Scarred for life? : early-Life experience of the post-reunification economic crisis in East Germany and physical and mental health outcomes in early adulthood

Existing research suggests adverse short-term health effects of economic crises during early life, yet, the long-term health effects for children and adolescents exposed to economic crises are still understudied. We investigated the early-adult health implications of experiencing the post-reunification economic crisis in East Germany in the early 1990s during infancy, childhood and adolescence. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and its linkage with German pension records (SOEP-RV), we applied entropy balancing and conditional quantile regression to assess the relationship between the experience of the economic crisis during early life (ages 0-17) and physical and mental health effects (SF-12 summary scores) in N = 2,337 young adults (aged 17-30) from East and West Germany. Our results indicate mainly no significant physical health effects, yet, significant adverse mental health effects for respondents exposed to the economic crisis in East Germany, especially in young women of average and better mental health. Parental unemployment was an additional risk factor for young women's mental health. Thus, we suggest women who experienced economic crises during early life are at increased risk of adverse mental health effects already early in their adulthood. Support for families in times of economic crisis and early prevention for infants, children and adolescents exposed to economic adversities is warranted

Early-life exposure to economic stress and metabolic risks in young adulthood: the children of the reunification in East Germany

Background: Research on the long-term health consequences of early-life exposure to economic crises is scarce. We examine for the first time the long term effects of early-life exposure to an economic crisis on metabolic health risks. We study objective health measures, and exploit the quasi-experimental situation of the postreunification economic crisis in East Germany. Methods: Data were drawn from two waves of the longitudinal German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (2003–2006, 2014–2017). We compared 392 East Germans who were exposed to the economic crisis in utero and at ages 0–5 with 1123 of their West German counterparts using propensity score matching on individual and family characteristics. We assessed blood pressure, cholesterol, blood fat and body mass index (BMI); both combined as above-average metabolic health risks and individually at ages 19–30. Results: Early-life exposure to the economic crisis significantly increased the number of above-average metabolic health risks in young adulthood by 0.1482 (95% CI 0.0169 to 0.2796), which was 5.8% higher compared with no exposure. Among individuals exposed in utero, only females showed significant effects. Early-life exposure to the economic crisis was associated with increased systolic (0.9969, 95% CI −0.2806 to 2.2743) and diastolic blood pressure (0.6786, 95% CI −0.0802 to 1.4373), and with increased BMI (0.0245, 95% CI −0.6516 to 0.7001). Conclusion: The increased metabolic health risks found for women exposed to the postreunification economic crisis in-utero are likely attributable to increased economic stress. While the observed differences are small, they may foreshadow the emergence of greater health disparities in older age

Selection into maternity leave length and long-run maternal health in Germany

Existing literature shows the importance of maternity leave as a strategy for women to balance work and family responsibilities. However, only a few studies focused on the long-run impact of maternity leave length on maternal health. Therefore, how exactly they are related remains unclear. We examine women’s selection into different lengths of maternity leave as a potential explanation for the inconclusive findings in the literature on the association between maternity leave and maternal health. This study aims to unravel the association between maternity leave length and mothers’ long-term health in Germany. Drawing on detailed data from the German Statutory Pension Fund (DRV), we estimated the association between maternity leave length and sick leave from 3 years following their child’s birth for 4,243 women living in Germany in 2015 by applying discrete-time logistic regression. Our results show a negative relationship between maternity-leave length and long-term maternal health, likely driven by negative health selection. Long maternity leaves of more than 24 months were associated with worse maternal health in the long run, while a positive association emerged for vulnerable women with pre-existing health problems

sj-docx-1-hsb-10.1177_00221465231223953 – Supplemental material for Analyzing the Impact of Family Structure Changes on Children’s Stress Levels Using a Stress Biomarker

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hsb-10.1177_00221465231223953 for Analyzing the Impact of Family Structure Changes on Children’s Stress Levels Using a Stress Biomarker by Pauline Kleinschlömer, Mine Kühn, Lara Bister, Tobias C. Vogt and Sandra Krapf in Journal of Health and Social Behavior</p