Coronary Heart Disease After Prenatal Exposure to the Dutch Famine, 1944-45

Objective: To assess the effect of prenatal exposure to maternal malnutrition on coronary heart disease in people born around the time of the Dutch famine, 1944-45.

Design: The prevalence of coronary heart disease was compared between those exposed to famine in late gestation (n = 120), in mid-gestation (n = 108), or in early gestation (n = 68), and those born in the year before the famine or those conceived in the year after the famine (non-exposed subjects, n = 440).

Setting: Community study.

Patients: Singletons born alive between November 1943 and February 1947 for whom detailed birth records were available.

Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of coronary heart disease, defined as the presence of angina pectoris according to the Rose questionnaire, Q waves on the ECG, or a history of coronary revascularisation.

Results: The prevalence of coronary heart disease was higher in those exposed in early gestation than in non-exposed people (8.8% v 3.2%; odds ratio adjusted for sex 3.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 to 8.1). The prevalence was not increased in those exposed in mid gestation (0.9%) or late gestation (2.5%). People with coronary heart disease tended to have lower birth weights (3215 g v 3352 g, p = 0.13), and smaller head circumferences at birth (32.2 cm v 32.8 cm, p = 0.05), but the effect of exposure to famine in early gestation was independent of birth weight (adjusted odds ratio 3.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 8.8).

Conclusions: Although the numbers are very small, this is the first evidence suggesting that maternal malnutrition during early gestation contributes to the occurrence of coronary heart disease in the offspring.