The Long Arm of Conflict: How Timing Shapes the Impact of Childhood Exposure to War

Abstract

This paper examines how the timing of childhood exposure to armed conflict influences both the magnitude of the impact it has on later-life health and the pathways through which those impacts manifest. Utilizing the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe, we examine cohorts of children during World War II. We find that cohorts born during the war show the largest negative effects of exposure on health in later life. The pathways also vary the timing of exposure. Consistent with a latent critical period process, children born during the war experienced increased risk of poor health and illness in childhood, as well as adult cardiometabolic conditions and poor functional health. Conversely, cohorts born before the war experienced more indirect pathways consistent with cumulative disadvantage processes and institutional breakdown. These pathways include stunted socioeconomic attainment, increased risk behaviors, and poorer mental health. Overall, this study emphasizes that the timing of exposure is critical to understanding the long-term health effects of war.

Windows of Vulnerability: Consequences of Exposure Timing during the Dutch Hunger Winter

“…While predictive adaptive responses increase fetal survival in the short term (Kahn, Narayan, and Valdez 1998), they are maladaptive in the long term, increasing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases (Almond and Currie 2011;Basso 2008;Palloni et al 2020;Roseboom et al , 2011Rasmussen 2001). Results from human observational studies and natural experiments have demonstrated adverse effects of in utero nutritional deprivation on later life health across a variety of famine contexts (e.g., the Leningrad siege, the Rwandan civil war, and the Chinese revolution) (Akresh, Verwimp, and Bundervoet 2011;Lumey et al 2011;Ramirez and Haas 2021;de Rooij et al 2007;Schulz 2010;Stanner and Yudkin 2001;Stein et al 2006;Zhang, Gu, and Hayward 2010).…”

“…Results from human observational studies and natural experiments have demonstrated adverse effects of in utero nutritional deprivation on later life health across a variety of famine contexts (e.g., the Leningrad siege, the Rwandan civil war, and the Chinese revolution) (Akresh, Verwimp, and Bundervoet 2011 ; Lumey et al. 2011 ; Ramirez and Haas 2021 ; de Rooij et al. 2007 ; Schulz 2010 ; Stanner and Yudkin 2001 ; Stein et al.…”

Vulnerable in silence: Paediatric health in the Ukrainian crisis

“…A paper by Medicine Sans Frontiers showed infections were the leading cause of morbidity and exacerbations of chronic conditions such as thalassemia, in analysing children's health during war in northern Syria [ 5 ]. Another paper explained that those born during World War 2 had the most negative outcomes, with increased risk of illness and poor functional health [ 6 ]. They mention these cohorts were forced to be brought up in a state of damaged processes and broken institutions, paving the way for stunted socioeconomic growth and worsening mental health.…”

“…The air quality will be overblown during the Russo-Ukrainian war, with the presence of airborne hazard due to dust emissions from building destruction, and air pollutants generated by fires and explosion of ammunition, worsening the already unsatisfactory situation [ 15 ]. The WHO external situation report has revealed several small-scale chemical incidents, including ammonia leaks at industrial sites due to shelling, and there were several fires or explosions at oil or fuel depots reported in areas close to dense population centres [ 6 ]. Fires or explosions at fuel depots and destruction of buildings by shelling will create complex mixtures of pollutants that can cause harmful effects to the respiratory tracts [ 14 ].…”

Exposure to War and its Labor Market Consequences Over the Life Cycle

“…Similarly,Kesternich et al (2020) show that the impact of war-related sex ratio imbalances on fertility depends crucially on when fertility is assessed Maas and Settersten (1999). find that wartime military service had negative effects on German men's occupational status only in the short run Ramirez and Haas (2021). show that the long-term effects of childhood exposure to war depend critically on its timing.2 To our knowledge, the only evidence of the economic impact of war captivity and injuries comes from the American Civil War of 1861-65(Lee, 2005;Costa, 2012;Costa et al, 2020).…”