A timely piece in The New York Times (including insights from our director Lisa Berkman) that explores what drives some people to retire sooner than planned and what keeps some in their posts longer than they thought (and perhaps, ought).
HIV care cascade for older adults in rural South Africa
Stable engagement in health care, referred to as the care cascade or care continuum, is considered to be essential for those living with HIV to experience healthy aging. Based on two waves of longitudinal data collected from older adults with HIV in rural South Africa, researchers affiliated with the flagship project Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in South Africa (HAALSA) have published their findings in the journal JAIDS…
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Optimism, sense of purpose, and the condition of the immune system as we age
Harvard Pop Center Bell Fellow Hayami Koga, MD, PhD, is lead author on a study that aims to explore the relationship between optimism, a sense of purpose, and immune markers in aging. Findings point to there being an association between these two components of psychological well-being and an increase in certain T cells in the context of “immunosenescence” (the gradual deterioration of the immune system that is brought on by…
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Could experiencing gratitude boost one’s longevity?
A study published in JAMA Psychiatry is one of the first to provide empirical evidence indicating an association between a grateful affect and longevity. Harvard Pop Center faculty member Laura Kubzansky is one of the authors on this population-based cohort study of nearly 50,000 older female registered nurses that used self-reported questionnaires and medical records. According to this news post by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: “The…
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The Harvard Gazette reports: “Stroke risk higher for chronically lonely”
While other studies have found a link between loneliness and a higher risk of stroke, they have mostly examined a single point in time, as opposed to loneliness as a more chronic condition that extends over time. Former Harvard Pop Center Graduate Student Affiliate Yenee Soh, along with Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman, faculty members Ichiro Kawachi, Laura Kubzansky, and their colleague Henning Tiemeier, have published a study in eClinical…
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Resiliency in rural South Africa; certain types of earlier adversity linked to better health outcomes for some
A study authored by Harvard Pop Center Research Scientist Elyse Jennings, PhD, and other researchers affiliated with the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in Africa (HAALSA), including Darina Bassil, Kathleen Kahn, and Sumaya Mall, examines the impacts of childhood (and adulthood) adversity on later-life cognitive, mental, and physical health in a rural Black South African population.
Nicotine use and cardiometabolic health: A novel look at the complementary relationship between genetic and socioeconomic/lifestyle factors
Former Harvard postdoctoral fellows Adam Lippert, Dan Corsi, and Rockli Kim, along with faculty member S (Subu) V Subramanian, and their colleagues have published a study in Nicotine and Tobacco Research that is one of few studies to assess cumulative genetic contributions to nicotine use and cardiometabolic health during early mid-life alongside socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.
Darina Bassil selected for new APC fellowship
Congratulations to Darina Bassil, Pop Center research scientist, who was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Association of Population Center (APC) Fellowship program for 2024–2025. Darina is project director of the HAALSI Dementia Study (HAALSI-HCAP) and is responsible for overseeing study data collection, management and analysis, as well as managing the cognitive components of the HAALSA project. She holds a PhD in public health from Imperial College London, and…
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Announcing the 2024 Dillon Family Fellowship Award recipients
Congratulations to Harvard Pop Center graduate student affiliates Muqi Guo and Dena Javadi on being named the recipients of the Dillon Family Fellowship Award. This long-standing monetary award was created to benefit graduate students at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Muqi Guo is a PhD candidate in population health sciences in the Department of Global Health & Population. Her dissertation is entitled “Reproductive Health and Women’s Well-being…
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How did household size & virtual contact impact anxiety levels associated with social distancing during COVID-19 in rural South Africa?
A study by researchers affiliated with the national study Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in South Africa (HAALSA) based on data from a phone survey reveals that although declines in social interaction were associated with increased anxiety levels among both men and women in rural South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, women living in larger households seemed to be especially impacted. “For women, living in larger households may…