Agricultural non-point source pollution and health of the elderly in rural China

Ying Wang; Hang Xiong; Chao Chen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0274027

Agricultural non-point source pollution and health of the elderly in rural China

PLoS One. 2022 Oct 14;17(10):e0274027. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274027. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ying Wang¹, Hang Xiong^{1

2}, Chao Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P.R.China.
² China Center for Food Security Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P.R.China.

Abstract

Large input and high loss of chemical fertilizer are the major causes of agricultural non-point source pollution in China. Employing fertilizer loss and micro-health data, this paper analyzes the effects of chemical fertilizer loss on the health of rural elderly and the medical cost in China. Results of the difference-in-differences (DID) method indicate that one kg/ha increase in fertilizer loss alters a key medical disability index (Activities of Daily Living) by 0.0147 (0.2 percent changes) and the number of diseases by 0.0057 for rural residents of 65 and older. This is equivalent to CNY 316 million (USD 45 million) at national medical cost. Furthermore, the age of onset is younger in regions with higher fertilizer loss. One kg/ha increase of fertilizer loss advances the age of onset by 0.267 year, which will cause long-term effect on public health. Our results are robust to a variety of robustness checks.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Activities of Daily Living
Aged
Agriculture
China / epidemiology
Fertilizers
Humans
Non-Point Source Pollution*

Substances

Fertilizers

Grants and funding

This article was sponsored by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.