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PubMed1988

Vitamin A supplementation for refugees and famine victims.

Reports about recent famine victims and refugees have described the occurrence of xerophthalmia and resultant blindness related to severe vitamin A deficiency. These populations are subject to high prevalences of childhood protein-energy malnutrition and infectious diseases, pre-existing marginal vitamin A status, and inadequate levels of vitamin A in relief rations. In order to prevent unnecessary morbidity and mortality when any of these risk factors arise, famine victims or refugees should receive vitamin A supplements as an early and essential component of the nutritional support provided by relief agencies. Such supplementation should not await the results of nutrition or blindness surveys but rather should be a standard component of the maternal and child health care provided to the affected population until sufficiency of dietary vitamin A has been clearly established.

Child↗
PubMed1991

The demographic responses to famine: the case of China 1958-61.

The author uses recently available official data from China to examine the demographic impact of the previously unpublicized famine that occurred during the period 1958-1961, after the Communists came to power. "Over the four years..., China suffered some 25-30 million more deaths and experienced some 30-35 million fewer births than might have been expected under normal conditions."

Asia↗
PubMed1992

Famine-affected, refugee, and displaced populations: recommendations for public health issues.

During the past three decades, the most common emergencies affecting the health of large populations in developing countries have involved famine and forced migrations. The public health consequences of mass population displacement have been extensively documented. On some occasions, these migrations have resulted in extremely high rates of mortality, morbidity, and malnutrition. The most severe consequences of population displacement have occurred during the acute emergency phase, when relief efforts are in the early stage. During this phase, deaths--in some cases--were 60 times the crude mortality rate (CMR) among non-refugee populations in the country of origin (1). Although the quality of international disaster response efforts has steadily improved, the human cost of forced migration remains high. Since the early 1960s, most emergencies involving refugees and displaced persons have taken place in less developed countries where local resources have been insufficient for providing prompt and adequate assistance. The international community's response to the health needs of these populations has been at times inappropriate, relying on teams of foreign medical personnel with little or no training. Hospitals, clinics, and feeding centers have been set up without assessment of preliminary needs, and essential prevention programs have been neglected. More recent relief programs, however, emphasize a primary health care (PHC) approach, focusing on preventive programs such as immunization and oral rehydration therapy (ORT), promoting involvement by the refugee community in the provision of health services, and stressing more effective coordination and information gathering. The PHC approach offers long-term advantages, not only for the directly affected population, but also for the country hosting the refugees. A PHC strategy is sustainable and strengthens the national health development program.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Schizophrenia after prenatal famine. Further evidence.

BACKGROUND: Suggestive findings of an earlier study that prenatal nutritional deficiency was a determinant of schizophrenia prompted us to undertake a second test of the hypothesis using more precise data on both exposure and outcome. METHODS: Among persons born in the cities of western Netherlands during 1944 through 1946, we compared the risk for schizophrenia in those exposed and unexposed during early gestation to the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944/1945. The frequency of hospitalized patients with schizophrenia at age 24 to 48 years in the exposed and unexposed birth cohorts was ascertained from a national psychiatric registry. RESULTS: The most exposed birth cohort, conceived at the height of the famine, showed a twofold and statistically significant increase in the risk for schizophrenia (relative risk [RR] = 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2 to 3.4; P < .01) in both men (RR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.0 to 3.7; P = .05) and women (RR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.0 to 4.7; P = .04). Among all birth cohorts of 1944 through 1946, the risk for schizophrenia clearly peaked in this exposed cohort. CONCLUSION: Prenatal nutritional deficiency may play a role in the origin of some cases of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Famine, revolt, and the dynastic cycle: population dynamics in historic China.

"Historians have long noticed that population declines in ancient China often coincided with dynasty changes, and that most of these declines were the result of internecine wars which, in turn, were often initiated by famine or density pressure. Since the interactions between density pressure, internecine wars, and dynasty changes cannot be explained by the traditional age-specific density-dependent population structure, we propose to use a bandit/peasant/ruler occupation-specific population model to interpret the dynamic socio-economic transitions of ancient Chinese population, and provide econometric support to our model. We also highlight the rich dynamics of the composition of human population, a factor which was often neglected in previous research on general populations."

