The Long‐term Health Effects of Fetal Malnutrition: Evidence from the 1959–1961 China Great Leap Forward Famine

Seonghoon Kim (), Belton Fleisher () and Jessica Ya Sun

Health Economics, 2017, vol. 26, issue 10, 1264-1277

Abstract: We report evidence of long‐term adverse health impacts of fetal malnutrition exposure of middle‐aged survivors of the 1959–1961 China Famine using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We find that fetal exposure to malnutrition has large and long‐lasting impacts on both physical health and cognitive abilities, including the risks of suffering a stroke, physical disabilities in speech, walking and vision, and measures of mental acuity even half a century after the tragic event. Our findings imply that policies and programs that improve the nutritional status of pregnant women yield benefits on the health of a fetus that extend through the life cycle in the form of reduced physical and mental impairment.

Date: 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3397

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Working Paper: The Long-term Health Effects of Fetal Malnutrition: Evidence from the 1959-1961 China Great Leap Forward Famine (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:26:y:2017:i:10:p:1264-1277

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