Population Dynamics Research CentersPopulation Dynamics Research Centers

Home > Archives for Lillian Kilduff

Lillian Kilduff

Notice of Special Interest: Research on the Impact of Policy Changes and Emerging and Evolving Public Health Crises on NICHD Populations of Interest

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) issued a Notice of Special Interest to announce that research on the effects of emerging and evolving public health crises and/or policy changes on the health, development, and well-being of populations of interest to the NICHD is of high program priority. The NICHD populations of interest are neonates, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults, pregnant and post-partum and nursing people, individuals of reproductive age, and individuals with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities, as well as the families of these individuals.

For more information: https://bit.ly/3BoNemh

Berkeley Population Center, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

This list includes articles in PubMed as of July 11, 2022 with a PubMed entry date between April 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 that reference P2C, R24, or T32 grant support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and oversight by Population Dynamics Branch Program Officials.

Recent Articles Appearing in PubMed

Snyder M, Alburez-Gutierrez D, Williams I, et. al. Estimates from 31 countries show the significant impact of COVID-19 excess mortality on the incidence of family bereavement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2022 Jun 28; 119(26):e2202686119. Epub 2022 Jun 23.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 35737829

Riddell CA, Neumann K, Santaularia NJ, et. al. Excess Google Searches for Child Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infoveillance Approach. Journal of medical Internet research. 2022 Jun 13; 24(6):e36445.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 35700024

Andrejko KL, Head JR, Lewnard JA, et. al. Longitudinal social contacts among school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Bay Area Contacts among Kids (BACK) study. BMC infectious diseases. 2022 Mar 10; 22(1):242.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 35272626

Vyas S, Hathi P, Gupta A. Social disadvantage, economic inequality, and life expectancy in nine Indian states. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2022 Mar 8; 119(10):e2109226119. Epub 2022 Mar 1.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 35238635

Cuesta L, Reynolds S. Testing the Economic Independence Hypothesis: Union Formation Among Single Mothers in Chile. Journal of family issues. 2022 Jan 1; 43(1):96-123. Epub 2021 Feb 25.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 35001997

Wrigley-Field E, Feehan D. In a Stationary Population, the Average Lifespan of the Living Is a Length-Biased Life Expectancy. Demography. 2022 Feb 1; 59(1):207-220.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34918737

Goodman JM, Williams C, Dow WH. Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Paid Parental Leave Access. Health equity. 2021 Oct 13; 5(1):738-749. eCollection 2021.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34909544

LaBriola J, Schneider D. Class Inequality in Parental Childcare Time: Evidence from Synthetic Couples in the ATUS. Social forces; a scientific medium of social study and interpretation. 2021 Dec; 100(2):680-705. Epub 2021 Jan 28.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34658449

Baker RE, Mahmud AS, Miller IF, et. al. Infectious disease in an era of global change. Nature reviews. Microbiology. 2022 Apr; 20(4):193-205. Epub 2021 Oct 13.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34646006

Wrigley-Field E, Kiang MV, Riley AR, et. al. Geographically targeted COVID-19 vaccination is more equitable and averts more deaths than age-based thresholds alone. Science advances. 2021 Oct; 7(40):eabj2099. Epub 2021 Sep 29.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34586843

Gemmill A, Casey JA, Catalano R, et. al. Changes in preterm birth and caesarean deliveries in the United States during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology. 2022 Jul; 36(4):485-489. Epub 2021 Sep 13.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34515360

Dieci M, Wagner Z, Friedman W, et. al. Measuring Family Planning Provider Bias: A Discrete Choice Experiment among Burkinabé, Pakistani, and Tanzanian Providers. Studies in family planning. 2021 Sep; 52(3):299-320.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34472623

Diamond-Smith N, Logan R, Marshall C, et. al. COVID-19’s impact on contraception experiences: Exacerbation of structural inequities in women’s health. Contraception. 2021 Dec; 104(6):600-605. Epub 2021 Aug 27.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34461136

