Research on the cognition of people exposed to the Chinese famine（1959-1961） in early life

Abstract:

Objective：To study the cognition of people who were exposed to the Chinese famine（1959-1961） in their early life. Methods：From may 2013 to may 2014，718 subjects in health center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University were studied. All subjects were divided into three groups according to the date of birth：subjects who were born before the famine（1956.10.1-1958.9.30） were regarded as G1 group（236 cases）；subjects who were born during the famine（1959.10.1-1961.9.30） were chosen as G2 group（240 cases）；subjects who were born after the famine（1962.10.1-1964.9.30） were chosen as G3 group（242 cases）. The three groups finished auditory verbal learning test-huashan version（AVLT-H），mini-mental state examination（MMSE），Montreal cognitive assessment scale（MoCA），activity of daily living scale（ADL） and the general information survey. The the results were analyzed. Results：There were statistically significant differences in the short term and long term delayed recall，clue memory，recognized memory in AVLT-H，MMSE and MoCA（P=0.000）；the scores were lower in G1 and G2 groups than in G3 group. The preva－lence of MCI was 5.08%，5.00%，3.72% in G1，G2，G3 groups，respectively（G1 vs. G3， ?字2=0.527，P=0.468；G2 vs. G3， ?字2=0.471，P=0.492）. Conclusion：Different periods of early life exposed to the malnourished environment may have influences on the cognition in adulthood. So it is meaningful for these people to take measures to prevent the occurrence of mild cognitive impairment（MCI） and Alzheimer’s disease translated from MCI.