Early prenatal exposure to famine increases Type 2 diabetes risk in adulthood, shows study

Prenatal exposure to famine significantly increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in adulthood, according to a new study of people impacted by the 1932-1933 Holodomor famine in Ukraine.

While the immediate and short-term effects of famines on mortality and morbidity are well-documented, deciphering famines’ long-term health consequences-as this study did-has been more difficult. Previous research has suggested a link between prenatal nutrition and adult health outcomes, including metabolic disorders like diabetes. However, these studies were limited by small sample sizes and uncertainties of famine exposure.

The Holodomor famine in Ukraine, which was caused by Soviet policies and resulted in the deaths of millions through extreme food scarcity, presents a unique opportunity to examine this link due to its extreme severity, well-defined time frame, large population size, and extensive documentation. Here, L. H. Lumey and colleagues studied individuals born during this period, investigating how severe nutritional deprivation in early gestation impacts health decades later. Lumey et al. conducted an ecological study using data from 128,225 type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2008 among more than 10 million individuals born in Ukraine between 1930 and 1938.