Jakubowski A, Egger D, Nekesa C, et. al. Self-reported vs Directly Observed Face Mask Use in Kenya. JAMA network open. 2021 Jul 1; 4(7):e2118830.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34328505

Feehan DM, Wrigley-Field E. How do populations aggregate? Demographic research. 2021 Jan-Jun; 44:363-378. Epub 2021 Feb 16.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34326681

Andrejko KL, Pry J, Myers JF, et. al. Prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by mRNA-Based Vaccines Within the General Population of California. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2022 Apr 28; 74(8):1382-1389.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34282839

Feehan DM, Borges GM. Estimating Adult Death Rates From Sibling Histories: A Network Approach. Demography. 2021 Aug 1; 58(4):1525-1546.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34251434

Auchincloss AH, Li J, Moore KA, et. al. Are neighbourhood restaurants related to frequency of restaurant meals and dietary quality? Prevalence and changes over time in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Public health nutrition. 2021 Oct; 24(14):4630-4641. Epub 2021 May 25.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34030763

Mena GE, Martinez PP, Mahmud AS, et. al. Socioeconomic status determines COVID-19 incidence and related mortality in Santiago, Chile. Science (New York, N.Y.). 2021 May 28; 372(6545). Epub 2021 Apr 27.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33906968

Rucks-Ahidiana Z, Harding DJ, Harris HM. Race and the Geography of Opportunity in the Post-Prison Labor Market. Social problems. 2020 Jun 3; 68(2):438-489. eCollection 2021 May.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33897304

Bautista-Arredondo S, Pineda-Antunez C, Cerecero-Garcia D, et. al. Moving away from the “unit cost”. Predicting country-specific average cost curves of VMMC services accounting for variations in service delivery platforms in sub-Saharan Africa. PloS one. 2021 Apr 22; 16(4):e0249076. eCollection 2021.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33886576

Head JR, Andrejko KL, Cheng Q, et. al. School closures reduced social mixing of children during COVID-19 with implications for transmission risk and school reopening policies. Journal of the Royal Society, Interface. 2021 Apr; 18(177):20200970. Epub 2021 Apr 14.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33849340

LaBriola J, Schneider D. Worker Power and Class Polarization in Intra-Year Work Hour Volatility. Social forces; a scientific medium of social study and interpretation. 2020 Mar; 98(3):973-999. Epub 2019 Jun 11.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33840864

Duke Population Research Institute, DUKE UNIVERSITY

This list includes articles in PubMed as of July 11, 2022 with a PubMed entry date between April 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 that reference P2C, R24, or T32 grant support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and oversight by Population Dynamics Branch Program Officials.

Recent Articles Appearing in PubMed

Merli MG, Mouw T, Le Barbenchon C, et. al. Using Social Networks to Sample Migrants and Study the Complexity of Contemporary Immigration: An Evaluation Study. Demography. 2022 Jun 1; 59(3):995-1022.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 35466383

Stolte A, Merli MG, Hurst JH, et. al. Using Electronic Health Records to understand the population of local children captured in a large health system in Durham County, NC, USA, and implications for population health research. Social science & medicine (1982). 2022 Mar; 296:114759. Epub 2022 Jan 29.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 35180593

Vaisey S, Kiley K. A Model-Based Method for Detecting Persistent Cultural Change Using Panel Data. Sociological science. 2021; 8:83-95. Epub 2021 Mar 22.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34977277

Dodge KA, Skinner AT, Godwin J, et. al. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on substance use among adults without children, parents, and adolescents. Addictive behaviors reports. 2021 Oct 21; 14:100388. eCollection 2021 Dec.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34938846

Ashworth J, Hotz VJ, Maurel A, et. al. Changes across Cohorts in Wage Returns to Schooling and Early Work Experiences. Journal of labor economics. 2021 Oct; 39(4):931-964. Epub 2021 Jul 23.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34898834

