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Identifying the intergenerational effects of the 1959–1961 Chinese Great Leap Forward Famine on infant mortality

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  • Song, Shige

Abstract

Using the 1959–1961 Chinese Great Leap Forward Famine as a natural experiment, this study examines the relationship between mothers’ prenatal exposure to acute malnutrition and their children's infant mortality risk. According to the results, the effect of mothers’ prenatal famine exposure status on children's infant mortality risk depends on the level of famine severity. In regions of low famine severity, mothers’ prenatal famine exposure significantly reduces children's infant mortality, whereas in regions of high famine severity, such prenatal exposure increases children's infant mortality although the effect is not statistically significant. Such a curvilinear relationship between mothers’ prenatal malnutrition status and their children's infant mortality risk is more complicated than the linear relationship predicted by the original fetal origins hypothesis but is consistent with the more recent developmental origins of health and disease theory.

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  • Song, Shige, 2013. "Identifying the intergenerational effects of the 1959–1961 Chinese Great Leap Forward Famine on infant mortality," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 474-487.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:11:y:2013:i:4:p:474-487
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2013.08.001
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    Cited by:

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    3. Qing Wang & Huyang Zhang & John A. Rizzo & Hai Fang, 2018. "The Effect of Childhood Health Status on Adult Health in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Song, Shige, 2014. "Evidence of adaptive intergenerational sex ratio adjustment in contemporary human populations," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 14-21.
    5. Li, Qiang & An, Lian, 2015. "Intergenerational health consequences of the 1959–1961 Great Famine on children in rural China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 27-40.
    6. Rafael Plessow & Narendra Kumar Arora & Beatrice Brunner & Christina Tzogiou & Klaus Eichler & Urs Brügger & Simon Wieser, 2015. "Social Costs of Iron Deficiency Anemia in 6–59-Month-Old Children in India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    7. Xu, Hongwei & Li, Lydia & Zhang, Zhenmei & Liu, Jinyu, 2016. "Is natural experiment a cure? Re-examining the long-term health effects of China's 1959–1961 famine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 110-122.
    8. He, Ping & Luo, Yanan & Ding, Ruoxi & Zheng, Xiaoying, 2022. "Is it just a cure? Re-evaluating the effects of prenatal exposure to the Great Chinese Famine on the risk of infectious diseases in adulthood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    9. Cahit Guven & Trung Hoang & Muhammad H. Rahman & Mehmet A. Ulubaşoğlu, 2021. "Long‐term effects of malnutrition on early‐life famine survivors and their offspring: New evidence from the Great Vietnam Famine 1944–45," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(7), pages 1600-1627, July.
    10. Dolton, Peter & Xiao, Mimi, 2015. "The intergenerational transmission of BMI in China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 90-113.

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