Our comprehensive review and meta- analysis of these experiments find suggestive evidence of health benefits associated with investments in early life , income support , and health insurance interventions .
Housing and neighborhood trials had no effect on the outcomes included in the meta-analyses .
A positive effect of the trial on its primary socioeconomic outcome was associated with higher odds of reporting health improvements .
Early life , income , and health insurance interventions have the potential to improve health .
Policy Points Social policies might not only improve economic well-being , but also health .
Health policy experts have therefore advocated for investments in social policies both to improve population health and potentially reduce health system costs .
Since the 1960s , a large number of social policies have been experimentally evaluated in the United States .
Some of these experiments include health outcomes , providing a unique opportunity to inform evidence -based policymaking .
CONTEXT Insurers and health care providers are investing heavily in nonmedical social interventions in an effort to improve health and potentially reduce health care costs .
Effects of a prekindergarten educational intervention on adult health: 37-year follow-up results of a randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVES We used 37 years of follow-up data from a r and omized controlled trial to explore the linkage between an early educational intervention and adult health . METHODS We analyzed data from the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program ( PPP )  , an  early school-based intervention in which 123 children were r and omized to a prekindergarten education group or a control group . In addition to exploring the effects of the program on health behavioral risk factors and health outcomes , we examined the extent to which educational attainment , income , family environment , and health insurance access mediated the relationship between r and omization to PPP and behavioral and health outcomes . RESULTS The PPP led to improvements in educational attainment , health insurance , income , and family environment Improvements in these domains , in turn , lead to improvements in an array of behavioral risk factors and health ( P = .01 ) . However , despite these reductions in behavioral risk factors , participants did not exhibit any overall improvement in physical health outcomes by the age of 40 years . CONCLUSIONS Early education reduces health behavioral risk factors by enhancing educational attainment , health insurance coverage , income , and family environments . Further follow-up will be needed to determine the long-term health effects of PPP
Our comprehensive review and meta- analysis of these experiments find suggestive evidence of health benefits associated with investments in early life , income support , and health insurance interventions .
Housing and neighborhood trials had no effect on the outcomes included in the meta-analyses .
A positive effect of the trial on its primary socioeconomic outcome was associated with higher odds of reporting health improvements .
Early life , income , and health insurance interventions have the potential to improve health .
Policy Points Social policies might not only improve economic well-being , but also health .
Health policy experts have therefore advocated for investments in social policies both to improve population health and potentially reduce health system costs .
Since the 1960s , a large number of social policies have been experimentally evaluated in the United States .
Some of these experiments include health outcomes , providing a unique opportunity to inform evidence -based policymaking .
CONTEXT Insurers and health care providers are investing heavily in nonmedical social interventions in an effort to improve health and potentially reduce health care costs .