Effect of Stress on Later-Life Health : Evidence from the Vietnam War Draft
A substantial literature has examined the impact of stress during the early stages of life on later-life health. This paper contributes to that literature by examining the later-life health impact of stress during adolescence and early adulthood, u...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/698981494942768893/Effect-of-stress-on-later-life-health-evidence-from-the-Vietnam-war-draft http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26755 |
| Summary: | A substantial literature has examined
the impact of stress during the early stages of life on
later-life health. This paper contributes to that literature
by examining the later-life health impact of stress during
adolescence and early adulthood, using a novel proxy for
stress: risk of military induction in the United States
during the Vietnam War. The paper estimates that a 10
percentage point (2 standard deviation) increase in
induction risk in young adulthood is associated with a 1.5
percentage point (8 percent) increase in the probability of
being obese, and a 1 percentage point (10 percent) increase
in the probability of being in fair or poor health later in
life. These findings do not appear to be due to cohort
effects; the associations exist only for men who did not
serve in the war, and are not present for women or men who
did serve. These findings add to the evidence on the lasting
consequences of stress, and indicate that induction risk
during the Vietnam War may, in certain contexts, be an
invalid instrument for education or marriage, because it
appears to have a direct impact on health. |
|---|