Summary of the historical transgenerational studies from Överkalix, Northern Sweden
| Reference | Överkalix cohorts by grandchild's or proband birth year | Prior research question | Main findings | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bygren et al27 | 1905 (n=94) | Any link between ancestral food supply at two periods in childhood, the prepubertal spurt or the period just before and proband longevity? | Paternal grandfather's food supply just before prepubertal growth spurt inversely associated with proband longevity | This study defined the mid-childhood ‘slow growth period’ as an exposure period associated with transgenerational effects |
| Kaati et al28 | 1895 (n=107) | Any link between ancestral mid-childhood food supply and proband cardiovascular and diabetes mortality? | Father's poor, and mother's good, food supply in mid-childhood linked to reduced proband cardiovascular mortality. Paternal grandfather's good mid-childhood food supply linked to increased proband diabetic mortality | Diabetic mortality was included as a prior hypothesis based on possible role of imprinted genes. Each diabetic proband had a different paternal grandfather (Bygren et al. 2006) |
| Bygren et al99 100 | 1905 (n=99) | |||
| 1920 (n=111) | ||||
| Pembrey et al29 | 1895 (n=107) | Any sex-specific link between (grand) parental mid-childhood food supply and proband mortality rate ratio? | Paternal grandfather’s food supply linked to grandson’s mortality; paternal grandmother's food supply to granddaughter's mortality | Stratification by sex of the proband suggested by early ALSPAC results of paternal smoking effects (Northstone et al. 201439). Exposure-sensitive period in mid childhood but not (pre)puberty confirmed |
| 1905 (n=99) | ||||
| 1920 (n=111) | ||||
| Kaati et al30 | 1895 (n=107) | Any link between (grand) parental mid-childhood food supply and proband early-life circumstances and sex-specific longevity? | Grandparental sex-specific transgenerational effects (as above) persisted. Parental effects now revealed as well | Taking proband's early-life circumstances into account revealed a father to son effect on longevity |
| 1905 (n=99) | ||||
| 1920 (n=111) | ||||
| Bygren et al31 | 1895 (n=107) | Any link between sharp change in grandparental food supply in childhood (0—13ys) and proband cardiovascular mortality? | Sharp change in food supply of paternal grandmother linked to increased cardiovascular mortality in female probands | Prior hypothesis—transgenerational effects of change in supply as the demonstrated effects from gestation to adulthood (Bygren et al. 2000)101 |
| 1905 (n=99) | ||||
| 1920 (n=111) |