Early-life famine exposure increases the risk of subsequent physical disability: evidence from a national population-based survey.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Due to ethical constraints, famines, which can lead to severe malnutrition, are often viewed as natural experiments to assess the impact of early-life nutritional malnutrition on adverse health outcomes in adulthood. However, evidence regarding the effect of early-life famine exposure on later-life physical disability remains scarce. This study aims to investigate the association between early-life famine exposure and physical disability in the Chinese population.

Methods

This study is based on survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study released in 2018. Famine exposure was determined based on participants' birth years, and all individuals were categorized into four groups: non-exposed, fetal exposed, preschool exposed, and school-age expo

SUBMITTER: Cao S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12283694 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature