychiatric: schizophrenia, depression, suicide (attempt), drug/alcohol dependency; other: accidental, acquired neurological, autoimmune, respiratory, infectious, neoplastic, dermatological conditions.
§P≤0.05 compared with unexposed (born before and conceived after the famine).
¶Measured both in men and women, results shown here only include sex-specific significant associations (women).
**Measured both in men and women, results shown here only include sex-specific significant associations (men).
BMI, body mass index; CBF, cerebral blood flow; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; FEV1/FVC, forced expiratory volume/forced vital capacity; HADS-A, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety subscale; HADS-D, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression subscale; ICV, intracranial volume; LDL:HDL, low density lipoprotein/high density lipoprotein; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TBV, total brain volume.