Report warns of high cost of increasing non-communicable diseases in Indonesia

A World Economic Forum report co-authored by Pop Center affiliated faculty member David Bloom, PhD, and PGDA Fellow Mark McGovern, PhD, warn that increasing non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and mental health conditions) could cost the emerging country of Indonesia close to 4.5 trillion dollars from 2012-2030. The report was covered by CNBC and this Wall Street Journal blog.

Does childhood abuse affect blood pressure as early as adolescence?

Harvard Pop Center RWJF Health & Society Scholars program alumnae Margaret Sheridan, PhD, and Kate McLaughlin, PhD, are co-authors on a study in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology that finds that adolescents who had a history of child abuse had higher diastolic blood pressure (DBP), suggesting a potential pathway by which child abuse leads to hypertension.

Do children from immigrant families in U.S. receive equal quality of pediatric healthcare?

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar program alumna Summer Hawkins, PhD, along with lead author Rocio Calvo Vilches, PhD, a former Harvard Pop Center Bell Fellow, have published a study in Maternal and Child Health Journal that finds that perceived disparities in pediatric healthcare tended to lessen from first to third generation immigrant status, although there was some variation between racial/ethnic groups.

How did Hurricane Katrina affect short & long-term happiness of survivors?

Former Harvard Pop Center Bell Fellow Rocio Calvo Vilches, PhD,  Pop Center faculty member Mary Waters, PhD,  and Pop Center Yerby Fellow Mariana Arcaya, ScD, co-authored a study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies titled Happily Ever After? Pre-and-Post Disaster Determinants of Happiness Among Survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The study, which compared survivors’ happiness levels pre-disaster to one and four years post-disaster, has received international media attention on fastcoexist.com,…

Job stress that impacts family life linked to increased cardiometabolic risk

A WFHN study of nursing home employees found that job stress that impacts family life (work-to-family conflict) is linked to increased cardiometabolic risk, whereas being married and having younger children at home was protective against this increased risk. Lisa Berkman is lead author on study, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, which also found that family conflict that impacted work life (family-to-work conflict) was associated with getting less…

Single motherhood before age 50 linked to poorer health later in life

Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman, PhD, is lead author on a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health that found that single motherhood before the age of 50 was associated with poorer health in later life. The association was stronger in England, the US, Denmark, and Sweden than in some of the other countries, such as those in Southern Europe, suggesting that social supports (e.g., a…

Long-term depression may double stroke risk in adults over 50

Harvard Pop Center faculty members Laura Kubzansky, PhD,  Ichiro Kawachi, MD, PhD, and M. Maria Glymour, ScD, are co-authors on a ground-breaking study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association that indicates that even when depressive symptoms have subsided, the higher risk of stroke still remains, particularly for women. Learn more in this Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health news brief, in this spot on NPR, and…