Rwandan people born of genocidal rape age faster biologically than expected

Lasting only 100 days, though many acknowledge it continued much longer, the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people in Rwanda is one of the most heinous genocides and mass murders in modern history. More than 100 million Rwandans are estimated to have been killed, while hundreds of thousands of women were sexually assaulted by militia.

Now, some 30 years later, a new study led by Western researcher Glorieuse Uwizeye examines the biological impact of the genocide against the Tutsi on the descendants of survivors who were conceived during the tragedy.

Findings suggest that Rwandans prenatally exposed to maternal genocide-related trauma, now in their early thirties, age faster biologically, with the greatest age acceleration observed among those conceived by genocidal rape. The study also suggests that adverse childhood experiences may contribute to biological age acceleration in individuals prenatally exposed to maternal genocide-related stress.

Uwizeye, a professor in Western’s Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing in the Faculty of Health Sciences, was born and raised in Rwanda and spent the 100-day genocide hiding in her family home with her family members.

“This work means everything to me because I survived the genocide. I don’t have any scars because nothing happened to me physically. I was blessed to hide in the house for the entire three months, but the genocide had a profound impact on my life. I lost hundreds of family members and friends,” said Uwizeye, a trained mental health nurse and expert on global health inequality.

In the study, published by Communications Medicine, Uwizeye and her collaborators at Dartmouth College and University of Arizona examined the biological effects of prenatal exposure to genocide and genocidal rape. They were specifically interested in determining whether prenatal exposure to genocide-related stress was associated with faster biological aging, as indexed by an “epigenetic clock,” a biological test that measures age based on changes in DNA.

The study compared adult children who were prenatally exposed to maternal stress related to genocide or to genocidal rape with a control group of native Rwandans, who had lived outside the country during the genocide.

“This study adds to the evidence that adverse early life experiences, including those before birth, can have lasting effects on an individual’s biological aging and health. Such findings highlight the need for long-term support for affected children and families, as improving childhood environments could improve health outcomes,” said Zaneta Thayer, an anthropology professor from Dartmouth College and co-author of the study.

Support for descendants

The study sheds a spotlight on the dire need to increase attention and support for descendants of genocide survivors, who are now young adults. Uwizeye says it also presents an opportunity to improve health and well-being for those impacted by designing and implementing early interventions to mitigate potential adverse outcomes of exposure to genocide.

“It is critical that Rwandan society addresses the lingering effects of the genocide for this generation and their descendants,” said Uwizeye. “Health care in Rwanda has progressed over the past decade and there is near universal access, but these individuals need continued and tailored support. The government’s continued investment in the health-care system and social programming have the potential to meet the specific needs for survivors and their descendants.”

Whether the long-term effects of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi may be reversible, is yet to be studied, but Uwizeye hopes the study serves as a foundation of interventions that promote and produce better health outcomes for this vulnerable population.

“There are ways, medical and societal, to mitigate the lasting effects of accelerated aging. By intervening and making sure genocide survivors and their descendants have access to proper health care and community support, we can make a difference for some, if not most, of this population,” said Uwizeye.

An additional finding of the study is that newer generations of epigenetic clocks, built using long-term data from larger and more diverse group, were better at identifying the lasting effects of early-life exposure to genocide.

“While these tools aren’t perfect, they seem to be improving our ability to understand how early experiences can leave a biological mark on our health later in life,” said Luisa Rivera, an anthropology research associate from Dartmouth College and co-author of the study.