Health boost from hookworm control
The Rockefeller Sanitation Commission’s hookworm eradication campaign in the American South during the 1910s led to an increase of 1 month in later-life longevity for those fully exposed in early life.
The Rockefeller Sanitation Commission’s hookworm eradication campaign in the American South during the 1910s led to an increase of 1 month in later-life longevity for those fully exposed in early life.
This study shows that the nationwide rollout of the polio vaccine in the 1950s didn’t just save lives in the short term—it extended them decades later.
Early-life exposure to County Health Departments (CHDs), which provided affordable healthcare in underserved areas, is linked to about 0.9 months of additional longevity for those exposed in-utero up to age 4.
This study examines the long-term benefits of early-life exposure to city-wide water filtration systems introduced in 25 major American cities in the early 20th century.
This study is the first to link childhood exposure to birth registration laws with longer life in old age, estimating an intent-to-treat effect of 0.08 years (about 1 month) increase in lifespan.
This study finds that being born during periods with high infant mortality, reflecting poor disease environments and limited healthcare access, is linked to higher mortality rates later in life, particularly after age 70.
This study examines the long-term health benefits of early-life exposure to legal abortion.
This study explores how a devastating pest, the boll weevil, accidentally improved long-term health for children growing up in the early 1900s Cotton Belt.
This study examines how a 20th-century Social Security policy cut retirement benefits for certain birth cohorts, resulting in reduced income and shorter lifespans.
This study finds that boys born in New England counties hit hard by the textile industry collapse in the 1920s–30s lived about 3.6 months less if they stayed in those areas.