Asia↗
PubMed1986

Coexistence of incompatible plasmids in a bacterial population living under a feast and famine regime.

A model is formulated to examine the possibility of (co)existence of plasmids of the same incompatibility and surface exclusion group in a bacterial population living under a feast-and-famine regime. The condition is given under which a growth rate decreasing plasmid can invade a bacterial population. It appears that in case only one plasmid type is present, the frequency of plasmid bearers will tend to a stable equilibrium if the food supply at each growth site gets exhausted and if both plasmid-free and plasmid-bearing bacteria need an equal quantity of food per cell division. If these two conditions are not satisfied, the frequency of plasmid-bearers might oscillate. Two plasmids will sometimes be able to coexist, but only if they follow different survival strategies; one with a high conjugational transfer rate and a lower fitness of its host, and the other with a low transfer rate and a higher host fitness. Coexistence of three plasmids of the same surface exclusion group is impossible.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMed2005

Mitochondrial genome sequences and molecular evolution of the Irish potato famine pathogen, Phytophthora infestans.

The mitochondrial genomes of haplotypes of the Irish potato famine pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, were sequenced. The genome sizes were 37,922, 39,870 and 39,840 bp for the type Ia, IIa and IIb mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes, respectively. The mitochondrial genome size for the type Ib haplotype, previously sequenced by others, was 37,957 bp. More than 90% of the genome contained coding regions. The GC content was 22.3%. A total of 18 genes involved in electron transport, 2 RNA-encoding genes, 16 ribosomal protein genes and 25 transfer RNA genes were coded on both strands with a conserved arrangement among the haplotypes. The type I haplotypes contained six unique open reading frames (ORFs) of unknown function while the type II haplotypes contained 13 ORFs of unknown function. Polymorphisms were observed in both coding and non-coding regions although the highest variation was in non-coding regions. The type I haplotypes (Ia and Ib) differed by only 14 polymorphic sites, whereas the type II haplotypes (IIa and IIb) differed by 50 polymorphic sites. The largest number (152) of polymorphic sites was found between the type IIb and Ia haplotypes. A large spacer flanked by the genes coding for tRNA-Tyr (trnY) and the small subunit RNA (rns) contained the largest number of polymorphic sites and corresponds to the region where a large indel that differentiates type II from type I haplotypes is located. The size of this region was 785, 2,666 and 2,670 bp in type Ia, IIa and IIb haplotypes, respectively. Among the four haplotypes, 81 mutations were identified. Phylogenetic and coalescent analysis revealed that although the type I and II haplotypes shared a common ancestor, they clearly formed two independent lineages that evolved independently. The type II haplotypes diverged earlier than the type I haplotypes. Thus our data do not support the previous hypothesis that the type II lineages evolved from the type I lineages. The type I haplotypes diverged more recently and the mutations associated with the evolution of the Ia and Ib types were identified.

Evolution, Molecular↗
PubMed1995

Timing of prenatal starvation in women and birth weight in their first and second born offspring: the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the long-term effects of severe in utero maternal undernutrition on offspring birth weight. STUDY DESIGN: Birth weights were analyzed of 575 first born and 454 second born offspring of 683 women born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at the time of a severe famine at the end of World War II. In utero maternal undernutrition was defined separately for each pregnancy trimester by an average daily nutrition ration (supplied to the grandmother) of less than 1000 calories in that trimester of pregnancy. RESULTS: Compared to controls, birth weights of first born infants of women prenatally exposed in the first trimester of pregnancy were 73 g heavier (95% CI: -64, 210), and birth weights of second born infants were 96 g lighter (95% CI: -249, 58). Birth weights of infants of women exposed in the second or third trimester were much closer to controls. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial (200 g or more) impact of severe in utero maternal undernutrition on OBW can be ruled out. There may, however, be parity specific, moderate (50-100 g) effects of maternal undernutrition early in pregnancy on OBW. This suggestion requires confirmation in other populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Toxicity of plant material used as emergency food during famines in Finland.

