Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33885932›Full record

ArticleDiabetologia2021

Early-life exposure to the Chinese famine, genetic susceptibility and the risk of type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

Bin Wang, Jing Cheng, Heng Wan, Yuying Wang, Wen Zhang, Yi Chen, Chi Chen, Fangzhen Xia, Michael D Jensen, Ningjian Wang and 1 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Diabetologia, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
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  4. Elevated risk of infectious diseases in adulthood after prenatal or early postnatal exposure to the Great Chinese Famine.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
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  13. Early life programming of health and disease: The long-term consequences of obesity in pregnancy.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2022
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Bin WangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Jing ChengDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Heng WanDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Yuying WangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Wen ZhangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Yi ChenDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Chi ChenDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Fangzhen XiaDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Michael D JensenEndocrine Research Unit, 5-194 Joseph, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
Ningjian WangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. wnj486@126.com.
Yingli LuDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. luyingli2008@126.com.ORCID 0000-0002-5117-1614

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aims/hypothesisEarly famine exposure has been related to the development of type 2 diabetes; however, little is known about whether the genetic background modifies this association. We aimed to investigate the joint effects of famine exposure at different stages of early life and genetic susceptibility on diabetes risk in adulthood.

methodsThe study included 8350 participants from the Survey on Prevalence in East China for Metabolic Diseases and Risk Factors (SPECT-China) who were born around the time of the Chinese Great Famine. We determined famine exposure subgroups according to the birth year as nonexposed (1963-1974), fetal-exposed (1959-1962), childhood-exposed (1949-1958), and adolescence-exposed (1941-1948). We developed a genetic risk score of 21 variants previously associated with type 2 diabetes in East Asians. Hierarchical logistic models were used to examine the association of famine exposure and genetic risk with diabetes.

resultsThe age-standardised prevalence of diabetes in nonexposed, fetal-exposed, childhood-exposed and adolescence-exposed subgroups was 13.0%, 18.2%, 15.1% and 13.2%, respectively. Compared with nonexposed participants, fetal-exposed participants showed an increased risk of diabetes in adulthood (OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.13, 1.93). A higher genetic risk score was associated with an increased risk of diabetes (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.15, 1.31 per SD increment). The association between famine exposure and diabetes was consistent across genetic risk strata (all p for interaction >0.05). When considered jointly, fetal- or childhood-exposed participants at high genetic risk (highest tertile of genetic risk score) had 2.60-fold (95% CI 1.71, 3.93) and 1.95-fold (95% CI 1.24, 3.05) higher risks of diabetes, respectively, compared with nonexposed participants at low genetic risk (lowest tertile). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATIONS: Prenatal exposure to famine was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in Chinese adults independent of genetic risk score using 21 variants common in the East Asian population. Famine exposure and genetic susceptibility may exhibit an additive effect on diabetes development.

Indexed as

Genetic Predisposition to DiseaseAdultAgedAsian PeopleBlood GlucoseChinaDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2Economic StatusFemaleHumansLipidsLogistic ModelsMaleMiddle AgedPolymorphism, Single NucleotidePregnancyBlood GlucoseLipidsEarly-life exposureFamineGenetic variantsInteractionType 2 diabetes

Identifiers

PMID33885932

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.