Primal Health Databank: Study
| Entry No: | 0127 |
| Title: | Glucose tolerance in adults after prenatal exposure to famine |
| Author(s): | Ravelli ACJ, Van Der Meulen, et al. |
| Reference: | Lancet 1998; 351: 173-77 |
| Place of Study: | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Abstract: | Glucose tolerance was investigated in people born around the time of famine in the Netherlands between 1944 and 1945. 702 people born between November 1st 1943 and February 28th 1947 in Amsterdam were included in the study. Three groups of subjects were included in the study. The participants in the first group were exposed to famine during their fetal life. The second group of participants were born in the year before the famine. The third group were conceived after the famine. For all the subjects there were detailed prenatal and birth records. Glucose concentrations were increased two hours after a standard glucose load among exposed participants and were highest in men and women exposed during mid and late gestation. The conclusion of the authors is that prenatal exposure to famine is linked to decreased glucose tolerance in adults. Poor nutrition in utero may lead to permanent changes in insulin glucose metabolism even if the effect of fetal growth is small. |
| Keyword(s): | diabetes, diabetes type 2, famine, fetal growth, glucose tolerance, obesity, starvation |
| Discussion: | This study completes a previous study published as early as 1976. The conclusion of the first study was that men that spent their fetal life during the famine were more at risk of becoming obese. See entry 0107. This study also completes studies establishing correlations between low birth weight and non-insulin dependant diabetes. See in particular entry 0082. The authors of this study did not take into account two previous negative studies when interpretting their results. See in particular entries 0219 and 0107. |
| See Also: | 0107, 0082, 0219, 0107 |
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