A team of researchers on the “Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa” (HAALSI) project have published their findings in the Journal of Aging and Health.
Prevalence of diabetes among subset of women in India varies by region
This cross-sectional study published in Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders by faculty member S V Subramanian and his colleagues Shrikant Singh and Parul Puri found that the burden of diabetes among women (ages 35-49) was higher in the southern and eastern parts of India, and was lower in central India. Read more about the study on Hindu.com and in this news post by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of…
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Mental health status check of young adults in U.S. during first wave of COVID-19 pandemic
Harvard Pop Center faculty member Cindy H. Liu, PhD, and colleagues have published a study in Psychiatry Research that found that nearly half of the U.S. young adults (18-30) in the study showed high rates of depression and anxiety, and nearly a third showed high levels of PTSD symptoms. Family support was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Warning: The findings of this analysis could help to shape public policies that require warning labels on sugary drinks
Harvard Bell Fellow Anna H. Grummon, PhD, and her colleague Marissa G. Hall, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, have published a meta-analysis in PLOS Medicine examining the effects of sugary beverage warning labels on changing behavior, emotions, attitudes, and perceptions. The researchers synthesized the findings of twenty-three experiments conducted across multiple countries. They found that across these experimental studies, sugary drink warnings not only reduced purchases of sugary…
Ethan Raker awarded prize for best doctoral student paper
Congratulations to Harvard Pop Center Graduate Student Affiliate Ethan Raker! He is the first sociology student to be awarded the Ana Aguado Prize for best doctoral student paper from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program (HEEP). Ethan’s paper, which was published in Demography earlier this year, examines the lasting demographic impact of natural disasters by focusing on severe tornadoes over a span of thirty years.
Ethical considerations of food and beverage warnings; weighing the pros and cons
Harvard Bell Fellow Anna Grummon, PhD, and colleagues (including Harvard Pop Center faculty members Jason Block and Sara Bleich) evaluate the ethical strengths and weaknesses of food and beverage warnings (aimed to help prevent obesity and improve health) by looking through the lens of a public health ethics framework. Their findings are published in the journal Physiology & Behavior. Other authors of the study include: Marissa Hall, Eric Rimm, Lindsey…
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Lessons from Hurricane Katrina on less obvious possible health impacts of COVID-19
Data from a longitudinal study of survivors of Hurricane Katrina could be helpful in predicting the more indirect health stressors of a pandemic. Ethan Raker, a Harvard Pop Center graduate student affiliate, Meghan Zacher, and Sarah Lowe, have published a study in PNAS that draws from their work on the RISK project. Their findings suggest that lapses in medical care and medication use, fear surrounding the well-being of loved ones,…
How can diabetes be more accurately diagnosed in an aging South African population?
Two of the most common tests for diagnosing diabetes (fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c) don’t always yield the same result, and researchers affiliated with the research study Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) took a closer look at the concordance of these test results within an aging population in South Africa. Their findings were published in the Journal of the…
Novel study reveals an unequal surge in COVID-19 mortality rates in Massachusetts by poverty level, race and crowded housing
A Harvard Pop Center working paper reveals the findings of an analysis of State-provided public health data by Harvard T. H. Chan School researchers Jarvis Chen, Pamela Waterman, and Nancy Krieger. The Boston Globe obtained the data and shared it with the researchers in order to generate this novel analysis. Read more in The Boston Globe, and in this Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health news item. Graphic…
How much testing is needed by May 15 to more safely phase out social distancing measures? A look at state-by-state estimates
Professor Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, spoke with NPR about a simulation that the Harvard Global Health Institute developed and published that generates approximate, state-specific estimates meant to serve as a guide.