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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

States’ Covid-19 Restrictions Were Associated With Increases In Drug Overdose Deaths In 2020, Douglas A. Wolf, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily E. Wiemers, Elyse Grossman May 2024

States’ Covid-19 Restrictions Were Associated With Increases In Drug Overdose Deaths In 2020, Douglas A. Wolf, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily E. Wiemers, Elyse Grossman

Center for Policy Research

Drug overdoses surged in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health experts raised concerns in the pandemic’s early months about how the pandemic and the policies enacted to stem it might increase overdose risk. This brief summarizes the findings of a paper that used national data to identify how states’ COVID-19 policies affected drug overdose rates among U.S. adults ages 25-64 during the first year of the pandemic. Results show that counties located in states that adopted more aggressive in-person activity restrictions experienced larger increases in 2020 than counties located in states with fewer limitations. State economic support policies …


States’ Covid-19 Restrictions Were Associated With Increases In Drug Overdose Deaths In 2020, Douglas A. Wolf, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily E. Wiemers, Elyse Grossman May 2024

States’ Covid-19 Restrictions Were Associated With Increases In Drug Overdose Deaths In 2020, Douglas A. Wolf, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily E. Wiemers, Elyse Grossman

Population Health Research Brief Series

Drug overdoses surged in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health experts raised concerns in the pandemic’s early months about how the pandemic and the policies enacted to stem it might increase overdose risk. This brief summarizes the findings of a paper that used national data to identify how states’ COVID-19 policies affected drug overdose rates among U.S. adults ages 25-64 during the first year of the pandemic. Results show that counties located in states that adopted more aggressive in-person activity restrictions experienced larger increases in 2020 than counties located in states with fewer limitations. State economic support policies …


Democratic Erosion Predicts Rising Deaths From Drug Poisoning And Infectious Disease, Jennifer Karas Montez, Kent Jason G. Cheng, Jacob M. Grumbach Jun 2023

Democratic Erosion Predicts Rising Deaths From Drug Poisoning And Infectious Disease, Jennifer Karas Montez, Kent Jason G. Cheng, Jacob M. Grumbach

Population Health Research Brief Series

Strong democratic functioning is good for population health. However, democratic functioning eroded in many U.S. states in recent decades. The erosion was especially pronounced for one aspect of democratic functioning—electoral democracy, which refers to free and fair elections. This brief summarizes findings from a study examining how changes in electoral democracy in the 50 states predicted changes in the risk of death among adults ages 25-64 during 2000-2019. Findings demonstrate that democratic erosion strongly predicts rising deaths from drug poisoning, infectious disease, suicide, and homicide.


Which Demographic Groups And Which Places Have The Highest Drug Overdose Rates In The U.S.?, Shannon M. Monnat Mar 2023

Which Demographic Groups And Which Places Have The Highest Drug Overdose Rates In The U.S.?, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

Although the drug overdose crisis has affected all demographic groups and places in the United States, overdose rates are much higher in some sub-populations and places than others. This brief describes demographic and geographic differences in fatal drug overdose rates from 1999-2020. Throughout most of this period, fatal drug overdose rates were highest among young and middle-aged adult White and Native American males and middle-aged and older Black males. Rates have been consistently highest in Appalachia, but in recent years have spread throughout several regions in urban and rural areas alike. Although opioids have been the main contributor, cocaine- and …


How Has The Opioid Crisis Affected Health, Health Care Use, And Crime In The United States?, Johanna Catherine Maclean, Justine Mallatt, Christopher J. Ruhm, Kosali Simon Mar 2023

How Has The Opioid Crisis Affected Health, Health Care Use, And Crime In The United States?, Johanna Catherine Maclean, Justine Mallatt, Christopher J. Ruhm, Kosali Simon

Population Health Research Brief Series

The U.S. opioid crisis is the deadliest drug crisis in the nation’s history and is not abating. This brief summarizes what is known about the relationships between opioid misuse, health, healthcare use, and crime. The authors show that the opioid crisis has led to worsening health, increased mortality, increased healthcare use, and modest increases in crime. In addition, the policies designed to curb opioid misuse and its associated harms have had only limited success.


Cdc Guidelines Hide The Alzheimer Disease Mortality Burden Among Adults With Down Syndrome, Scott D. Landes Feb 2023

Cdc Guidelines Hide The Alzheimer Disease Mortality Burden Among Adults With Down Syndrome, Scott D. Landes

Population Health Research Brief Series

Alzheimer's disease is much more common among adults with than without Down syndrome. While an estimated 11.3% of adults in the general population over age 65 have Alzheimer's disease, nearly all adults with Down syndrome have Alzheimer's neuropathology by age 40, and half develop Alzheimer's disease by age 60. However, CDC guidelines for completing death certificates hide the actual Alzheimer's disease mortality burden among adults with Down syndrome. This brief summarizes results from a recent study seeking to accurately measure the disparity in the Alzheimer's disease mortality burden between adults with versus without Down syndrome for the years 2005-2019.


Conservative State Policies Contribute To Higher Mortality Rates Among Working-Age Americans, Jennifer Karas Montez, Nader Mehri, Shannon M. Monnat Oct 2022

Conservative State Policies Contribute To Higher Mortality Rates Among Working-Age Americans, Jennifer Karas Montez, Nader Mehri, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

The risk of dying during working ages (25 to 64) is high, rising, and unequal in the United States. Working-age mortality rates are much higher in some states than others. Part of the explanation may relate to differing policies across states that affect health. While some states enact policies that invest in people’s economic, social, and behavioral wellbeing, others enact policies that are potentially harmful to health. Using mortality data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this study examined how state policies on criminal justice, taxes, environment, firearms, marijuana, health care, labor, and tobacco were associated with …


Sociocultural And Demographic Drivers Of Latino Population Health In New York State, Marc A. Garcia, Mara G. Sheftel, Adriana M. Reyes, Catherine Garcia Sep 2022

Sociocultural And Demographic Drivers Of Latino Population Health In New York State, Marc A. Garcia, Mara G. Sheftel, Adriana M. Reyes, Catherine Garcia

Population Health Research Brief Series

Latinos are the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States and are among the fastest-growing populations in New York State. However, there is variation across Latino sub-groups in educational attainment, income, and access to health insurance. This research brief explores the diversity within the Latino population living in New York State and describes inequities in key sociocultural and demographic drivers of Latino population health.


Allowing Cities To Mandate Employer Paid Sick Leave Could Reduce Deaths Among Working-Age Adults, Douglas A. Wolf, Jennifer Karas Montez, Shannon M. Monnat Aug 2022

Allowing Cities To Mandate Employer Paid Sick Leave Could Reduce Deaths Among Working-Age Adults, Douglas A. Wolf, Jennifer Karas Montez, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

Paid sick leave is good for health, yet there is no federal paid sick leave mandate, and U.S. states are increasingly preempting their city and county governments from mandating employer paid sick leave. This brief describes how working-age (ages 25-64) mortality rates from several external causes of premature death (suicide, homicide, drug overdose, alcohol poisoning, and transport accidents) from 1999 to 2019 may have been lower if states had not preempted cities and counties from mandating paid sick leave. The authors find that working-age mortality rates could have been over 7.5% lower in 2019 in cities and counties that were …


Covid-19 Negatively Impacted Health And Social Relationships Among Working-Age Adults With Disabilities, Claire Pendergrast, Shannon M. Monnat May 2022

Covid-19 Negatively Impacted Health And Social Relationships Among Working-Age Adults With Disabilities, Claire Pendergrast, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are related to personal care and mobility. COVID-19 disrupted access to care for many working-age adults with ADL difficulties, potentially creating negative health and social impacts. This research brief shows that working-age adults (18-64) with ADL difficulty faced worse health and social impacts than their peers without ADL difficulty during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The needs of people with disabilities must be prioritized in policy decisions to increase equity and reduce health disparities during the ongoing COVID-19 response and in future public health emergencies.


Civil Rights, Firearm Safety, And Environmental Protection Policies Predict Better Health Among U.S. Midlife Adults, Blakelee R. Kemp, Jacob M. Grumbach, Jennifer Karas Montez May 2022

Civil Rights, Firearm Safety, And Environmental Protection Policies Predict Better Health Among U.S. Midlife Adults, Blakelee R. Kemp, Jacob M. Grumbach, Jennifer Karas Montez

Population Health Research Brief Series

Americans suffer worse health and shorter lives than do people in most other high-income countries. The poor health and early death of many Americans are pronounced in certain states. One explanation may be the dramatic changes in the policy environment in recent decades, particularly the polarization in state policies. This research brief examines the association between several state policies and self-rated health among adults ages 45-64 from 1993 to 2016. Findings show that more liberal versions of certain state policies, namely civil rights, firearm safety, and environmental protection are associated with better health.


Proper Medication Adherence Is A Challenge For Older Snap Participants With Chronic Health Conditions, Colleen Heflin, Chinedum O. Ojinnaka, Irma Arteaga, Lauryn Quick Aug 2021

Proper Medication Adherence Is A Challenge For Older Snap Participants With Chronic Health Conditions, Colleen Heflin, Chinedum O. Ojinnaka, Irma Arteaga, Lauryn Quick

Population Health Research Brief Series

Diabetes and hypertension are among the leading causes of poor health and mortality in the United States. Properly taking prescribed medications to manage these conditions is critical for maintaining health and preventing complications. This is especially true for older adults, who are more likely to live with these chronic conditions. This brief summarizes findings from a study of an older adults in Missouri who participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) between 2006 and 2014. On average, 1 in 4 individuals with hypertension and 1 in 3 with diabetes did not properly take prescribed medications to manage their health …