We aimed to investigate whether exposure to the Chinese famine (1959-1961) in early life was associated with depression in adulthood. We included 17,505 participants from the China health and retirement longitudinal study (CHARLS). Participants were classified into indirect and direct exposure groups. And the directly exposure groups including prenatal, childhood, adolescence/adult exposure groups. Depression was diagnosed by Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-10 (CES-D) score. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to calculate the odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of depression. In women, prenatal, childhood, adolescence/adult exposure groups had higher depression risk than indirect exposure group (OR = 1.46, 1.40, and 1.67, respectively). However, there was no significant association between famine exposure and depression among men. Exposure to famine during prenatal (OR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.07-2.06), childhood (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.13-1.91), and adolescence/adult (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.24-2.15) period were associated with depression among subjects living in rural, but not those living in urban. Exposure to the Chinese famine in early life had sex and area-specific associations with depression.
Keywords: Chinese famine; Prenatal; adolescence/adult; childhood; depression.