Hookworm and malaria, parasites that remain a significant public health threat in the tropical belt today, were endemic in the American South as late as the first half of the twentieth century. I discuss how the successful eradication of malaria and hookworm in the American South affected...

Improving early prenatal and postnatal conditions account for at least 16% to 17% of the decline in ten-year mortality rates of 60-79-year-olds between 1900 and 1960-1980. Historical trends in early prenatal and postnatal conditions imply that while the baby-boom cohort may be particularly...