期刊
HEALTH ECONOMICS
卷 30, 期 3, 页码 564-584出版社
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/hec.4210
关键词
environmental health and safety; environmental protection and regulation; health behavior; health and poverty; population health; pollution control; public services
资金
- Wayne State University Office of Provost
This study examines the impact of water supply changes in Flint, Michigan on maternal and infant health behaviors. The findings show an increase in smoking rates and a decrease in breastfeeding rates, which are linked to increased stress. These changes result in a setback for public health efforts and lead to higher risks of chronic diseases for women in the community.
Environmental disasters impact disadvantaged communities disproportionately both through the epidemiological challenge of exposure, but also by undermining the progress of public health efforts. This paper studies changes to smoking cessation, breastfeeding, and weight gain during pregnancy in the period following the switch in water supply in Flint, Michigan, in April 2014. As the switch resulted in immediate and significant deterioration in water quality, eventually leading to its contamination with lead, we estimate a 10.5 percentage point increase in smoking and a 2.1 percentage point decrease in breastfeeding. We show evidence that these changes in maternal behavior are linked to increased stress due to changing water quality. We estimate that the increase in smoking alone is responsible for most of the increase in incidence of low birthweight among infants in Flint, resulting in $700 additional costs per birth. Increased smoking during pregnancy and lower breastfeeding rates in Flint roll back years of public health efforts, resulting in lifetime higher rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer for mothers in the community.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据