SynthesisThe journal of nutrition, health & aging2023
Famine Exposure during Early Life and Risk of Cancer in Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Diagnostic performance of GLIM and PG-SGA for malnutrition assessment in adult cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Risk factors for breast cancer: an umbrella review of observational cohort studies and causal relationship analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Association between famine exposure during early life and the risk of hyperuricemia in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC nutrition · 2025Article
- Exposure to the Chinese famine during early life increases the risk of frailty in adulthood: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- Premature Mortality in Patients With Anorexia Nervosa: A Matched Cohort Study of Cause of Death.The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Early-life famine exposure, genetic susceptibility and risk of MAFLD in adulthood.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesEmerging evidences have explored the association between famine exposure during early life and cancer risk in adulthood, but the results remain controversial and inconsistent. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive evidence on the relation of famine exposure to later cancer risk.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis.
methodsRelevant reports published up to March, 2022 were identified by searching PubMed, Embase, Web of sciences and Medline databases. Pooled relative ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the effect famine exposure on cancer risk.
resultsTotally, 18 published articles with 6,061,147 subjects were included in this study. Compared with unexposed group, early life famine exposure dramatically increased the risk of cancer in adulthood (RR=1.13, 95% CI: 1.04-1.22). The pooled RRs were different in terms of sex, exposure severity, exposure period, famine type, study design type and cancer location. A remarkably elevated risk for cancer was discerned in women exposed to famine (RR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.00-1.18), severe exposure (RR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.02-1.22) and adolescence exposure (RR=1.76, 95% CI: 1.02-2.50), Chinese famine exposure (RR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.29-1.82) and cohort studies (RR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.13-1.42). Moreover, a significant association of early-life famine exposure with increased risk of breast (RR=1.16, 95% CI: 1.05-1.27) and stomach cancers (RR=1.89, 95% CI: 1.24-2.54) was observed.
conclusionThis meta-analysis suggests that exposure to famine during early life may increase the risk of cancer in adulthood. The above-mentioned association is pronounced in women exposed to famine, severe exposure, adolescence exposure, Chinese famine, cohort studies, breast and stomach cancers. It is essential for decision-makers to take targeted measures for improving population awareness regarding the long-term effect of early life nutritional status.
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