The use of natural plants as emergency food in Finland and northern Europe has been described. The chemical contents of the commonly used "pettu" (pine bark), lichen (Cetraria islandica, Cladonia sp.) and water plants (Calla palustris, Menyathes trifoliata, Nymphea sp. and Nuphar luteum) are described and their toxicity after traditional pretreatments were studied in mice and rats. As 50% w/w mixture in normal food none of them were tolerated by mice. However, rats tolerated 25% of "pettu" and ash-treated C. islandica in 3-month tests rather well, although the body weight did not increase as much as in controls. At the end of experiment in the lichen group, the rats had proteinuria, and on autopsy some tubular changes were found probably due to high concentrations of lead in the lichen and kidneys. All the rhizomes studied contain toxic compounds, but they, particularly calla, would be nutritionally valuable. Boiling poorly eliminated their toxicity, but after baking at 180-200 degrees C the most toxic Nuphar and calla were well tolerated as 25% mixture during a 6-week test. It is possible that poorly selected or poorly pretreated emergency food have sometimes contributed to the death of famine victims in the olden times. Unqualified simplification of the traditional precautions for their treatment may be dangerous.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Longevity, lipotoxicity and leptin: the adipocyte defense against feasting and famine.

In this review, we propose that actions of the lipid-lowering, apoptosis-inhibiting effects of certain "longevity genes" oppose the life-shortening consequences of lipotoxicity and lipoapoptosis. We note that lipotoxicity occurs whenever leptin action is deficient, or whenever satiety is overridden, as in forced or voluntary overfeeding ("supersizing"). The role of hyperleptinemia, we suggest, is to extend survival during famine by permitting the storage of surplus calories in adipocytes without concomitant injury to nonadipose tissues from ectopic lipid deposits. It achieves this lipid partitioning by (1) restraining the level of overnutrition so as not to exceed the available adipocyte storage space and (2) enhancing oxidation of any ectopic lipid overflow: The mechanisms of lipoapoptosis are discussed, and the possibility that metabolic syndrome is the human equivalent of rodent lipotoxicity is suggested.

Adipocytes↗
PubMed1981

Mortality, nutritional status, and diet during the famine in Karaomoja, Uganda, 1980.

Drought and the cattle raiding associated with a breakdown of civil order caused a famine in Karamoja, Uganda, during 1980. In November-December, 1980, a study of mortality, nutritional status, and dietary conditions was undertaken in south Karamoja. Of 309 randomly selected children less than or equal to 110 cm in height 4.8% had acute malnutrition (less than 80% reference median weight-for-height). Interviews in 150 randomly selected households revealed that the crude mortality rate and the infant mortality rate during the previous year were increased almost 5-fold and 10-fold, respectively, above 1969 census data. Food supplied by the World Food Program was eaten the previous day by only half the families which were not self-sufficient in food. Relief officials' hopes that the 1981 cereal harvest might end the dependence on international aid were tempered by reports of further drought. Agricultural yield and food supplies should thus be monitored to assess the need for more international aid.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Famine in southern Sudan.

We provide baseline information and objective testimony on severe malnutrition and high mortality in the general population of southern Sudan that is affected by chronic civil war and severe famine.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2002

Tracking historic migrations of the Irish potato famine pathogen, Phytophthora infestans.

The plant pathogen Phytophthora infestans causes late blight, a devastating disease on potato that led to the Irish potato famine during 1845-1847. The disease is considered a reemerging problem and still causes major epidemics on both potato and tomato crops worldwide. Theories on the origin of the disease based on an examination of the genetic diversity and structure of P. infestans populations and use of historic specimens to understand modern day epidemics are discussed.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Identity of the mtDNA haplotype(s) of Phytophthora infestans in historical specimens from the Irish potato famine.

