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According to several studies, malnutrition during pregnancy can increase the chances of developing type 2 diabetes in later life. According to a 2013 study by Peter Klimek and his team, people born during the famine had more than twice the risk of diabetes, compared to those born a year earlier or later.
In a recent study, Klimek and his team were able to measure for the first time not only the incidence, or number of new cases, but also the total number (prevalence) of diabetes patients. “Among men born during the two most severe famine periods, 1939 and 1946/1947, the rate of new cases of diabetes is 78 percent higher in 2013 to 2017 than comparable years, and up to 59 percent higher among women.” Klimek of the Complexity Science Hub and the Vienna Medical University explains. Its effect is greatest among people born in 1939.
The incidence rate increased from 3.9 percent to 6.9 percent in men and from 3.4 percent to 5.4 percent in women. Additionally, the incidence of concomitant conditions such as heart failure, arterial hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and kidney disease increased in both groups.
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Scientists believe that this is the result of genetic programming that occurs during pregnancy, which increases the risk of these diseases. As a result of the deficiency, the metabolism of the unborn child adjusts to a nutritionally poor environment. If this does not hold true later in life, a malformation sets in that leads to an increase in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in these birth cohorts.
“One of the strengths of our study is the new, large dataset on which it is based,” says Klimek. It covers 99.9 percent of the Austrian population between 2012 and 2017, and all insured patients over 50 and under 100 were examined. Of these approximately 3.5 million people, 746,184 were treated for diabetes. The comprehensive dataset allowed the researchers to directly measure age-specific and regional incidence rates for entire populations, without the additional assumptions required for modeling.
“Our results clearly demonstrate that public health efforts to combat diabetes should not focus solely on lifestyle factors. Along with the importance of reproductive health, adequate nutrition during pregnancy and the postpartum period should also be considered, Klimek said.
