Liu Ye, Liu Yu, Lu Yuzhu, Li Jiangping, He Shulan
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health and Management, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
Key Laboratory of Environmental Factors and Chronic Disease Control, Yinchuan, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Apr 5;13:812805. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.812805. eCollection 2022.
The effect of early exposure to famine on depression and cognition in adulthood has been shown, but the intergenerational association of famine remain to be explored. This study focused on exploring the association of parental famine exposure with depression and cognition in the offspring.
Based on the Chinese Family Panel Studies database, which is a longitudinal survey, we included 5,150 individuals born between 1959 and 1961 and divided them into fetal-exposed, infancy-exposed (birth year = 1957-1958), school-age-exposed (birth year = 1949-1956), adolescent-exposed (birth year = 1946-1948), and unexposed groups. We used one-way analysis of variance, multiple linear regression, and one follow-up measurement to analyze the association between parental famine exposure and offspring depression and cognitive function.
Compared with the unexposed group, the correlations between parental famine exposure during fetal period and their cognitive function (mother: β = -1.614, 95% CI: -2.535, -0.693; = 0.001; father: β = -2.153, 95% CI: -3.104, -1.202, < 0.001) were significant. For the offspring, there was a negative correlation between famine exposure of fathers during the fetal period and depression in their offspring (β = -0.477, 95% CI: -0.907, -0.047; = 0.030). There was a negative correlation between maternal famine exposure during the infant and adolescent period and cognitive function in the offspring (math test: β = -0.730, 95% CI: -1.307, -0.153; = 0.013; word test: β = -2.346, 95% CI: -4.067, -0.625; = 0.008).
Not all variables related to depression and cognition function were included in the CFPS database, and the other unknown or unmeasured confounders may explain our results.
早期暴露于饥荒对成年期抑郁和认知的影响已得到证实，但饥荒的代际关联仍有待探索。本研究聚焦于探讨父母暴露于饥荒与子代抑郁和认知之间的关联。
基于中国家庭追踪调查数据库（一项纵向调查），我们纳入了1959年至1961年出生的5150名个体，并将他们分为胎儿期暴露组、婴儿期暴露组（出生年份 = 1957 - 195８年）、学龄期暴露组（出生年份 = 1949 - 1956年）、青少年期暴露组（出生年份 = 1946 - 1948年）和未暴露组。我们使用单因素方差分析、多元线性回归和一次随访测量来分析父母暴露于饥荒与子代抑郁和认知功能之间的关联。
与未暴露组相比，胎儿期父母暴露于饥荒与其认知功能之间的相关性显著（母亲：β = -1.614，95%可信区间：-2.535，-0.693；P = 0.001；父亲：β = -2.153，95%可信区间：-3.104，-1.202，P < 0.001）。对于子代，父亲在胎儿期暴露于饥荒与其子代抑郁之间存在负相关（β = -0.477，95%可信区间：-0.907，-0.047；P = 0.030）。母亲在婴儿期和青少年期暴露于饥荒与子代认知功能之间存在负相关（数学测试：β = -0.730，95%可信区间：-1.307，-0.153；P = 0.013；词汇测试：β = -2.346，95%可信区间：-4.067，-0.625；P = 0.008）。
中国家庭追踪调查数据库未纳入所有与抑郁和认知功能相关的变量，其他未知或未测量的混杂因素可能解释我们的研究结果。
