Rencheng Zhao1, Xiaoyu Duan2, Ying Wu3, Qi Zhang4, Yongjie Chen5. 1. Department of Chronic Non-communicable Diseases, Baoan Chronic Diseases Prevent and Cure Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. 2. Department of Urology Surgery, People's Hospital of Henan Province, No.7 Weiwu Road, Zhengzhou, Henan province, China. 3. State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Department of Biostatistics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China. 4. Department of Biostatistics, Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, 157 Baojian Road, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China. 5. Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. Electronic address: chenyongjie@tmu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Undernutrition in early life may have a lifelong effect on adult health. The conclusions on the association of exposure to famine with the risk of hypertension were inconsistent. The aim of this study was to examine the association of exposure to the Chinese famine with incident hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were obtained from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. All included participants were divided into five birth cohorts: no exposure, born in or after 1962 (N = 2 088); fetal exposure, between 1959 and 1961 (N = 880); early childhood exposure, between 1956 and 1958 (N = 1 214); mid-childhood exposure, between 1953 and 1955 (N = 1 287); and late childhood exposure, between 1949 and 1952 (N = 1 445). Hypertension was defined as SBP/DBP ≥140/90 mmHg, use of hypertensive medications, or a self-reported diagnosis. A total of 6 914 participants were included. The exposure to famine decreased the incidence of hypertension (P = 0.0018, 0.0001, <0.0001, and <0.0001; HR: 0.715, 0.686, 0.622, and 0.527, respectively) in males. Similarly, the exposure to famine might also decrease incident hypertension in the rural areas (P = 0.0013, <0.0001, <0.0001, and <0.0001; HR: 0.735, 0.706, 0.679, and 0.539, respectively). There were interaction effects between famine severity and exposure to famine in early (P = 0.024) and late childhood (P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Exposure to the Chinese famine decreased the incidence of hypertension, especially in males and in the rural areas. Furthermore, the exposure postponed the age at the onset of hypertension.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Undernutrition in early life may have a lifelong effect on adult health. The conclusions on the association of exposure to famine with the risk of hypertension were inconsistent. The aim of this study was to examine the association of exposure to the Chinese famine with incident hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were obtained from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. All included participants were divided into five birth cohorts: no exposure, born in or after 1962 (N = 2 088); fetal exposure, between 1959 and 1961 (N = 880); early childhood exposure, between 1956 and 1958 (N = 1 214); mid-childhood exposure, between 1953 and 1955 (N = 1 287); and late childhood exposure, between 1949 and 1952 (N = 1 445). Hypertension was defined as SBP/DBP ≥140/90 mmHg, use of hypertensive medications, or a self-reported diagnosis. A total of 6 914 participants were included. The exposure to famine decreased the incidence of hypertension (P = 0.0018, 0.0001, <0.0001, and <0.0001; HR: 0.715, 0.686, 0.622, and 0.527, respectively) in males. Similarly, the exposure to famine might also decrease incident hypertension in the rural areas (P = 0.0013, <0.0001, <0.0001, and <0.0001; HR: 0.735, 0.706, 0.679, and 0.539, respectively). There were interaction effects between famine severity and exposure to famine in early (P = 0.024) and late childhood (P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Exposure to the Chinese famine decreased the incidence of hypertension, especially in males and in the rural areas. Furthermore, the exposure postponed the age at the onset of hypertension.
Authors: Zhongjian Su; Xing Zhang; Nan Zheng; Ying Xiao; Xingzhu Liu; Yanfei Yang; Lili Deng; Yanfei Chen; Bin Li Journal: J Int Med Res Date: 2021-05 Impact factor: 1.671