The Long-Term Association between Exposure to Epidemic and Later-Life Health Behaviors and Outcomes

Hongwei Xu , Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY)
Sha Wen, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics
Hong Zou, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics

Emerging epidemics have devastating impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods. However, acting as a severe health shock, exposure to an epidemic may induce positive changes in health behaviors among survivors, thereby leading to long-lasting improvement in population health. This study examined the long-term association between exposure to the 2002–2004 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak and middle-aged and older Chinese adults’ health behaviors and outcomes assessed in 2011–2018. We have compiled numbers of confirmed SARS cases at the prefecture level to constructed contextual measures of exposure to the epidemic. We will match the prefecture-level measures of SARS exposure to individual-level data from the 2011–2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We will then estimate the longitudinal associations of SARS exposure with health-related behaviors (e.g., fitness spending, annual physical examination, and participation in physical exercise). We will conduct mediation analysis to examine whether SARS-induced positive changes in health-related behaviors lead to better physical and mental health outcomes. We will also examine variations in these longitudinal associations by socioeconomic resources.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe