Work

Barker's Hypothesis Among the Global Poor: Positive Long-Term Cardiovascular Effects of in Utero Famine Exposure

Year: 2023

Type: article

Study design: Observational Study

Abstract: An influential literature on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) has documented that poor conditions in utero lead to higher risk of cardiovascular disease at older ages. Evidence from low-income countries (LICs) has hitherto been missing, despite the fact that adverse in utero conditions are far more common in LICs. We find that Malawians exposed in utero to the 1949 Nyasaland famine have better cardiovascular health 70 years later. These findings highlight the potential context specificity of the DOHaD hypothesis, with in utero adversity having different health implications among aging LIC individuals who were exposed to persistent poverty.

Source: Demography

DOI: 10.1215/00703370-11052790

Authors: Alberto Ciancio, Jere Behrman, Fabrice Kämpfen, Iliana V. Kohler, Jürgen Maurer, Victor Mwapasa, Hans-Peter Kohler

Institutions: University of Glasgow, University of Pennsylvania, University College Dublin, University of Lausanne, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Birth, Development, and Health

Subfield: Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,750

Funders: University of Pennsylvania, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: Role of androgens in age-related changes in pain and analgesia, G1291516716, G173820591, G1986082274, G2540738987, Center on the Demography and Economics of Aging, G305460171, G325371626, G3479276667, G3659334525, Leveraging Social Networks and Linkage to Care to Foster Healthy Aging in a Low-Income Context, G4011386048, Inclusive Social protection for chronic health problems, G6820892816, The Benefits of Knowledge: Mortality Risks, Mental health and Life-Cycle Behaviors, G8601298947, G9000069315

OpenAlex ID: W4388490509

FWCI: 2.607

Cites: 43

Cited by: 8

Related to: 10