Is the 2003 SARS epidemic over? Long-term effects of epidemic exposure on mortality among older adults()

Infectious diseases put health of millions at risk and induce large socioeconomic costs each year. However, the long-term effects of exposure to infectious diseases on the elderly have received minimal attention. Using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this study adopts a differences-in-differences strategy to evaluate the long-term effects of epidemic exposure on old-age mortality. We find that intense exposure to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic led to an increase in old-age mortality after the SARS outbreak. We provide some suggestive evidence that exposure to SARS increased psychological stress and limitations in physical activities among old people.