Increased cancer incidence in Holocaust survivors and the implications for survivors of other extreme events
[...] The pioneering work of Barker et al. [5–7] on the association between low birth weight and increased risk of adult hypertension [5] and cardiovascular disease [6] led to the hypothesis that intrauterine and infantile growth failure due to undernutrition determines adult susceptibility to chronic diseases. [...] The first study was based on a cohort that included all European Jews born between 1920 and 1945 who immigrated to Israel before (‘non-exposed’) or after (‘exposed’) WWII. Based on data from the Israel National Cancer Registry, it was found that exposure (vs. non-exposure) was associated with a significant increase in incidence in all-site cancer in men (relative risks, RRs = 1.2–3.5 in different birth cohorts) and women (RRs = 1.3–2.3), with an age gradient such that the strongest associations were observed in the youngest birth cohort. Increased risk was also observed for breast (women), colorectal (both sexes), and lung (men) cancer, with an age gradient found for the f...