When parents fall ill, children suffer: The hidden cost of health shocks in Bangladesh
When a parent falls ill in Bangladesh, their child’s growth pays the price. New research reveals how health shocks stunt height—and futures—in a nation with no safety nets
In Bangladesh, a sudden illness or accident doesn't just derail a family's finances—it can also stunt a child's growth, both physically and cognitively. While the country has made strides in reducing poverty and improving healthcare access, a critical issue remains overlooked: the cascading effects of parental health crises on children.
New research reveals that when a parent falls seriously ill, their child's height—a key indicator of long-term health and development—plummets. The implications are dire, not just for individual families but for the nation's future workforce and economic potential.
The proof is in the data
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
A groundbreaking study by Binghamton University economists Md Shahadath Hossain and Shaila Nazneen, published in the Journal of Development Economics, exposes this alarming trend. Titled "Parental Illness Shocks and Child Health in Bangladesh", the research focuses on rural households, where healthcare access is weakest and financial resilience is thin. The findings are stark: when a parent suffers a major health shock—such as an accident, chronic illness, or disability—their child's height drops by 19% compared to peers with healthy parents.
To measure this, the researchers used an ADL limitation indicator, tracking parents who suddenly struggled with basic functions like walking or sitting due to severe health setbacks. The effect was so severe that it mirrored the damage seen in children exposed to droughts, crop failures, or even wartime conditions. If these health shocks were eliminated, Bangladesh could close 3.5 percent of the gap between its children's average height and the global standard.
In the study, the impact of parental illness on the height of children aged under five was shed light upon because height is a great indicator of a child's cognitive ability and educational attainment. In order to measure the health status of parents, an ADL limitation indicator was introduced which reflects major illnesses such as difficulty in walking, sitting and carrying weight due to some unexpected mishaps such as accidents, bone fractures, surgery, non-communicable diseases, etc. Two groups of families were studied, with one group consisting of healthy parents and the other group consisting of parents who had developed ADL limitations.
According to Hossain and Nazneen, parental illness reduced child height by 19% when compared between those two groups and this effect is analogous to children who came across other shocks, i.e, drought, crop failure in Ethiopia or World Wars. The study also portrays that if the effects of such parental illness could be removed, 3.5 percent of the gap in height between Bangladeshi children and the standard global average could be bridged.
Hossain and Nazneen also added that fathers' and mothers' illnesses have equally damaging effects on a child's growth. The height for age (HFA) index of the children in the data used in this study was -1.41, behind the standard HFA, which is 0 if we imagine a scale where 0 is the expected standard.
The vicious cycle of illness and poverty
Bangladesh's lack of health insurance turns medical emergencies into financial catastrophes. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 16 percent of sick individuals avoid treatment altogether because they can't afford it. For those who do seek care, out-of-pocket expenses push 8.61 million people below the poverty line each year.
Consider a typical rural family: a father earning Tk20,000 per month breaks his leg. Surgery costs Tk50,000—more than two months' wages. The family drains savings, borrows at high interest, and sells assets just to survive. In the aftermath, children's diets shrink. Protein-rich foods—eggs, meat, fish—disappear from meals. Debts pile up, and recovery becomes a distant dream.
As Hossain and Nazneen note: "Parental illness significantly increased medical expenses, decreased assets, and increased borrowing, putting enormous financial pressure on households."
The consequences extend beyond malnutrition. Children in these households grow up in chronic stress, harming their mental health and development. The damage isn't temporary—it lingers for life.
The study's conclusion is unambiguous: protecting parents' health is a direct investment in Bangladesh's human capital. When children are malnourished, the country loses future productivity, innovation, and economic growth.
Parental illness is not just a "family problem" but rather a public health crisis with far-reaching aftermath. Poor nutrition in a growing age narrows down a child's scope for future earnings.
Ensuring parental health stability would cushion the children from poverty shocks and inadequate nutrition, as Hossain and Nazneen conclude: "protecting households from illness shocks has significant implications for reducing poverty, human capital accumulation and economic growth in Bangladesh."
Adiba Tahsin is a final-year student at the Department of Economics and Social Sciences at Brac University.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
