The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health has particular interest in studies of health patterns among vulnerable populations, including research on Americans who may be at high risk of becoming critically ill with a coronavirus infection.
PRB created a list of illustrative grants and recently published journal articles showing how NICHD-funded Population Centers are contributing to the Institute’s research goals and objectives, through research on health disparities that can help inform responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
This list is not comprehensive, but provides some recent examples of NICHD-funded grants and published research on important public health challenges.
Bowling Green State University (Grant P2CHD050959)
Childhood food insecurity is higher among children living outside of a two biological married-parent household, with rates highest among single-mother households. Balistreri KS. Family Structure and Child Food Insecurity: Evidence from the Current Population Survey. Soc Indic Res. 2018;138(3):1171‐1185.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6171531/
University of Texas at Austin (Grant P2CHD042849)
Children who continuously lived in or moved to a poor neighborhood during the study face a higher risk of asthma than other kids. Cantu P, Kim Y, Sheehan C, et. al. Downward Neighborhood Poverty Mobility during Childhood Is Associated with Child Asthma: Evidence from the Geographic Research on Wellbeing (GROW) Survey. J Urban Health. 2019 May 2. [Epub ahead of print].
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31049846
University of Michigan (Grant P2CHD041028)
Adults tracked over 25 years tended to stay in the same health categories: 1. Normal BMI and moderate alcohol consumption, 2. Overweight, 3. Current smokers, 4. Obese, or 5. Non-drinkers. Smokers were most like to change categories, while those who were obese were least likely to change categories. Burgard SA, Lin KYP, Segal BD, et. al. Stability and Change in Health Behavior Profiles of U.S. Adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2020 Feb 14; 75(3):674-683.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32059056
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Grant P2CHD050924)
Hispanic/Latino renters in U.S. cities with high foreclosure risk had a higher prevalence of high blood pressure and high cholesterol than those in low foreclosure risk areas. Chambers EC, Hanna DB, Hua S, et. al. Relationship between area mortgage foreclosures, homeownership, and cardiovascular disease risk factors: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. BMC Public Health. 2019 Jan 17; 19(1):77.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30654781
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Grant P2CHD050924)
Uninsurance declined significantly among recently incarcerated men after Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation. Researchers also found evidence of increased health insurance coverage and increased likelihood of treatment for diabetes, high blood pressure, and mental illness among at-risk populations. Gutierrez CM, Pettit B. Employment and Health Among Recently Incarcerated Men Before and After the Affordable Care Act (2009-2017). Am J Public Health. 2020 Jan; 110(S1):S123-S129.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31967870
Brown University (Grant P2CHD041020)
Living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood early in life is linked to high blood pressure and obesity in adulthood—risk factors for heart disease. Jimenez MP, Wellenius GA, Subramanian SV, et. al. Longitudinal associations of neighborhood socioeconomic status with cardiovascular risk factors: A 46-year follow-up study. Soc Sci Med. 2019 Nov; 241:112574. Epub 2019 Sep 25.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31593787
Duke University (Grant P2CHD065563)
Blacks and American Indians have two times the level of diabetes and hypertension and report greater levels of everyday stress from overwork, the neighborhood environment, and meeting basic daily needs compared with whites. Richman L, Pearson J, Beasley C, et. al. Addressing health inequalities in diverse, rural communities: An unmet need. SSM Popul Health. 2019 Apr 9; 7:100398. eCollection 2019 Apr.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31011618
University of Texas at Austin (Grant P2CHD042849)
Cost containment strategies may mean that elderly, low-income, disabled Americans of Mexican origin in Texas are less likely to have full access to Medicaid benefits than their peers in California. Angel JL, Angel RJ, Cantu P. Medicaid Use among Older Low-Income Medicare Enrollees in California and Texas: A Tale of Two States. J Health Polit Policy Law. 2019 Dec 1; 44(6):885-910.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31408881
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Grant P2CHD050924)
Among African Americans, dark-skinned women have more physiological deterioration/disease risk factors and report worse health than lighter-skinned women, or black men of any skin tone. Hargrove TW. Light Privilege? Skin Tone Stratification in Health among African Americans. Sociol Race Ethn (Thousand Oaks). 2019 Jul; 5(3):370-387. Epub 2018 Sep 20.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32123694
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Grant P2CHD050924)
Low household income, childhood trauma, ethnic discrimination, and neighborhood problems (violence, litter, food deserts) are linked to both diabetes and depression in U.S. Latinos. McCurley JL, Gutierrez AP, Bravin JI, et. al. Association of Social Adversity with Comorbid Diabetes and Depression Symptoms in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study: A Syndemic Framework. Ann Behav Med. 2019 Oct 7; 53(11):975-987.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30951585
University of Pennsylvania (Grant T32HD007242)
Genetics and modifiable behavioral and lifestyle characteristics both play a role in diabetes onset among older U.S. non-Hispanic whites and blacks. Ng CD, Weiss J. Association of genetic and behavioral characteristics with the onset of diabetes. BMC Public Health. 2019 Oct 15; 19(1):1297.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31615468
University of Texas at Austin (Grant P2CHD042849)
Adverse childhood experiences (neglect, hunger, parental alcohol/drug abuse or incarceration) are linked to diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disease in adult women. Cubbin C, Kim Y, Panisch LS. Familial Childhood Adversity is Associated with Chronic Disease Among Women: Data from the Geographic Research on Wellbeing (GROW) Study. Matern Child Health J. 2019 Aug; 23(8):1117-1129.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31203522
Ohio State University (Grant P2CHD058484)
Out-of-pocket medical expenses increased to burdensome levels for some middle-income individuals with multiple chronic conditions after Affordable Care Act implementation. Xu WY, Retchin SM, Seiber EE, et. al. Income-Based Disparities in Financial Burdens of Medical Spending Under the Affordable Care Act in Families With Individuals Having Chronic Conditions. Inquiry. 2019 Jan-Dec; 56:46958019871815.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31455121
University of Wisconsin-Madison (Grant P2CHD042828)
Black-white inequality related to educational attainment, employment, and neighborhood poverty were similar in highly segregated and hyper-segregated metropolitan areas between 2012 to 2016. Hess C, Gabriel R, Leibbrand C, et. al. Does Hypersegregation Matter for Black-White Socioeconomic Disparities? Demography. 2019 Dec; 56(6):2169-2191.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31713124
University of Wisconsin-Madison (Grant T32HD007014)
Older Americans are more likely to be food insecure if they have been hospitalized frequently and depressed. Depleting financial resources is related to monthly peaks in hypoglycemia hospitalizations among those with diabetes. Bergmans RS, Mezuk B, Zivin K. Food Insecurity and Geriatric Hospitalization. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Jun 28; 16(13).
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31261648
University of Maryland (Grant P2CHD041041)
A higher level of premature births among black mothers than white mothers is linked to socioeconomic factors (mother’s education, marital status, paternity acknowledgment, source of payment for delivery) and hypertension in pregnancy. Birth spacing plays a role for non-first-borns. Thoma ME, Drew LB, Hirai AH, et. al. Black-White Disparities in Preterm Birth: Geographic, Social, and Health Determinants. Am J Prev Med. 2019 Nov; 57(5):675-686. Epub 2019 Sep 25.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31561920
University of Minnesota (Grant P2CHD041023)
Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with survival after stroke. Rates of long-term mortality among stroke survivors were higher among individuals with lower SES and among those residing in neighborhoods of lower SES. Elfassy T, Grasset L, Glymour MM, et. al. Sociodemographic Disparities in Long-Term Mortality Among Stroke Survivors in the United States. Stroke. 2019 Apr; 50(4):805-812.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30852967