The mtDNA haplotypes of the plant pathogen Phytophthora infestans present in dried potato and tomato leaves from herbarium specimens collected during the Irish potato famine and later in the 19th and early 20th century were identified. A 100 bp fragment of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) specific for P. infestans was amplified from 90% of the specimens (n = 186), confirming infection by P. infestans. Primers were designed that distinguish the extant mtDNA haplotypes. 86% percent of the herbarium specimens from historic epidemics were infected with the Ia mtDNA haplotype. Two mid-20th century potato leaves from Ecuador (1967) and Bolivia (1944) were infected with the Ib mtDNA haplotype of the pathogen. Both the Ia and IIb haplotypes were found in specimens collected in Nicaragua in the 1950s. The data suggest that the Ia haplotype of P. infestans was responsible for the historic epidemics during the 19th century in the UK, Europe, and the USA. The Ib mtDNA haplotype of the pathogen was dispersed later in the early 20th century from Bolivia and Ecuador. Multiple haplotypes were present outside Mexico in the 1940s-60s, indicating that pathogen diversity was greater than previously believed.

Biological Specimen Banks↗
PubMed2001

PCR amplification of the Irish potato famine pathogen from historic specimens.

Late blight, caused by the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora infestans, is a devastating disease of potato and was responsible for epidemics that led to the Irish potato famine in 1845 (refs 1,2,3,4,5). Before the 1980s, worldwide populations of P. infestans were dominated by a single clonal lineage, the US-1 genotype or Ib mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype, and sexual reproduction was not documented outside Mexico, the centre of diversity of the pathogen. Here we describe the amplification and sequencing of 100-base-pair fragments of DNA from the internal transcribed spacer region 2 from 28 historic herbarium samples including Irish and British samples collected between 1845 and 1847, confirming the identity of the pathogen. We amplified a variable region of mtDNA that is present in modern Ib haplotypes of P. infestans, but absent in the other known modern haplotypes (Ia, IIa and IIb). Lesions in samples tested were not caused by the Ib haplotype of P. infestans, and so theories that assume that the Ib haplotype is the ancestral strain need to be re-evaluated. Our data emphasize the importance of using historic specimens when making inferences about historic populations.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1976

Obesity in young men after famine exposure in utero and early infancy.

In a historical cohort study of 300,000 19-year-old men exposed to the Dutch famine of 1944-45 and examined at military induction, we tested the hypothesis that prenatal and early postnatal nutrition determines subsequent obesity. Outcomes were opposite depending on the time of exposure. During the last trimester of pregnancy and the first months of life, exposure produced significantly lower obesity rates (P less than 0.005). This result is consistent with the inference that nutritional deprivation affected a critical period of development for adipose-tissue cellularity. During the first half of pregnancy, however, exposure resulted in significantly higher obesity rates (P less than 0.0005). This observation is consistent with the inference that nutritional deprivation affected the differentiation of hypothalamic centers regulating food intake and growth, and that subsequent increased food availability produced an accumulation of excess fat in an organism growing to its predetermined maximum size.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1987

Colonic carcinogenesis: the microbial feast or famine mechanism.

A mechanism is presented which suggests that high-fat, high-protein, low-fiber diets can cause an unfavorable microbial environment in the human colon which predisposes some individuals towards large bowel diseases. The digesta leaving the ileum on high-fat, high-protein, low-fiber diets has a high proportion of mucins, malabsorbed carbohydrates and proteins, bile acids, and sloughed epithelial cells. The irregular (pulsatile) emptying of rapidly fermentable ileal digesta into the colon causes a massive surge in microbial activity. The sudden availability of rapidly fermentable substrate generates a large microbial population in the exponential growth phase that soon depletes its substrate. For microorganisms to perpetuate until the next high-fat, high-protein, low-fiber meal propels ileal digesta into the colon, they must induce enzymes to ferment dying or dead microbes (cannibalism) in addition to colonic epithelial mucosa and mucins. As the carbohydrate-to-nitrogen ratio of the colonic contents decreases, the fermentation becomes more proteolytic and subacute levels of fermentation products such as ammonia may be generated. Carcinogens are concentrated within a small colonic mass and the probability of precancerous lesions and polyps developing in the colonic mucosa is directly related to the severity, frequency, and duration of these microbial "feast or famine" situations in the colon.

Carcinogens↗