Read JG, Lynch SM, West JS. Disaggregating Heterogeneity among Non-Hispanic Whites: Evidence and Implications for U.S. Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities. Population research and policy review. 2021 Feb; 40(1):9-31. Epub 2021 Jan 28.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34898768

Pastorelli C, Zuffianò A, Lansford JE, et. al. Positive Youth Development: Parental Warmth, Values, and Prosocial Behavior in 11 Cultural Groups. Journal of youth development : bridging research and practice. 2021; 16(2-3):379-401.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34888590

Gibson-Davis C, Keister LA, Gennetian LA. Net Worth Poverty in Child Households by Race and Ethnicity, 1989-2019. Journal of marriage and the family. 2021 Jun; 83(3):667-682. Epub 2020 Nov 26.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34887593

Ananat EO, Gassman-Pines A. Work Schedule Unpredictability: Daily Occurrence and Effects on Working Parents’ Well-Being. Journal of marriage and the family. 2021 Feb; 83(1):10-26. Epub 2020 Jul 13.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34880505

Gibson-Davis C, Hill HD. Childhood Wealth Inequality in the United States: Implications for Social Stratification and Well-Being. The Russell Sage Foundation journal of the social sciences : RSF. 2021 Aug; 7(3):1-26.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34729421

Bourassa KJ, Moffitt TE, Harrington H, et. al. Lower Cardiovascular Reactivity is Associated with More Childhood Adversity and Poorer Midlife Health: Replicated Findings from the Dunedin and MIDUS Cohorts. Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. 2021 Sep 1; 9(5):961-978. Epub 2021 Apr 28.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34707918

Lunyera J, Park YM, Ward JB, et. al. A prospective study of multiple sleep dimensions and hypertension risk among white, black and Hispanic/Latina women: findings from the Sister Study. Journal of hypertension. 2021 Nov 1; 39(11):2210-2219.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34620810

Thomas D, Lawton R, Brown T, et. al. Prevalence, severity and distribution of depression and anxiety symptoms using observational data collected before and nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Regional Health. Americas. 2021 Sep; 1:100009. Epub 2021 Jul 13.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34514462

Chang L, Liu YY, Lu HJ, et. al. Slow Life History Strategies and Increases in Externalizing and Internalizing Problems During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence. 2021 Sep; 31(3):595-607.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34448293

Hussong AM, Benner AD, Erdem G, et. al. Adolescence Amid a Pandemic: Short- and Long-Term Implications. Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence. 2021 Sep; 31(3):820-835.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34448291

Fu Q, Guo X, Jeon SY, et. al. THE USES AND ABUSES OF AN AGE-PERIOD-COHORT METHOD: ON THE LINEAR ALGEBRA AND STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF INTRINSIC AND RELATED ESTIMATORS. Mathematical foundations of computing. 2021 Feb; 4(1):45-59.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34447928

Keister LA, Stecher C, Aronson B, et. al. Provider Bias in prescribing opioid analgesics: a study of electronic medical Records at a Hospital Emergency Department. BMC public health. 2021 Aug 6; 21(1):1518.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34362330

Homan P, Brown TH, King B. Structural Intersectionality as a New Direction for Health Disparities Research. Journal of health and social behavior. 2021 Sep; 62(3):350-370. Epub 2021 Aug 6.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34355603

McNaughton Reyes HL, Maman S, Kajula LJ, et. al. The Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Young Men in Tanzania: A Latent Class Analysis of Patterns and Outcomes. AIDS and behavior. 2022 Feb; 26(2):512-522. Epub 2021 Aug 3.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34342741

Sinclair AH, Hakimi S, Stanley ML, et. al. Pairing facts with imagined consequences improves pandemic-related risk perception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2021 Aug 10; 118(32).
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34341120

Andersen SH, Richmond-Rakerd LS, Moffitt TE, et. al. Nationwide evidence that education disrupts the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2021 Aug 3; 118(31).
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34312230

