Harvard Bell Fellow Onur Altindag, PhD, is co-author of a paper published in the American Journal of Public Health that reveals significant demographic differences between minors who seek an abortion through a judicial bypass and those who have parental consent in Arkansas, the only state that provides such data at the individual level. For the first time, the study additionally shows stark aggregate differences in the use of judicial bypass…
Jason Block comments on US Preventative Services Task Force’s recently revised recommendations on tackling childhood obesity
Harvard Pop Center faculty member Jason Block, MD, and a colleague pen this Editorial in JAMA, sharing their thoughts on the screening, treatment and prevention of childhood obesity in the US. The new recommendations by the expert panel, as well as the Editorial in JAMA, is explored in this piece by the LA Times.
What explains difference in heart rate recovery among those of varying levels of socioeconomic status?
Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman and colleagues, including recent visiting scientist Cathal McCrory, are authors on a paper published in The Journals of Gerontology Series A that links higher levels of educational attainment with better heart rate recovery, which is an important biomarker of cardiovascular health and predictor of mortality. Lifetime smoking was found to play a significant role in explaining some of the differences between the educational levels.
Companies with family-friendly policies may help retain & boost performance of professional women caregivers who have other caregiving duties
Professional women caregivers in long-term care facilities with double-duty (unpaid child care) and triple-duty (both unpaid child and elder care) responsibilities had better retention and engagement in their jobs when they felt more supported by their husbands. The WFHN researchers have published their findings in The Gerontologist.
For elderly, persistent pain is associated with accelerated memory decline and higher risk of dementia
Harvard Pop Center faculty member Maria Glymour is an author on this longitudinal study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Exercise may lower risk of types of breast cancer that are more difficult to treat
Harvard Bell Fellow Lindsay Kobayashi, PhD, is co-lead author on a study published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment that has found that among post-menopausal women, moderate-to vigorous-physical activity (e.g., cycling, running, swimming) measured throughout the lifetime is linked to a reduced risk of the types of breast cancer (triple negative) that are not as responsive to hormonal therapies and are, therefore, more difficult to treat. Physical activity across the…
Working paper: Up, Down & Reciprocal: The Dynamics of Intergenerational Transfers, Family Structure & Health in a Low-Income Context
Harvard Bell Fellow Collin Payne is lead author on a working paper that explores the complex nature of how resources are shared and redistributed within a family in the absence of a public pension system in a rural sub-Saharan African setting.
Global health researchers call for development of local research capacity within LMICs
A team of global health experts, including Harvard Pop Center faculty members Stephen Tollman and Kathleen Kahn, have authored a Comment in The Lancet Global Health that makes a case for why strengthening local research capacities within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is needed to most effectively pinpoint issues, and develop and govern system-wide solutions. The team offers a detailed list of action steps that could be taken to ensure that such a…
Article explores how election of Trump might negatively affect health of “targeted” groups
An article co-authored by David R. Williams explores how past “dramatic societal events” impacted the health of vulnerable, marginalized groups, and offers suggestions to health care providers on how to best mitigate the negative impacts that are likely to result from this recent election. The article appears in The New England Journal of Medicine. Learn more from this piece in the press. Also covered by Refinery29, and New York Magazine.
Kobayashi wins best poster by postdoc & research associate at Harvard Chan Poster Day
Congratulations to Harvard Bell Fellow Lindsay Kobayashi on winning Best Poster in the Best Postdoc and Research Associates category at this year’s Harvard Chan School Poster Day event. This poster was also presented at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics meeting in July, 2017, and the abstract was published in Innovation in Aging.