Publication year: 2011
Source: Social Science & Medicine, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 12 July 2011
France, Portrait , Erica, Teeuwiszen , Dorly, Deeg
Nutritional conditions in early life may causally affect health at older ages. This paper examines the effects of early life exposure to the Dutch famine (Winter 1944-45) on the prevalence of heart diseases, peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) at ages 60-76.Analyses are performed using data from the fifth cycle of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Exposure to the famine is determined by reported place of residence during the Dutch famine, with those living in the cities in the West of the Netherlands defined as exposed (n=278) and those living in the rural areas in the West or…
Highlights: ► In the Netherlands, exposure to severe undernutrition at ages 11-14 is significantly associated with a higher probability of developing Diabetes Mellitus and/or Peripheral Arterial Diseases at ages 60-76. ► The associations are found only in women, but not in men. ► Adolescence may be a critical period with respect to exposure to adverse (nutritional) conditions in the aetiology of Diabetes Mellitus and/or Peripheral Arterial Diseases.