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Exposure to Chinese famine in early life and the risk of sensory impairment in adulthood

Background Studies have shown that malnutrition in early life has a negative effect on midlife cognitive functions. Little is known, however, about the relationship between early-life malnutrition and visual, hearing or dual sensory impairments in adulthood. This study aims to investigate the association between exposure to the 1959–1961 Chinese famine in early life and sensory impairments in adulthood. Methods A total of 6347 adults born between 1952 and 1964 surveyed in the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were included in this study. The presence of sensory impairments was identified by self-reported assessment of visual and hearing functions. The associations between multi-stage early-life famine exposure and sensory functions were estimated using the multiple generalised linear model. Results Compared with the unexposed group, respondents exposed to famine in the fetal period and late childhood had a significantly higher risk of hearing impairment (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.24; OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.50) and dual sensory impairments (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.11; OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.21), respectively. Furthermore, in severely famine-affected areas, the early, mid and late childhood-exposed groups were more likely to have hearing and dual sensory impairments than the unexposed group. Those associations were not observed in less famine-affected areas. However, no significant association was found between famine exposure and visual impairment in early-life famine-exposed group. Conclusion Exposure to Chinese famine in the fetal period and late childhood was linked to hearing and dual sensory impairments in adulthood.