War during childhood: The long run effects of warfare on health.
This paper estimates the causal long-term consequences of an exposure to war in utero and during childhood on the risk of obesity and the probability of having a chronic health condition in adulthood. Using the plausibly exogenous city-by-cohort variation in the intensity of WWII destruction as a unique quasi-experiment, I find that individuals who were exposed to WWII destruction during the prenatal and early postnatal periods have higher BMIs and are more likely to be obese as adults. I also find an elevated incidence of chronic health conditions such as stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorder in adulthood among these wartime children.
Dalhousie University, Department of Economics, Halifax, NS, Canada. Electronic address: mevlude@dal.ca.
Mevlude
M
Akbulut-Yuksel
D000328:Adult; D000069586:Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000067453:War Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D047789:World War II
Body size; Children; Health conditions; Warfare