A systematic re-analysis of all previous studies of long-term health effects of prenatal exposure to the Chinese Famine of 1959-61 shows no increases in diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions among famine births except for schizophrenia. The analyzed studies reported that these conditions were more common among famine births. In the re-analysis, researchers compared outcomes in famine births to control groups. Findings raise fundamental questions about the design of existing Chinese famine studies.