Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Archives of Osteoporosis
Published in: Archives of Osteoporosis 1/2023

01-12-2023 | Osteoporosis | Original Article

Association of early-life famine exposure with low bone mass in adulthood

Authors: Wenting Qi, Lijia Cui, Xiangjun Yin, Wei Yu, Nan Zhao, Lin Chen, Shunyu Tang, Hua Lin, Lu Cui, Xiaolan Jin, Zhongjian Xie, Ning Jiang, Steven R. Cummings, Zhixin Li, Linhong Wang, Weibo Xia

Published in: Archives of Osteoporosis | Issue 1/2023

Login to get access

Abstract

Summary

Famine exposure in early life has been found to have a long-term effect on metabolic diseases, but its effect on bone health was not clear. In this study, we found women, who suffered from famine exposure during their childhood or adolescence period, had significantly decreased BMD at several skeletal sites compared to the age-matched non-exposed groups. The risk of clinical fracture was also elevated in adolescence-exposed women.

Purpose

To investigate the correlation between famine exposure at certain stages and bone mass in adulthood.

Methods

We enrolled participants born in 1943–1962 from the China Osteoporosis Prevalence Study (COPS), which were classified into three famine exposure groups according to their birth year: fetal-famine exposure (1959–1962, n = 1693), childhood-famine exposure (1949–1958, n = 5557), and adolescence-famine exposure (1943–1948, n = 1530). We also selected age-balanced non-exposed participants as the control groups for men and women separately. Bone mineral density (BMD) and vertebral fractures (VFs) were measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and X-ray, respectively. The associations of famine exposure in early life with BMD were assessed via multiple linear regression. Logistic regression was performed to examine the association of famine exposure in early life with fracture risk with adjustments for covariates.

Results

In women, the childhood-exposed and adolescence-exposed groups had significantly decreased BMD at several skeletal sites compared to the age-matched non-exposed groups. No significant decreased BMD was found in the fetal-exposed groups compared to the non-exposed groups in both sexes. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that famine exposure during childhood and adolescence was negatively associated with BMD at the femoral neck after adjusting for covariates in women. The risk of clinical fracture was also elevated in adolescence-exposed women.

Conclusion

Famine exposure during early life especially childhood and adolescence is associated with decreased bone mass in adulthood in women but did not affect bone mass in men.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
2.
Looker AC, SarafraziIsfahani N, Fan B, Shepherd JA (2017) Trends in osteoporosis and low bone mass in older US adults, 2005–2006 through 2013–2014. Osteoporos Int 28:1979–1988CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
3.
Haussler B, Gothe H, Gol D, Glaeske G, Pientka L, Felsenberg D (2007) Epidemiology, treatment and costs of osteoporosis in Germany–the BoneEVA Study. Osteoporos Int 18:77–84CrossRefPubMed
4.
5.
Wang N, Wang X, Han B et al (2015) Is exposure to famine in childhood and economic development in adulthood associated with diabetes? J Clin Endocrinol Metab 100:4514–4523CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
6.
Painter RC, Roseboom TJ, Bleker OP (2005) Prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine and disease in later life: an overview. Reprod Toxicol 20:345–352CrossRefPubMed
7.
Marcus EL, Menczel J (2007) Higher prevalence of osteoporosis among female Holocaust survivors. Osteoporos Int 18:1501–1506CrossRefPubMed
8.
Weisz GM, Albury WR (2013) Osteoporosis in survivors of early life starvation. Aust J Prim Health 19:3–6CrossRefPubMed
9.
Kin CF, Shan WS, Shun LJ, Chung LP, Jean W (2007) Experience of famine and bone health in post-menopausal women. Int J Epidemiol 36:1143–1150CrossRefPubMed
10.
Zong L, Cai L, Liang J et al (2019) Exposure to famine in early life and the risk of osteoporosis in adulthood: a prospective study. Endocr Pract 25:299–305CrossRefPubMed
11.
Mu R, Zhang X (2011) Why does the Great Chinese Famine affect the male and female survivors differently? Mortality selection versus son preference. Econ Hum Biol 9:92–105CrossRefPubMed
12.
Jiang H, Yu Y, Li L, Xu W (2021) Exposure to the great famine in early life and the risk of obesity in adulthood: a report based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Nutrients 13(4):1285CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
13.
Wang Y, Wan H, Chen C, Chen Y, Xia F, Han B, Li Q, Wang N, Lu Y (2020) Association between famine exposure in early life with insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction in adulthood. Nutr Diabetes 10:18CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
14.
Lu Y, Mathur AK, Blunt BA, Gluer CC, Will AS, Fuerst TP, Jergas MD, Andriano KN, Cummings SR, Genant HK (1996) Dual X-ray absorptiometry quality control: comparison of visual examination and process-control charts. J Bone Miner Res 11:626–637CrossRefPubMed
15.
Dequeker J, Reeve J, Pearson J et al (1993) Multicentre European COMAC-BME study on the standardisation of bone densitometry procedures. Technol Health Care 1:127–131CrossRefPubMed
16.
Pearson J, Ruegsegger P, Dequeker J et al (1994) European semi-anthropomorphic phantom for the cross-calibration of peripheral bone densitometers: assessment of precision accuracy and stability. Bone Miner 27:109–120CrossRefPubMed
17.
Genant HK, Wu CY, van Kuijk C, Nevitt MC (1993) Vertebral fracture assessment using a semiquantitative technique. J Bone Miner Res 8:1137–1148CrossRefPubMed
18.
(1994) Assessment of fracture risk and its application to screening for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Report of a WHO Study Group. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser 843:1–129
19.
20.
Zemel B (2013) Bone mineral accretion and its relationship to growth, sexual maturation and body composition during childhood and adolescence. World Rev Nutr Diet 106:39–45CrossRefPubMed
21.
Heaney RP, Abrams S, Dawson-Hughes B, Looker A, Marcus R, Matkovic V, Weaver C (2000) Peak bone mass. Osteoporos Int 11:985–1009CrossRefPubMed
22.
Hernandez CJ, Beaupré GS, Carter DR (2003) A theoretical analysis of the relative influences of peak BMD, age-related bone loss and menopause on the development of osteoporosis. Osteoporos Int 14:843–847CrossRefPubMed
23.
24.
Chevalley T, Bonjour JP, Ferrari S, Rizzoli R (2009) The influence of pubertal timing on bone mass acquisition: a predetermined trajectory detectable five years before menarche. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 94:3424–3431CrossRefPubMed
25.
Gilsanz V, Chalfant J, Kalkwarf H, Zemel B, Lappe J, Oberfield S, Shepherd J, Wren T, Winer K (2011) Age at onset of puberty predicts bone mass in young adulthood. J Pediatr 158(100–105):105.e101–102
26.
Silman AJ (2003) Risk factors for Colles’ fracture in men and women: results from the European Prospective Osteoporosis Study. Osteoporos Int 14:213–218CrossRefPubMed
27.
Yoshida S, Ikari K, Furuya T, Toyama Y, Taniguchi A, Yamanaka H, Momohara S (2014) A GC polymorphism associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level is a risk factor for hip fracture in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis: 10-year follow-up of the Institute of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis cohort study. Arthritis Res Ther 16:R75CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Kalichman L, Malkin I, Livshits G, Kobyliansky E (2006) Age at menarche in a Chuvashian rural population. Ann Hum Biol 33:390–397CrossRefPubMed
29.
Elias SG, Keinan-Boker L, Peeters PH, Van Gils CH, Kaaks R, Grobbee DE, Van Noord PA (2004) Long term consequences of the 1944–1945 Dutch famine on the insulin-like growth factor axis. Int J Cancer 108:628–630CrossRefPubMed
30.
Duan L, Yang S, Wang LJ et al (2021) The negative impacts of acromegaly on bone microstructure not fully reversible. Front Endocrinol 12:738895CrossRef
31.
Mitchell DM, Caksa S, Yuan A, Bouxsein ML, Misra M, Burnett-Bowie SM (2018) Trabecular bone morphology correlates with skeletal maturity and body composition in healthy adolescent girls. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 103:336–345CrossRefPubMed
32.
Cooper C, Eriksson JG, Forsen T, Osmond C, Tuomilehto J, Barker DJ (2001) Maternal height, childhood growth and risk of hip fracture in later life: a longitudinal study. Osteoporos Int 12:623–629CrossRefPubMed
33.
34.
Cooper C, Walker-Bone K, Arden N, Dennison E (2000) Novel insights into the pathogenesis of osteoporosis: the role of intrauterine programming. Rheumatology (Oxford) 39:1312–1315CrossRefPubMed
35.
Gordon CM (2003) Normal bone accretion and effects of nutritional disorders in childhood. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 12:137–143CrossRefPubMed
36.
Renner E (1994) Dairy calcium, bone metabolism, and prevention of osteoporosis. J Dairy Sci 77:3498–3505CrossRefPubMed
37.
Li Y, He Y, Qi L, Jaddoe VW, Feskens EJ, Yang X, Ma G, Hu FB (2010) Exposure to the Chinese famine in early life and the risk of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Diabetes 59:2400–2406CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
Metadata
Title
Association of early-life famine exposure with low bone mass in adulthood
Authors
Wenting Qi
Lijia Cui
Xiangjun Yin
Wei Yu
Nan Zhao
Lin Chen
Shunyu Tang
Hua Lin
Lu Cui
Xiaolan Jin
Zhongjian Xie
Ning Jiang
Steven R. Cummings
Zhixin Li
Linhong Wang
Weibo Xia
Publication date
01-12-2023
Publisher
Springer London
Published in
Archives of Osteoporosis / Issue 1/2023
Print ISSN: 1862-3522
Electronic ISSN: 1862-3514
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-022-01209-3

Other articles of this Issue 1/2023

Archives of Osteoporosis 1/2023 Go to the issue

Original Article

Linear growth and relative weight gain in childhood and bone mass in adolescence: findings from the Pelotas (Brazil) 2004 birth cohort

Review Article

Zoledronic acid and denosumab for periprosthetic bone mineral density loss after joint arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Correction

Correction to: Epidemiology of fragility fracture of the pelvic ring: a regional population-based study in Northern Japan

Original Article

Economic evaluation of four treatment strategies for postmenopausal patients with osteoporosis and a recent fracture in mainland China: a cost-effectiveness analysis

Original Article

Effect of different antiretroviral therapy on muscle mass, bone mineral density, and trabecular bone score in Chinese HIV-infected males

Review Article

Global prevalence of osteosarcopenic obesity amongst middle aged and older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis