Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel.
School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel.
Maturitas. 2020 Nov;141:26-32. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.06.020. Epub 2020 Jun 25.
Early-life adversity, including food deprivation, has been linked with late-life cognitive function. Our aim was to explore the association between the early experience of hunger (the age at which it was experienced and its duration) and cognitive performance and decline among older Europeans.
Our sample comprised dementia-free individuals aged ≥65 years who participated in waves 3 and 4 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Information on periods of hunger during the life course was gathered in wave 3 (2009; SHARELIFE). Cognitive performance was assessed using tests of memory, verbal fluency and numeracy in waves 4 (2011) and 5 (2013). Regression models were used to assess the relationship between the experience of hunger at different ages and its duration and cognitive performance and decline while adjusting for age, sex, education, lifestyle and health factors.
Among a sample of 2131 individuals (mean age = 76.2 years; 50 % women), the experience of hunger when aged 0-4 years was associated with poorer immediate and delayed recall, fluency and impaired numeracy factors (B±SE=-0.58 ± 0.12; p < 0.001; B±SE=-0.74 ± 0.13; p < 0.001, B±SE=-1.60 ± 0.42; p < 0.001 and OR [95 % CI] = 0.57 [0.42-0.79], respectively). These results attenuated after controlling for duration of the experience of hunger but remained significant for immediate and delayed recall. The experience of hunger at ages 12-18 years was associated with better immediate recall, delayed recall and fluency (B±SE = 0.38 ± 0.15; p = 0.010; B±SE = 0.37 ± 0.17; p = 0.026, B±SE = 1.57 ± 0.53; p = 0.003, respectively). The associations of hunger with cognitive decline were similar but less robust.
Our findings suggest that severe nutritional deprivation in early childhood may be associated with poor cognitive function in later life, while food deprivation in later childhood and adolescence may be protective.
包括食物剥夺在内的早期生活逆境与晚年认知功能有关。我们的目的是探讨老年人早期饥饿经历（经历的年龄及其持续时间）与认知表现和下降之间的关系。
我们的样本包括参加欧洲健康、衰老和退休调查（SHARE）第 3 波和第 4 波的≥65 岁无痴呆症个体。在第 3 波（2009 年；SHARELIFE）期间收集了生命过程中饥饿时期的信息。在第 4 波（2011 年）和第 5 波（2013 年）使用记忆、语言流畅性和计算能力测试评估认知表现。在调整年龄、性别、教育、生活方式和健康因素后，使用回归模型评估在不同年龄经历饥饿及其持续时间与认知表现和下降之间的关系。
在 2131 名个体的样本中（平均年龄 76.2 岁；50%为女性），0-4 岁时经历饥饿与即时和延迟回忆、流畅性和受损的计算能力因素较差相关（B±SE=-0.58±0.12；p<0.001；B±SE=-0.74±0.13；p<0.001，B±SE=-1.60±0.42；p<0.001 和 OR [95%CI]分别为 0.57 [0.42-0.79]）。在控制饥饿持续时间后，这些结果减弱，但即时和延迟回忆仍有显著意义。12-18 岁时经历饥饿与即时回忆、延迟回忆和流畅性较好相关（B±SE=0.38±0.15；p=0.010；B±SE=0.37±0.17；p=0.026，B±SE=1.57±0.53；p=0.003，分别）。饥饿与认知下降的关联相似，但较弱。
我们的研究结果表明，儿童早期严重的营养剥夺可能与晚年认知功能较差有关，而儿童后期和青春期的食物剥夺可能具有保护作用。