Rothenberg WA, Lansford JE, Bornstein MH, et. al. Cross-Cultural Associations of Four Parenting Behaviors With Child Flourishing: Examining Cultural Specificity and Commonality in Cultural Normativeness and Intergenerational Transmission Processes. Child development. 2021 Nov; 92(6):e1138-e1153. Epub 2021 Jul 22.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34291830

Edwards F, Wakefield S, Healy K, et. al. Contact with Child Protective Services is pervasive but unequally distributed by race and ethnicity in large US counties. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2021 Jul 27; 118(30).
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34282022

Grieneisen L, Dasari M, Gould TJ, et. al. Gut microbiome heritability is nearly universal but environmentally contingent. Science (New York, N.Y.). 2021 Jul 9; 373(6551):181-186.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34244407

Duke NN, Jensen TM, Perreira KM, et. al. The Role of Family Health History in Predicting Midlife Chronic Disease Outcomes. American journal of preventive medicine. 2021 Oct; 61(4):509-517. Epub 2021 Jul 3.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34229928

Herrera JP, Rabezara JY, Ravelomanantsoa NAF, et. al. Food insecurity related to agricultural practices and household characteristics in rural communities of northeast Madagascar. Food security. 2021; 13(6):1393-1405. Epub 2021 Jun 24.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34188720

Lodge EK, Hoyo C, Gutierrez CM, et. al. Estimating exposure to neighborhood crime by race and ethnicity for public health research. BMC public health. 2021 Jun 5; 21(1):1078.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34098923

Sundaresh R, Yi Y, Harvey TD, et. al. Exposure to Family Member Incarceration and Adult Well-being in the United States. JAMA network open. 2021 May 3; 4(5):e2111821.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34047791

Hill Z, Spiegel M, Gennetian L, et. al. Behavioral Economics and Parent Participation in an Evidence-Based Parenting Program at Scale. Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research. 2021 Oct; 22(7):891-902. Epub 2021 May 20.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34014490

Kuppalli K, Gala P, Cherabuddi K, et. al. India’s COVID-19 crisis: a call for international action. Lancet (London, England). 2021 Jun 5; 397(10290):2132-2135 Epub 2021 May 14.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 34000256

Basili E, Zuffianò A, Pastorelli C, et. al. Maternal and paternal psychological control and adolescents’ negative adjustment: A dyadic longitudinal study in three countries. PloS one. 2021 May 14; 16(5):e0251437. eCollection 2021.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33989323

Khaw MW, Kranton R, Huettel S. Oversampling of minority categories drives misperceptions of group compositions. Cognition. 2021 Sep; 214:104756. Epub 2021 May 8.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33971528

Gehred MZ, Knodt AR, Ambler A, et. al. Long-term Neural Embedding of Childhood Adversity in a Population-Representative Birth Cohort Followed for 5 Decades. Biological psychiatry. 2021 Aug 1; 90(3):182-193. Epub 2021 Mar 9.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33952400

Tyrovolas S, Giné-Vázquez I, Fernández D, et. al. Estimating the COVID-19 Spread Through Real-time Population Mobility Patterns: Surveillance in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Journal of medical Internet research. 2021 Jun 14; 23(6):e22999.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33950850

Gray GC, Robie ER, Studstill CJ, et. al. Mitigating Future Respiratory Virus Pandemics: New Threats and Approaches to Consider. Viruses. 2021 Apr 8; 13(4).
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33917745

Yi Y, Kennedy J, Chazotte C, et. al. Paternal Jail Incarceration and Birth Outcomes: Evidence from New York City, 2010-2016. Maternal and child health journal. 2021 Aug; 25(8):1221-1241. Epub 2021 Apr 29.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33914227

Campos FA, Archie EA, Gesquiere LR, et. al. Glucocorticoid exposure predicts survival in female baboons. Science advances. 2021 Apr 21; 7(17).
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33883141

