Polio’s lifelong toll

This study reveals that early-life exposure to the 1916 polio epidemic had long-term consequences on male longevity. Boys who were in utero, infants, or school-aged during the outbreak, and who lived in high-incidence states, died an average of 2.2 months earlier than their peers. The effects were most severe among nonwhite individuals and those from low-income families, with ripple effects across education, income, and cognitive development. Though the pandemic didn’t affect everyone equally, its legacy still shaped decades of life outcomes, highlighting how even brief disease outbreaks can leave a deep imprint on public health and inequality.