A new study examining 270 medieval skeletons, including those living through the Black Death (1348-1350) and the Great Bovine Pestilence, reveals that early childhood malnutrition leaves lasting biological scars and impacts long-term health and life expectancy. The research, led by Julia Beaumont, Researcher in Biological Anthropology at the University of Bradford, utilized chemical analysis of tooth dentine to uncover these historical health consequences.

• The study found a distinctive "opposing covariance" pattern in teeth, where nitrogen levels rise while carbon levels remain stable or drop, indicating childhood starvation.
• People with these famine markers were significantly more likely to die after the age of 30 compared to their peers without such indicators.
• The patterns of childhood starvation increased leading up to the Black Death but declined afterwards, suggesting the pandemic may have indirectly improved living conditions by reducing population pressure.
• The findings serve as an urgent warning that unaddressed childhood nutritional crises today, like those in Gaza and Ukraine, will lead to similar long-term health problems for affected children globally.