Putnam-Hornstein E, Ahn E, Prindle J, et. al. Cumulative Rates of Child Protection Involvement and Terminations of Parental Rights in a California Birth Cohort, 1999-2017. American journal of public health. 2021 Jun; 111(6):1157-1163. Epub 2021 Apr 15.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33856882

Fu Q, Guo X, Land KC. Optimizing Count Responses in Surveys: A Machine-learning Approach. Sociological methods & research. 2020 Aug; 49(3):637-671. Epub 2018 Jan 30.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33840866

Hightow-Weidman L, Carcano J, Choi SK, et. al. Enlaces Por La Salud: A Personal Health Navigator Intervention Grounded in the Transnational Framework. Journal of immigrant and minority health. 2021 Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print].
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33835380

Anderson JA, Johnston RA, Lea AJ, et. al. High social status males experience accelerated epigenetic aging in wild baboons. eLife. 2021 Apr 6; 10.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33821798

Basili E, Zuffianò A, Pastorelli C, et. al. Disentangling Italian mothers’ and fathers’ psychological control over time: A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43). 2021 Sep; 35(6):789-800. Epub 2021 Apr 1.
Access article in PubMed.
PMID: 33793275

Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Centers of Excellence in Maternal Health Research

Estimated Publication Date: July 25, 2022

First Estimated Application Due Date: November 30,  2022

Purpose

As part of the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, on behalf of the NIH Maternal Mortality Task Force, intends to promote a new initiative by publishing Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) to solicit applications to establish a national network of Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence. The collaborative FOAs will conduct research to mitigate preventable maternal mortality, decrease severe maternal morbidity, and promote health equity.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

This FOA will utilize the U24 activity code for the research resource Hub and the U54 activity code for the Research Centers of Excellence. The FOAs are anticipated to be published in late Spring or early Summer 2022 with an expected application due date in Fall 2022. Details of the planned initiative are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

The collaborative Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence FOAs represent one part of the multipronged Implementing a Maternal health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative launched by the NIH in response to the rising rates of maternal mortality in the U.S. Over the past 25 years, the maternal mortality rate has more than doubled in the U.S. and is now higher than any high-income country in the world. Approximately 700 women die each year from conditions related to or associated with pregnancy or childbirth. In addition, severe maternal morbidities affect more than 65,000 women in the U.S. per year. Women experiencing severe maternal morbidity are at increased risk for future adverse health (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, dementias, mental health conditions, strokes, and heart disease). High rates of maternal deaths disproportionately affect Black/African American and American Indian/Alaska Native women. There are also disparities by age, education, socioeconomic status, and geographic region.

One-third of pregnancy-related deaths occur during pregnancy, one-third occur during or in the week after delivery, and one third occur between one week to one year postpartum. Causes of severe maternal morbidities and maternal mortality are multifaceted. In the U.S., the leading causes are cardiovascular disease, infection, hypertensive disorders, thromboembolism, and hemorrhage. Significant contributing factors include comorbid conditions (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, mental illness, and substance use disorders) and social determinants of health, which include structural racism and health care system factors. It is estimated that 60 to 70 percent of maternal deaths in the U.S. are preventable.

This Notice encourages multidisciplinary investigators with expertise in developing and testing strategies to address preventable contributors to severe maternal morbidity and maternal mortality in under-represented minority populations and proficiency in conducting novel systems research investigating health care and community-partnered approaches to maternal wellbeing to consider working with their relevant institutions to apply for this new FOA.

Projects must include a focus on one or more populations that experience maternal health disparities, such as underrepresented racial and ethnic communities (including but not limited to Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders), socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, underserved rural populations (e.g., living in obstetrical deserts), sexual and gender minority groups, or persons with disabilities. In addition to scientific diversity, applicants must incorporate diversity in their team development plan. Please refer to Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity, NOT-OD-20-031, for more details.

