SSM - Population Health

ObjectiveTo characterize associations between tattooing and health status. MethodsWe used data from [~]27,000 respondents to the 2020-2022 Utah Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Multivariable Poisson regression was used to calculate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) associating ever receiving a tattoo with physical/mental health status. ResultsIn this cross-sectional study, ever receiving a tattoo was associated with self-reported "poorer" vs. "excellen...

ObjectiveTo examine racial and ethnic inequities in wealth and health among New York City adults. MethodsWe conducted the 2024 NYC Racial Wealth and Health Gap Survey using a stratified quota sample of 2,866 adults across 11 racial and ethnic groups. Wealth was measured through self-reported assets and debts, and health through self-reported status and psychological distress. We calculated descriptive statistics across groups and used quantile regression to test for significant differences in a...

ObjectiveTo re-estimate and re-validate the Area Deprivation Index to address recent criticism of the existing index, which is calculated and distributed by Neighborhood Atlas. Data SourcesTo calculate the updated Area Deprivation Index (ADI), we obtained 17 census measures from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data that reflected poverty, housing, employment, and education within census block groups, census tracts, and counties. To validate the association of the updated in...

Many Asian American (AA) subgroups experience disproportionate rates of cardiometabolic (CMB) conditions, yet the contextual drivers of these disparities remain unclear. Little is known about the role of Asian residential segregation, often conceptualized as Asian enclaves, with limited prior work largely ignoring region of origin and nativity. Using six years of population-based survey data from New York City (N>6,000 AAs) linked with multiple sources of community data, we examine how residence...

ObjectivesTo examine associations between cardiometabolic conditions and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and to evaluate whether condition-associated HRQoL changed from 2001 to 2022. MethodsWe analyzed nationally representative data from U.S. adults aged [≥]18 years in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2001-2022. Survey years without BMI data (2017, 2019, 2021) were excluded. EQ-5D utilities were mapped from SF-12 scores using a validated algorithm. For each survey year, survey-we...

Perinatal depression (PD) is common and disabling, yet its longitudinal comorbidity patterns and predictability remain poorly understood. This study leveraged 8,804 women with delivery records in the All of Us cohort, including 438 with clinically diagnosed postpartum depression (PPD), to characterize multimorbidity trajectories and develop integrated prediction models. Comorbidities were grouped into 38 conditions across psychiatric, autoimmune, metabolic, neurological/pain, and reproductive/gy...

ObjectivesGrowth Mindset and Grit have been proposed as key psychological resources for resilience and adaptation, yet their manifestation and social distribution in later life remain underexplored. This study examines the structure, distribution, and correlates of Growth Mindset and Grit in older adulthood using proxy indicators in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). MethodsProxy indicators reflecting learning behaviour, personality traits, affect, and beliefs were used to derive ...

Abstract/SummaryFinancial exploitation of older adults is an increasingly prevalent public health concern, yet few have characterized fraud prevalence longitudinally or evaluated whether financial exploitation vulnerability measures prospectively predict fraud outcomes. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examined fraud prevalence across a 14-year period and tested whether the Perceived Financial Vulnerability Scale (PFVS) predicts subsequent fraud victimization among older adult...

BackgroundSmoking, unhealthy nutrition, alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity (SNAP behaviours) are major risk factors for multimorbidity but are often studied in isolation. Using longitudinal data, Suhag et al. identified clusters of older adults (aged [≥]50) with common SNAP behaviour patterns and distinct sociodemographic profiles and multimorbidity prevalence; whether and how these patterns generalise across adulthood remains unclear. AimTo conceptually replicate Suhag et al. acro...

BackgroundSynthetic cohorts created by combining two cohorts can be useful when no single data set includes both the exposure and outcome data of interest. We estimate the effects of depression in early adulthood on later-life memory outcome using two nationally representative cohorts separately and in a synthetic sample. MethodsWe used the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 (NLSY; N=5,747) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N=6,846) and a synthetic cohort combining exposure data ...

BackgroundVitamin D supplementation has been investigated for potential associations with cardiometabolic risk factors related to cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) remain inconsistent. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the effects of vitamin D supplementation on cardiometabolic risk factors--including lipid profile, blood pressure, and glycaemic parameters--and to explore whether age and baseline serum vitamin D concentrations modify these ...

IntroductionDepression is highly prevalent among young adults worldwide. While research links health behaviours, such as dietary intake, to depression, few studies have examined these associations among young adults in low- and middle-income countries, including South Africa. This study investigated whether dietary intake was associated with an increased risk of depression in a cohort of young South African adults, aged 20-30 years, as part of the Global burden of disease Lifestyle And mental Di...

ObjectivesPeople impacted by the criminal-legal system face significant challenges to securing and sustaining permanent housing. This study was designed to assess housing outcomes of an integrated intervention that offered housing, medical, and behavioral health services to individuals with criminal-legal system involvement. MethodsAfter a baseline needs assessment, participants were linked to services and completed quarterly study visits for up to 12 months. We used descriptive statistics to a...

BackgroundThe Antidepressant Medications: Biology, Exposure & Response (AMBER) research programme was established to investigate the biological mechanisms underlying antidepressant action and variability in treatment response. Generation Scotland holds detailed genomic, clinical, and health information with recontacting consent, making this cohort ideal for investigating these aims. MethodsWe deployed a questionnaire, developed with input from a Lived Experience panel, to the Generation Scotlan...

ObjectiveExplore self-reported racial discrimination in healthcare. MethodsRepresentative population sample, Switzerland, repeated cross-sectional data 2016 to 2024 (N=15,525). ResultsContrary to expectation, respondents from the migration-related population (foreign citizens, foreign born, migration background, first/second generation) report less racial discrimination than members of the majority population. Over time, we see an increase in the non migration-related population reporting (rac...

Young people are increasingly remaining in the parental home for longer - a trend associated with poorer mental health. There is little evidence on this transition for young people with disability. We used three waves of the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, a 5% sample of linked Census records. Two analyses compared transitions between 2011-2016 and 2016-2021 among people 15-34y living with parents at baseline with complete data on disability and housing. The proportion of people no longe...

IntroductionNational trends in youth suicide risk may mask significant regional variations within a country. This article attempts to account for spatio-temporal trends through a comparative analysis across South America and Europe. This paper analyzes the spatiotemporal patterns in suicide mortality among young people (10-29 years) in Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Uruguay during the period 1997-2021. MethodsOfficial data from vital statistics and population censuses of the four countries were a...

ObjectiveAlthough trauma-focused psychotherapies are effective for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), recovery under routine outpatient conditions remains variable. We examined whether participation in a structured Specialty Care (SC) model integrating clinician specialization, flexible treatment density, and coordinated navigation was associated with accelerated PTSD recovery compared with standard outpatient care. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective matched cohort study (2024-2025) of U.S....

BackgroundSexual minority (SM) individuals have worse mental health than heterosexual peers. However, there is no total population-based and national-level evidence on differences in risk of self-harm and suicide by sexual orientation. This study provides the first national population-based estimates in England and Wales. MethodsUsing 2021 Census data linked with hospital records and death registrations, we analysed sexual orientation (SO) differences in: (i) at least one hospital inpatient adm...

BackgroundHealth behaviors established during young adulthood significantly shape the long-term risk of non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders. Although behaviors such as diet, physical activity, sleep, and substance use are often targeted individually, growing evidence suggests these behaviors function as an interconnected system. However, the organization of lifestyle behaviors at the system level, and which behaviors exert the greatest structural influence, remains poorly under...