Research
Mixed
Prenatal exposure to famine at the height of the famine (conception period) is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia in the offspring.
This finding suggests that severe maternal malnutrition during the peri-conceptional period may disrupt early neurodevelopment, increasing the risk of schizophrenia. It underscores the importance of optimal nutrition before and during early pregnancy for long-term mental health.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The best known finding from these studies is the increased risk of schizophrenia among the birth cohort conceived at the height of the famine
Why this rating
Based on psychiatric registries and military records, replicated in other famines.
Source
Cohort Profile: The Dutch Hunger Winter Families Study
L. H. Lumey et al. · International Journal of Epidemiology · 2007
DOI 10.1093/ije/dym126
cohort · n=3307Cited 380×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Prenatal exposure to severe famine during the third trimester of gestation causes a significant reduction in birth weight, whereas exposure during the first trimester is associated with an increase in birth weight.Strong
- Prenatal exposure to famine during early and mid-gestation is associated with a doubling of the prevalence of obesity in adulthood.Good
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