Press Release Archives

New methodology reveals health, climate impacts of reducing buildings’ energy use

Increasing energy efficiency in buildings can save money—and it can also decrease the carbon emissions and air pollution that lead to climate change and health harms. But the climate and health benefits of reducing buildings’ energy consumption are rarely quantified. Now, researchers from Harvard Chan School, Boston University, and Oregon State University have developed a new method for calculating the health and climate impacts of these energy savings.

Adherence to a Mediterranean lifestyle associated with lower risk of all-cause and cancer mortality

People who adhere to a Mediterranean lifestyle—which includes a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; healthy eating habits like limiting added salts and sugars; and habits promoting adequate rest, physical activity, and socialization—have a lower risk of all-cause and cancer mortality, according to a new study led by La Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Outdoor air pollution may increase non-lung cancer risk in older adults

Chronic exposure to fine particulate air pollutants and nitrogen dioxide may increase non-lung cancer risk in older adults, according to a study led by Harvard Chan School. In a cohort study of millions of Medicare beneficiaries, the researchers found that exposures to PM2.5 and NO2 over a 10-year period increased the risk of developing colorectal and prostate cancers. The researchers also found that even low levels of air pollution exposure may make people particularly susceptible to developing these cancers, in addition to breast and endometrial cancers.

Decade-long research project that explores aging in South Africa receives NIH/NIA funding for additional waves and national expansion, with a special emphasis on cognitive health

Researchers from the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard Chan School, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Cape Town have been awarded $27 million from the National Institute on Aging to further their collaborative program project Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study in South Africa (HAALSI).

Substantial racial inequalities despite frequent health care contact found in treatment for opioid use disorder

In the wake of an opioid-related event, White patients received medication for opioid use disorder up to 80% more frequently than Black patients and up to 25% more frequently than Hispanic patients, according to a new study led by Harvard Chan School. Across racial groups, patients made a similar number of visits to health care providers in the six months following such an event—indicating that disparities in treatment are not explained by low contact with care.

Regulations reducing lead and copper contamination in drinking water generate $9 billion of health benefits per year, according to new analysis

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Lead and Copper Drinking Water Rule Revision (LCRR) costs $335 million to implement while generating $9 billion in health benefits annually—far exceeding the EPA’s public statements that the LCRR generates $645 million in annual health benefits, according to a new study from researchers at Harvard Chan School.