# Gestational exposure to the great Chinese famine: early life undernutrition impact on prostatic hyperplasia in adulthood

## TL;DR

This study finds that being born during a severe famine in China may increase the risk of developing prostate enlargement in adulthood.

## Contribution

The study identifies early-life famine exposure as an independent risk factor for benign prostatic hyperplasia in Chinese men.

## Key findings

- Heavy famine exposure was associated with a higher incidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
- Age and famine exposure remained independent risk factors for BPH after multivariate analysis.
- Lower uric acid levels were found to be a protective factor against BPH.

## Abstract

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a frequent illness in aged men that impacts their quality of life; early childhood exposure to famines may have long-term effects on the chance of developing BPH. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between early-life famine exposure and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) risk in Chinese men born during 1959–1961.

We used medical records from a large, comprehensive hospital to screen people born in China during the years of famine (1959–1961). Birthplaces were identified as indicators of famine exposure status. In the time window between 2017 and 2022, people born during the famine years who had prostatic ultrasonic examinations were selected, and their medical records were retrieved from the database. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses investigated the relationship between famine exposure and BPH risk.

A total of 3,009 subjects were included in this study. Patients with heavy famine exposure had older age, shorter height, lighter weight, lower cholesterol, lower uric acid (UA), lower aspartate aminotransferase (ALT), and a higher incidence of BPH than those with light famine exposure (all p < 0.05). Univariate logistic regression showed that BPH was positively related to famine exposure, age, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) but negatively related to UA (all p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that age and famine exposure were still independent risk factors (p < 0.05), while UA was an independent protective factor for BPH (p < 0.05). Heavy famine exposure increased the risk of BPH (adjusted OR = 1.214, 95% CI = 1.05–1.467, p = 0.045).

Famine and malnutrition exposure during early life may be independent risk factors for BPH in Chinese adults. This relationship provides additional evidence to support the fetal origins of adult diseases and offers clues for the pathological mechanisms of BPH.