Self-reported health 50 years later among Children and Adolescents who experienced The Scorched Earth tactics in Finnmark county, Norway, in World War II, 1944/45

Background Most of Finnmark county in Norway was burned down during World War II by the German troops on order from Hitler, the scorched earth tactic. More than 50 000 were evacuated, but 23 000 disobeyed and stayed the winter 1944/45 in caves, turf huts and underneath boats. The purpose of this study was to examine among those being children and adolescents at that time, the effect of place of residence, nutrition and self-reported health consequences of wartime experiences on current self-reported health 50 years later. Material and methods In connection with the cardio-vascular screening study in Finnmark 1996/97 nine questions regarding health status and experiences during World War II were included in a questionnaire. Altogether 3.471 persons born between 1925 and 1944 responded to the questions: 64% response rate. The dependant variables in the analysis were current self-reported health. Results In a multivariate analysis those who reported reduction in health due to the war had a higher risk of having poor self-reported health at time of screening; OR=2.7 (95% confidence interval 2.1-3.5). Place of residence 1944/45 in Finnmark was a borderline significant risk factor, while lack of food was associated with reduced self-reported health. Conclusion Despite the long period of time between World War II and the present screening, a relation between the experience from the war and having a poor self-evaluated health status today was found. The study indicates long-term health consequences of warfare on the civilian population, but due to the cross-sectional design further prospective studies are necessary.