This paper examines how the timing of childhood exposure to armed conflict influences both the magnitude of the impact it has on later-life health and the pathways through which those impacts manifest. Utilizing the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe, we examine cohorts of children during World War II. We find that cohorts born during the war show the largest negative effects of exposure on health in later life. The pathways also vary the timing of exposure. Consistent with a latent critical period process, children born during the war experienced increased risk of poor health and illness in childhood, as well as adult cardiometabolic conditions and poor functional health. Conversely, cohorts born before the war experienced more indirect pathways consistent with cumulative disadvantage processes and institutional breakdown. These pathways include stunted socioeconomic attainment, increased risk behaviors, and poorer mental health. Overall, this study emphasizes that the timing of exposure is critical to understanding the long-term health effects of war.

中文翻译：

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冲突的长臂：时间如何塑造童年接触战争的影响。

本文研究了儿童时期接触武装冲突的时间如何影响其对晚年健康的影响程度以及这些影响体现的途径。利用欧洲健康和退休调查，我们检查了二战期间的儿童群体。我们发现，战争期间出生的人群在晚年暴露对健康的负面影响最大。这些途径也改变了暴露的时间。与潜在的关键期过程一致，战争期间出生的儿童在儿童时期健康状况不佳和疾病的风险增加，成人心脏代谢状况和功能健康状况不佳。相反，战前出生的同伙经历了更多与累积劣势过程和制度崩溃相一致的间接途径。这些途径包括发育不良的社会经济成就、增加的危险行为和较差的心理健康。总体而言，这项研究强调暴露时间对于了解战争对健康的长期影响至关重要。