Public health policies, laws, and practices

Early care, longer life

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.
Early-life disease burden and later-life mortality

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.
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.
Lead exposure and longevity loss

Exposure to lead in water pipes during early life significantly reduces later-life male longevity.
Legal abortion and lifelong health

This study examines the long-term health benefits of early-life exposure to legal abortion.
Safer births, stronger lives

This study finds that early exposure to state midwifery licensing laws in the early 1900s improved health later in life
Social Security cuts and the toll on longevity

This study examines how a 20th-century Social Security policy cut retirement benefits for certain birth cohorts, resulting in reduced income and shorter lifespans.
The lasting impact of WWI veteran bonuses on children’s longevity

This study looks at how a surprise one-time cash bonus in 1936—given to World War I veterans—affected the long-term health of their children.
The lifesaving legacy of a childhood vaccine

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.
The longevity of dry laws

This study examines the long-term health effects of early-life exposure to alcohol prohibition in the U.S.
The motherhood tradeoff: fertility and later-life mortality

This study explores how having more children affects parents’ longevity, with implications for family planning and social policy. Using 1940 U.S.
The power of clean water

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.
The proof of life: how birth registration boosts longevity

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.