Prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine is associated with more self-perceived cognitive problems at 72 years of age

BACKGROUND: Undernutrition during critical periods of neurodevelopment can hinder the developing brain with lasting negative consequences for brain size, structure and function. In this study, we describe self-perceived cognitive problems of men and women who were born around the time of the Dutch famine of 1944–45. METHODS: We compared self-perceived cognitive problems between men and women who had been exposed to the 1944–45 Dutch famine in late, mid or early gestation and those who were born before or conceived after the famine (and had thus not been exposed prenatally). We included 595 participants aged 71–74 years. RESULTS: Women who had been exposed to famine in late gestation more often reported cognitive problems compared to those who had not been exposed (OR 2.2 [95% CI 1.1–4.4]), whereas for men, this was the case for those exposed in early gestation (OR 2.3 [0.9–5.5]). Furthermore, men and women exposed in early gestation more often reported consulting a healthcare practitioner for cognitive problems in the past 12 months (OR 3.2 [1.3–8.1]). Especially men exposed in early gestation reported having consulted a healthcare practitioner more often than unexposed men (OR 4.4 [1.2–16.0]). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that prenatal undernutrition does not only have lasting effects on brain size, but also on its function, with more self-perceived cognitive problems at older age, which also require more medical attention. Also, the effects of undernutrition depend on sex and its timing during gestation. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-022-02820-2.