Population Health News Roundup: September 2021

IAPHS Members in the News

Sandro Galea in Journal of Psychiatric Research:  Anti-inflammatory medications used to treat chronic pain and illnesses were associated with suicide risk among people with depression. (October 2021)

Courtney Boen, Atheendar Venkataramani, and Hedy Lee received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Policies for Action to look at the impacts of state-level sentencing policies on health outcomes over the life course. (via Opportunity for Health Lab on Twitter, September 13, 2021)

Roland J. Thorpe has been appointed the inaugural Associate Vice Provost of Faculty Diversity at Johns Hopkins, where he will “dedicate more time to advancing key initiatives around faulty diversity.” (Johns Hopkins) 

Atheendar Venkataramani in PSAS News: Poverty reduces the amount and the enjoyment of consumption, conferring what amounts to a “double tax.” (August 31, 2021)

Rita Hamad will be the PI on an NIH-funded project looking at the impacts of county-level COVID-19 policies on racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in mental health. (NIH RePORTER, Award Notice Date September 17, 2021).

Disparities

Medicaid enrollees are less likely to be vaccinated: A lack of access to data and difficulty in getting messages out are playing roles as some states struggle to get people on Medicaid vaccinated against COVID-19. (Kaiser Health News, August 27, 2021)

Rates of youth-onset diabetes types 1 and 2 are increasing:  The biggest rate increases in type 2 diabetes were found among Black, Native American, and Hispanic youth. (Detroit Free Press from a JAMA Network Open study, August 2021)

Health disparities faced by LGBT adults, particularly older adults:  These disparities–mental health disparities in particular– have been heightened during the pandemic. (AARP, from a Kaiser Family Foundation Report, July 22, 2021)

Racism affects the brains of Black women: Authors suggest that “racism had a traumalike effect on Black women’s health…” This effect, measured by functional MRI, went beyond that of other traumatic experiences. (The Conversation, September 15, 2021)

Environmental Health & Justice

An EPA rule change could harm communities along the Duwamish River in Seattle: The proposed EPA changes would allow higher concentrations of BaP, known to cause cancer in humans. (Grist, September 2, 2021)

In Southeast Los Angeles, Latinx communities face environmental disparities: Poorer air quality, fewer parks within walking distance, less recreational space, and fewer grocery stores nearby are among the increased risk factors. (KCET, September 9, 2021, by Neighborhood Data for Social Change)

Advocates say a Brooklyn natural gas pipeline will harm communities of color: The North Brooklyn Pipeline violates the Civil Rights Act, and they’re asking for the gas to be shut off.  (Grist, September 14, 2021)

Place

West Virginians experience higher rates of mental health problems: Poverty, substance abuse, and a “fierce, deep seated culture of independence that stigmatizes psychological help” play a role. (U.S. News & World Report, September 1, 2021)

In Alton Park, Tennessee, health disparities are dramatic: Toxic land and a lack of trust in medical systems are some of the reasons people in the 37410 zip code are experiencing worse health than the 37350 ZIP code just up the road. (WTVC NewsChannel 9, Chattanooga, Tennessee, September 3, 2021)

Building resiliency in coastal populations:  The Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research hub will “work on increasing resiliency among Pacific Northwest coastal communities.” The team spans several disciplines and universities, and will look at earthquakes, climate change, coastal erosion, and flooding. (University of Washington News, September 7, 2021)

Elders in disadvantaged communities have a lower active life expectancy: The residents 70 years old and over in the study who were in a disadvantaged neighborhood also had shorter life expectancies. (JAMA Internal Medicine, August 23, 2021)

Policy & Programs

Eviction moratorium and the risk of a COVID-19 diagnosis: When states lifted eviction moratoria, residents had “an increased risk of receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis…” (JAMA Network Open, August 30, 2021)

Policies excluding children in immigrant families can harm health: Concepts like legal status stratification, exclusions, and restrictions can leave children out of safety net programs like the EITC, SNAP, and Child Care and Development Block Grants. (HealthAffairs, July 2021)

Report points to concerns in Massachusetts ER usage and expenditures: Problems include “boarding” in emergency rooms, lack of behavioral health care, usage disparities by race and age, longer ER stays for people with behavioral health issues. Massachusetts lawmakers Karen Spika and Ron Mariano say they intend to work on the issues. (CommonWealth, September 17, 2021)

Some states vote to restrict governments’ public health authority:  At least twenty-six states “pushed through laws that permanently weaken government authority to protect public health.” Measures include banning mask mandates, allowing county commissioners to veto county public health orders, and giving power to school bards rather than health officials. (Kaiser Health News, September 15, 2021)