ArticleThe British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science2018
Early-life exposure to severe famine and subsequent risk of depressive symptoms in late adulthood: the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.
Article in The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association between prenatal famine, DNA methylation and mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical epigenetics · 2023Pooled it
- Research Review: Developmental origins of depression - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2021Pooled it
- The putative role of the microbiota in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders following early childhood malnutrition.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Amino acid and appendicular skeletal muscle mass insufficiency are associated to cognitive decline in Chinese population.GeroScience · 2026Article
- From Plate to Mind: Scientific Perspectives on Foods That May Influence Anxiety and Depression.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Elevated Cumulative Blood Pressure is Associated With Cognitive Decline: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2026Article
- The long-term association of childhood neighborhood quality on cognitive function in later life: the mediating role of domestic violence.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Nutritional interventions for late-life depression: evidence, mechanisms, and clinical assessment tools.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Association of loneliness with incident cardiovascular diseases in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.PloS one · 2026Article
- Association between Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome and Depressive Symptoms in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis.Cardiorenal medicine · 2026Article
- Early-Life famine exposure and the risk of depression and anxiety in adulthood: evidence from the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC).BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Article
- Annual Research Review: Micronutrients and their role in the treatment of paediatric mental illness.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Review
- The association between childhood hunger experiences and health in middle and old age: a longitudinal study over 10 years.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Exposure to Chinese famine in early life and the risk of multimorbidity in adulthood.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Early-life famine exposure and subsequent risk of chronic disease comorbidity in later adulthood: the role of social activities.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- The association of famine exposure with healthy lifestyles at different life stages in rural older adults in China.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The relationship between childhood hunger experiences and activities of daily living disability: a mediating role of depression.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Childhood socio-economic disadvantages versus adverse care experiences: Mediation and moderation impacts on late-life depressive symptoms.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2024Article
- Association between obesity, physical activity, and cognitive decline in Chinese middle and old-aged adults: a mediation analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundThe Chinese Great Famine caused widespread starvation in 1959-1961. Its long-term association with depressive symptoms has not been studied.AimsTo estimate the burden of depressive symptoms and the association of famine exposure with depressive symptoms.
methodThe China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study is a nationwide representative survey of 17 708 Chinese adults aged ≥45. Propensity score matching and modified Poisson regression were used to evaluate the association between self-reported famine exposure in early life and depressive symptoms among the overall participants. Such associations were also assessed by developmental stage using modified Poisson regression and logistic regression.
resultsThe prevalence of depressive symptoms was 26.2% (95% CI 25.1-27.3%) in 2011. As defined by loss of family members because of starvation, 11.6% (95% CI 10.1-13.1%) of this population experienced severe famine. When compared with participants who did not experience starvation, those who had experienced severe famine during fetal, mid-childhood, young-teenage and early-adulthood stages had 1.87 (95% CI 1.36-2.55), 1.54 (95% CI 1.23-1.94), 1.47 (95% CI 1.09-2.00) and 1.77 (95% CI 1.42-2.21) times higher odds of having depressive symptoms in late adulthood, respectively. The first two trimesters of pregnancy were a critical time window during the fetal stage when severe famine had a stronger association with depressive symptoms. Famine during infant, toddler, preschool or teenage stages was not associated with depressive symptoms. Overall, famine contributed to 13.6% of the depressive symptom burden in this population.
conclusionsThe Chinese Great Famine contributed substantially to the burden of depressive symptoms in China.Declaration of interestNone.
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