This book empirically examines the role of socioeconomic and environmental factors in explaining longevity with diarrhea for adults by using health data for the Union Army veterans of the United States Civil War. Prevalence rates calculated from current data show that, since the late nineteenth century, diarrhea, as is the case with many other health conditions, has gone from one of the most prevalent and fatal diseases to generally an inconsequential one for adults in rich countries. However, diarrhea is a widespread disease in developing countries. Results from survival analysis suggest that nutrition, place of birth, improvements in sanitary conditions, and changes in labor conditions and occupational distribution were responsible for reducing the vulnerability to this disease in the U.S. during the late nineteenth century. Data from Bangladesh help to demonstrate that the importance of socioeconomic factors has been reduced over the last century.
