Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 10, 2025
06:55
Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Propensity Score using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
14.7K
Place-Based Drivers of Mortality: Evidence from Migration.
Amy Finkelstein1, Matthew Gentzkow2, Heidi Williams3
1Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The American Economic Review
|December 10, 2021
Summary
Elderly individuals
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Public Health
- Health Economics
Background:
- Geographic location significantly impacts health outcomes, particularly for the elderly.
- Understanding these location-based effects is crucial for public health interventions and policy-making.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the impact of current residential location on mortality among the elderly Medicare population.
- To develop and apply a novel method for adjusting for unobserved variables influencing location-based health disparities.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Medicare population data, focusing on individuals who moved.
- Controlling for origin locations and pre-move health measures.
- Utilizing a novel strategy correlating residual mortality with origin locations to address omitted variable bias.
Main Results:
- Current location has substantial effects on elderly mortality.
- Relocating from a 10th to 90th percentile location can increase life expectancy at age 65 by 1.1 years.
- Equalizing location effects could reduce life expectancy variation by 15%.
Conclusions:
- Residential location is a significant determinant of elderly longevity.
- Favorable locations are characterized by better healthcare, climate, safety, and socioeconomic status.
- Policy interventions aimed at improving location-specific factors could enhance elderly life expectancy and reduce health disparities.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Causality in Epidemiology
1.1K
Causality or causation is a fundamental concept in epidemiology, vital for understanding the relationships between various factors and health outcomes. Despite its importance, there's no single, universally accepted definition of causality within the discipline. Drawing from a systematic review, causality in epidemiology encompasses several definitions, including production, necessary and sufficient, sufficient-component, counterfactual, and probabilistic models. Each has its strengths and...
1.1K
00:53Migration
8.1K
Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.
8.1K
01:29Bias in Epidemiological Studies
775
Biases can arise at various stages of research, from study design and data collection to analysis and interpretation. Recognizing and addressing these biases is essential to ensure the validity and reliability of epidemiological findings.Broadly speaking, biases in epidemiology fall into three main categories: selection bias, information bias, and confounding. A more detailed description of possible biases is:
775
01:19Cell Migration
5.3K
Cell migration is a process by which the cells move from one location to another, playing an essential role in embryological development, repair and regeneration, immune response, and metastasis. Cells migrate in response to chemical or mechanical signals generated by specific organs or tissues. The overall mechanism includes three steps - polarization, protrusion, and release. Polarization involves the formation of a distinct cell front and rear, which determines the direction of movement.
5.3K
01:26Introduction to Epidemiology
1.1K
Epidemiology, known as the cornerstone of public health, involves studying the distribution and determinants of health-related events in defined populations and applying these insights to control health issues. This is essential for understanding how diseases spread, identifying populations at greater risk, and implementing measures to control or prevent outbreaks. Epidemiology addresses not only infectious diseases but also non-communicable conditions like cancer and cardiovascular disease,...
1.1K
01:52Regression Toward the Mean
6.5K
Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
6.5K