Scoping Review: How does inflation affect health?

People’s health is not only determined by their individual characteristics or their immediate socio-economic circumstances. Macroeconomic developments also play a role. A team of researchers from the Pettenkofer School of Public Health, the University of Exeter, and the ifo Institute have carried out a scoping review of how inflation affects health. The study was published in the "The Lancet Global Health".

The researchers searched international databases for previously published articles on the associations between inflation and health. They looked at a total of 8,923 publications. In the end, 69 empirical studies were included in the review. The studies were conducted in different geographical regions of the world over different time periods during the last century. They looked at a variety of health determinants, such as nutrition and violence, and health outcomes, such as life expectancy and mental health.

Overall, the included studies show that inflation negatively affects health in a variety of ways. In addition, certain population groups appear to be particularly affected by the effects, such as socioeconomically disadvantaged families and men. “The findings emphasize the need for interdisciplinary approaches to better support public health during economically challenging times", says lead author Dr. Ani Movsisyan from the Chair of Public Health and Health Services Research at LMU Munich.