Department of Sociology and Criminology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2024 Jun 1;79(6). doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbae029.
A growing body of research shows that early-life exposure to war has adverse effects on later-life health. Research has emphasized the importance of exposure timing implicating domain-specific developmental processes and associated critical/sensitive periods. This study looks at the impacts of early childhood war exposure and the repercussions for later-life physical and functional health, with a focus on time of exposure as a source of variability.
We use residential histories from the Survey of Health Ageing, and Retirement in Europe linked to external data on the location and timing of hostilities to examine the impact of early-life exposure to World War II on later-life physical and functional health.
Exposure to war increases the risk of objective (grip strength, chair rise, and peak expiratory flow) and self-reported (mobility limitations and activities of daily living) measures of functional health. Effects are especially pronounced for those born during the war and for those with more prolonged exposures. There is little evidence that the impact of war is mediated by war-related hardships, socioeconomic conditions, health behaviors, or adult chronic disease.
Our results suggest early-life exposure to war has a lasting impact on physical functional health. Exposure appears to largely operate via direct effects, indicative of altered initial development of physical capacity in early life. Because exposure was so pervasive among some cohorts of older individuals, understanding the health of present older European populations requires wrestling with the residual consequences of wartime exposure at the start of their lives.
越来越多的研究表明，早年经历战争对晚年健康有不良影响。研究强调了暴露时间的重要性，暗示了特定领域的发展过程和相关的关键/敏感时期。本研究着眼于童年早期战争暴露的影响及其对晚年身体和功能健康的影响，重点关注暴露时间作为变异性的来源。
我们使用欧洲健康老龄化和退休调查中的居住史，并将其与关于敌对行动地点和时间的外部数据相联系，以研究童年早期暴露于第二次世界大战对晚年身体和功能健康的影响。
暴露于战争会增加客观（握力、椅子起身和呼气峰值流量）和自我报告（行动受限和日常生活活动）功能健康测量的风险。对于那些在战争期间出生的人和那些暴露时间更长的人来说，影响尤其明显。几乎没有证据表明战争的影响是通过与战争相关的困难、社会经济条件、健康行为或成人慢性疾病来介导的。
我们的研究结果表明，童年早期暴露于战争对身体功能健康有持久的影响。暴露似乎主要通过直接影响起作用，表明在生命早期身体能力的初始发育发生了改变。由于一些老年人群体的暴露如此普遍，因此理解当前欧洲老年人口的健康状况需要解决他们生命早期战争暴露的残余后果。
