Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

Table of Contents - 2010 - Volume 1, Issue 01  

Cambridge Journals Online - CUP Full-Text Page
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (2010), 1:26-34 Cambridge University Press
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2009
doi:10.1017/S2040174409990031

Original Article

Lingering prenatal effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic on cardiovascular disease

B. Mazumdera1, D. Almonda2, K. Parka3, E. M. Crimminsa4 and C. E. Fincha4 c1

a1 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
a2 Department of Economics and SIPA, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
a3 Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
a4 Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Article author query
mazumder b [Google Scholar]
almond d [Google Scholar]
park k [Google Scholar]
crimmins em [Google Scholar]
finch ce [Google Scholar]

Abstract

Prenatal exposure to the 1918 influenza pandemic (Influenza A, H1N1 subtype) is associated with xs2A7E20% excess cardiovascular disease at 60 to 82 years of age, relative to cohorts born without exposure to the influenza epidemic, either prenatally or postnatally (defined by the quarter of birth), in the 1982–1996 National Health Interview Surveys of the USA. Males showed stronger effects of influenza on increased later heart disease than females. Adult height at World War II enlistment was lower for the 1919 birth cohort than for those born in adjacent years, suggesting growth retardation. Calculations on the prevalence of maternal infections indicate that prenatal exposure to even uncomplicated maternal influenza may have lasting consequences later in life. These findings suggest novel roles for maternal infections in the fetal programming of cardiovascular risk factors that are independent of maternal malnutrition.

(Received May 18 2009)

(Revised July 03 2009)

(Accepted August 06 2009)

(Online publication October 01 2009)

Key words1918 influenza; cardiovascular disease; maternal infection; prenatal.

Correspondence:

c1 Address for correspondence: C. E. Finch, Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. (Email cefinch@usc.edu)

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