How are famine and type 2 diabetes linked? Scientists study development of disease among people born during Holodomor

Seventy years on from the Holodomor of 1932-1933, people who starved while in the womb during the Soviet-orchestrated famine are more than twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Source: a joint study by American scientists and scientists from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, published in the journal Science; MedicalXpress

Details: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that prevents the body from producing enough insulin or using it effectively.

The scientists studied over 128,000 cases of type 2 diabetes diagnosed in 2000-2008 among more than 10.1 million men and women born between 1930 and 1938.

An average of 28,000 people per day died in Ukraine at the peak of the Holodomor in June 1933 – that is 1,167 deaths per hour or 19 per minute.

The famine resulted in life expectancies of only 7.2 years for girls and 4.3 years for boys for those born in 1933.

The study found that people who were exposed to famine when their mothers were in early pregnancy were twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as those who received adequate nutrition.

Although the study participants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2000-2008 may have been overweight or obese and have other risk factors for the disease, famine exposure is the dominant factor.

"The study underscores the necessity for a comprehensive health care and policy framework that takes into account the lasting effects of early-life adversities on population health and their long-term repercussions on chronic diseases and mental health. This awareness should prompt a proactive approach among policy-makers and public health officials to anticipate the increased health care needs among populations affected by national disasters," said L.H. Lumey, M.D., professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Public Health.

In addition, the results of the study highlight the importance of developing ways of preventing events like the Holodomor from recurring.

"The three-month siege in 2022 of the city of Mariupol during the current war in Ukraine to starve the population into surrender serves as a reminder of a current and real danger. The blockade of Ukrainian ports to prevent the export of Ukrainian grain to developing countries in Africa and Asia, has increased the danger of starvation for millions of persons in these countries," said Dr Wolowyna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The UN estimates that one in four children under five globally has a diet so restricted that it is likely to harm their growth and brain development.

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