Work

The Burden of Early Exposure to Malaria in the United States, 1850–1860: Malnutrition and Immune Disorders

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: This article uses nineteenth-century evidence to calculate the impact of early exposure to malaria-ridden environments on nutritional status and the immune system in America. I estimate the risk of contracting malarial fevers in the 1850s by using correlations between malaria and environmental factors such as climate and geographical features. The study demonstrates that Union Army recruits who spent their early years in malaria-endemic counties were 1.1 inches shorter at enlistment due to malnutrition and were 13 percent more susceptible to infections during the U.S. Civil War as a result of immune disorders than were those from malaria-free regions.

Source: The Journal of Economic History

DOI: 10.1017/s0022050707000472

Author: Sok Chul Hong

Institution: University of Chicago

Language: English

Topic: Historical Economic and Social Studies

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging