Review Article

Effect of Exposure to Famine during Early Life on Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Adulthood: A Meta-Analysis

Table 1

Characteristics of studies included for famine exposure and the risk of metabolism syndrome.

First author, yearContinentStudy designAge range
Mean age
(exposed/unexposed)
Definition of MetSStudy size (cases/participants)Famine duration periodsCauses of famineAdjustment for covariates

de Rooij, 2007EuropeCohort58.0NCEP-ATPIII251/7831944-1945WarGender
Guan, 2009AsiaCross-sectional43-53CDS 20041475/149171959-1961Natural disasterAge
Li, 2011AsiaCross-sectional38-50NCEP-ATPIII646/78741959-1961Natural disasterGender, family income, family history of diabetes and hypertension, educational level, current smoking, alcohol use, physical activity level, and BMI
Zheng, 2011AsiaCross-sectional44-51CDS 2004756/50401959-1961Natural disasterAge
Keinan-Boker, 2015AsiaCross-sectional69.4/69.2Metabolic syndrome proxy150/10861940-1945WarGender and age
Wang, 2015AsiaCross-sectional40-55IDFNRa/64451959-1962Natural disasterAge, smoking, rural/urban residence, and economic status
Yu, 2018AsiaCohort49-61IDF2396/79151959-1961Natural disasterGender, education, smoking status, drinking status, physical activity, past history of CHD, family history of hypertension and diabetes, fruit intake, vegetable intake, meat intake, BMI, and famine severity
Han, 2019AsiaCross-sectional53-80NCEP-ATPIIINRa/257081951-1953WarAge, household income, smoking, drinking, and exercise status
Wang, 2019AsiaCross-sectional51.8/54.0/55.5/48.9CDS 2013799/21481959-1961Natural disasterGender, smoking status, drinking status, physical activity level, parents, and their own education level
Ning, 2019AsiaCross-sectional51.3CDS2013/NCEPATPIII/IDF2809/95881959-1961Natural disasterAge, study cohort, residential area, sex, education levels, income levels, current smoking, and current drinking

aNot reported.