Research
Disability in Older Adults Linked to Low Wealth and Living Alone
A study from Research Associate Carrie Henning-Smith found that the combination of low wealth and living alone creates one of the biggest risk factors for the onset of disability in older adults.
People Who Experience Discrimination at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
Research by post-doctoral fellow Kara Whitaker shows that individuals who reported two or more major experiences of discrimination had a 34 percent increased risk of developing diabetes.
Sunday Liquor Sales and Minnesotans’ Health
New Grant to Identify the Role of DNA in Healthy Aging
Professors James Pankow and Ellen Demerath are researching a mechanism that turns genes off and on to see if it’s a predictor for healthy aging in older adults.
Community Parks Help Low-income Families Be Active
A new study from Professor Simone French reveals that neighborhood parks can be a great, inexpensive way for low-income families with preschoolers to get more exercise.
Breast Milk from Heavier Mothers Has Higher Levels of Leptin and Insulin
A new study from Professor Ellen Demerath shows that the breast milk of obese mothers can be higher in leptin and insulin and is associated with slower growing babies at age six months.
Many Pregnant Women Using Opioids in US Report Mental Illness and Other Substance Use
Research from Associate Professor Katy Kozhimannil finds that pregnant women who use opioids for nonmedical reasons also have a higher prevalence of mental illness, or co-occurring substance abuse.
State-sponsored Ads Help Increase Health Insurance Enrollment
A study by faculty Pinar Karaca-Mandic and Sarah Gollust shows that early gains in health insurance enrollment from the ACA were greatest in counties where more insurance advertisements were aired on TV.
Improving the Care Experience for Chronically Ill Patients
Research from Assistant Professor Nathan Shippee shows that a person-centered patient care approach, called LifeCourse, significantly improves the experience of the chronically ill compared to usual care within just six months.
Voucher Program Helps People Move to Low-poverty Neighborhoods
A study by Associate Professor Theresa Osypuk shows an experimental rental housing voucher program helps low-income families move to better neighborhoods and dramatically improve their living conditions.
Ending Police Brutality Through Research
Faculty Rachel Hardeman and Donna McAlpine outline five pathways in which police brutality is a social determinant of health and call for the areas to be studied by public health researchers.
