Is the 2003 SARS epidemic over? Long-term effects of epidemic exposure on mortality among older adults

Guanfu Fang and Jin Feng

China Economic Review, 2021, vol. 67, issue C

Abstract: Infectious diseases put health of millions at risk and induce large socioeconomic costs each year. However, the long-term effects of exposure to infectious diseases on the elderly have received minimal attention. Using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this study adopts a differences-in-differences strategy to evaluate the long-term effects of epidemic exposure on old-age mortality. We find that intense exposure to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic led to an increase in old-age mortality after the SARS outbreak. We provide some suggestive evidence that exposure to SARS increased psychological stress and limitations in physical activities among old people.

Keywords: Long-term effects; Mortality; Older adults; SARS exposure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chieco:v:67:y:2021:i:c:s1043951x21000365

DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2021.101618

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