Edenbrandt Anna Kristina, Skak-Hansen Kim Wadt, Smed Sinne
Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Health Econ. 2025 May;34(5):869-879. doi: 10.1002/hec.4940. Epub 2025 Jan 22.
We investigate whether the severity of lifestyle-related health shocks affects the response in dietary patterns. Using data from official patient registers in Denmark, we analyze the effects from strong health shock (SHS) occurrences (cardiovascular disease) and mild health shock (MHS) occurrences (arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolemia). These data are combined with scanner data on food purchases obtained from a consumer panel. Our analysis examines dietary effects stemming from these health shocks, including various nutrients, food groups, and overall adherence to dietary guidelines. Our findings reveal immediate dietary responses to both severe and mild health shocks, with a larger effect observed for SHS compared to MHS. However, among individuals previously exposed to mild health shocks, we observe minimal to no alteration in food consumption after experiencing a SHS. We argue that failing to account for this potential self-selection may lead to a misconception that severe health shocks do not result in dietary improvements.
我们研究与生活方式相关的健康冲击的严重程度是否会影响饮食模式的反应。利用丹麦官方患者登记处的数据，我们分析了严重健康冲击（SHS）事件（心血管疾病）和轻度健康冲击（MHS）事件（动脉高血压和高胆固醇血症）的影响。这些数据与从消费者面板获得的食品购买扫描数据相结合。我们的分析考察了这些健康冲击产生的饮食影响，包括各种营养素、食物类别以及对饮食指南的总体遵循情况。我们的研究结果显示，严重和轻度健康冲击都会引发即时的饮食反应，与轻度健康冲击相比，严重健康冲击的影响更大。然而，在先前经历过轻度健康冲击的个体中，我们发现他们在经历严重健康冲击后，食物消费几乎没有变化或完全没有变化。我们认为，未能考虑这种潜在的自我选择可能会导致一种误解，即严重健康冲击不会带来饮食改善。
