Early childhood environments impact development of children’s stress response system development

Harvard Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars program alumnae Kate McLaughlin, PhD, and Margaret Sheridan, PhD, have published a study that shows a link between early caregiving environments and how children’s stress response systems develop. The negative effects of early deprivation can be mitigated if environment is improved before the age of two. The results of the study have received attention on ScienceDaily.com.

David Bloom named Andrew Carnegie Fellow

Harvard Pop Center faculty member and principal investigator of the Program on the Global Demography of Aging (PGDA) David E. Bloom, PhD, was named one of 32 inaugural Andrew Carnegie Fellows. This newly established fellowship supports scholarly work in the areas of social sciences and humanities, and can enable recipients to devote between one to two years to research. Read more in this Harvard Chan School news item and in…

Living in communities with more bars puts young South African women at increased risk for Herpes Simplex 2

Harvard Pop Center Bell Fellow Molly Rosenberg, PhD, is lead author of a study published in journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases that examines whether living in communities with more alcohol outlets is associated with increased prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2) infection among young women living in South African villages. Pop Center faculty members Stephen Tollman, PhD, and Kathleen Kahn, PhD, are also authors on the paper.

Low mortality rate at 24 months postpartum among HIV-infected women in Tanzania given ART during pregnancy

Harvard Pop Center Spiegelman Fellow Germana Leyna, MD, has co-authored an article published in BioMed Central that examines virologic and immunologic responses, drug resistance and mortality at 24 months postpartum in women in Tanzania who started antiretroviral therapy (ART) for life late in pregnancy. While virologic and immunologic failure was significantly higher among women who reported non-perfect adherence to ART at month 24, the mortality rate was fairly low.

Increased supply of pediatricians leads to better vaccination coverage in Japan

Harvard Pop Center faculty members Gunther Fink, PhD, and Ichiro Kawachi, MD, PhD, are co-authors on a paper published in the Journal of Epidemiology that reveals a positive association between the supply of pediatricians in Japan with vaccination coverage, an indicator of preventive health service utilization.

Why are Indian children so short? Pande’s research makes news.

Harvard Pop Center’s Executive Committee Member Rohini Pande, PhD, has co-authored a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research that explores the role that India’s culture of eldest son preference may play in stunting. The working paper has received media attention in the The Hindu, Quartz, and Scroll.in.

More to obesity than BMI; a cluster analysis exploring subgroups

Harvard Pop Center Bell Fellow Fahad Razak, MD, and Pop Center Executive Committee Member S V Subramanian, PhD, have co-authored a study published in the Journal of Public Health that clusters the obese into subgroups, such as heavy drinking males, and affluent and happy elderly, to better understand and formulate strategies to target obese individuals.

Berkman to appear on panel of “The Vow Factor” Congressional Briefing April 17

Lisa Berkman, PhD, the director of the Harvard Pop Center, will be a panel member at a congressional briefing entitled “The Vow Factor: Marriage, Divorce and Family Formation and their Impact on Health and Well-Being” at the U.S. Capital Visitor Center on Friday, April 17 from noon – 12:30 p.m. The Congressional briefing is sponsored by The Population Association of America, and the Association of Population Centers, and is open…