A study “The Effects of World War II on Economic and Health Outcomes across Europe” investigated the long-term effects of World War II on health, education, economic attainment and marriage among people who live in continental Western Europe. The researchers examined information from the European Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement (SHARE) from 2008. The survey provided the researchers with information from a sample of 20,00 people of ages 50 and older from 12 countries – Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Greece, France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Belgium and Austria.
The study found that living in a country disrupted by World War II could cause poorer health later in life. The study showed that the people who experienced World War II are three percent more likely to suffer from diabetes and 5.8 percent more likely to suffer from depression. In terms of physical health, the study found that World War II also found that those who experienced World War II may have increased risk for heart disease as well. Additionally, the study showed that people who had experienced war have lower levels of education as adults or might take a longer period of time to obtain the same education levels as the rest. These lower levels of education were attributed to the absence of fathers in children’s lives as many men died in war during World War II. The death of numerous male soldiers at war also resulted in a skewed sex ratio resulting in issues with marriage and an increase in related crime.
Poor mental and physical health has been attributed to the war-related stresses including the death of many men, wartime hunger and other long-term stresses associated with wars. However, high rates of depression among people living in areas with high military combat during World War II can directly be attributed to the stresses of experiencing heavy military combat first-hand.
Although the researchers have solely analyzed World War II for economic and health outcomes, they have concluded on experiencing war rather than specifically World War II hence these economic and health impacts of World War II may be applicable across multiple wars. Irrespective of whether the research study establishes a common ground for these health and economic outcomes across various wars, the researchers have established that these impacts are definitively present throughout World War II.