The planned U24 Hubs will serve as an indispensable research resource where data collected from the IMPROVE Centers of Excellence initiative, and possibly other IMPROVE initiatives, can be aggregated, accessed, analyzed, and shared within and across Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence.

For more information: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HD-22-022.html

Drug Use, Suicide, and Homicide Account for More Than a Fifth of Pregnancy-Associated Deaths

In the United States, more than 20% of deaths during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth are due to drug use, suicide, or homicide, suggests a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).1 The number of pregnancy-associated deaths from these causes increased between 2010 and 2019, with drug-related deaths nearly tripling (see figure). The research team also highlighted considerable racial and ethnic inequities in these deaths.

Maternal mortality statistics typically encompass deaths from causes directly related to or aggravated by pregnancy or pregnancy care. There have been few national estimates of the burden of deaths due to drug use, suicide, or homicide that occur during pregnancy or the first year postpartum. In the current study, researchers examined death certificate records from 33 states and Washington, DC, to estimate the prevalence of such pregnancy-associated deaths in the United States from 2010 to 2019.

Study Highlights Opioid Epidemic’s Toll on Recently Pregnant Women

Of the 11,782 pregnancy-associated deaths that the researchers identified, 11.4% were due to use of illicit or prescription drugs, 5.4% were due to suicide, and 5.4% were due to homicide. The prevalence of pregnancy-associated deaths because of drug use increased 190% between 2010 and 2019. Deaths from homicide rose 63%, and those due to suicide increased 30%.

“These data also demonstrate unacceptable racial and ethnic inequities in pregnancy-associated deaths,” the authors write. For example, they observed much higher rates of pregnancy-associated deaths due to suicide among American Indians and Alaska Natives, compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Non-Hispanic Black people had a disproportionately high risk of death from homicide.

Overall, homicide accounted for 8% of deaths during pregnancy, compared to only 3.4% of all deaths among females of reproductive age. Almost 60% of pregnancy-associated homicides occurred during pregnancy, while approximately half of drug-related deaths and suicides took place between six weeks and one year postpartum. The researchers speculate that the higher risk of drug-related and suicide deaths in the postpartum period may be attributable to lack of specialized mental health and substance use services, the stress of caring for a newborn, hormonal changes, and other factors.

Screening for Substance Abuse, Mental Health Problems, and Intimate Partner Violence Are Key

The findings indicate that deaths due to drug use, suicide, and homicide are substantial and growing contributors to pregnancy-associated mortality. The authors estimate that preventing such deaths would have saved more than 2,600 pregnant and postpartum people between 2010 and 2019. The data also underscore the need to address racial and ethnic disparities in these deaths.

The findings suggest the need for research to identify risk factors and prevention approaches for pregnancy-associated deaths due to drug use, suicide, and homicide. Such prevention approaches may include screening for substance use, mental health issues, and intimate partner violence and coordinating obstetric care with addiction medicine, behavioral health, and social services. The authors also call for attention to barriers to accessing care and support, including issues with housing, transportation, childcare, and domestic abuse.

This article was adapted from a Science Update by the Press Office at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The work of researchers from the NICHD-funded Population Dynamics Research Center at Johns Hopkins University is highlighted.

References

1. Claire Margerison et al., “Pregnancy-Associated Deaths Due to Drugs, Suicide, and Homicide in the United States, 2010-2019,” Obstetrics and Gynecology 139, no. 2 (2022): 172-80. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004649. PMID: 34991132

NIH Invites Feedback on Climate Change and Health Initiative

The Steering Committee of the National Institutes of Health Climate Change and Human Health Working Group invites feedback on the approaches NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices can take to enhance research on the health implications of climate change in the United States and globally.

Responses will be accepted through August 30, 2021.

For more information:
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-ES-21-009.html

Explore the Research Centers

Search All Centers

Conduct a custom search across the Population Dynamics Research Centers. Up to 100 results.