CSDE Kim Korinek (Sociology, University of Utah) released new research with colleagues in Social Science & Medicine, titled “Cognitive function following early life war-time stress exposure in a cohort of Vietnamese older adults“. Although Alzheimer’s Disease is a leading cause of death in Vietnam and other post-conflict, low- and middle-income countries, aside from studies of veterans in western populations, research on war-related violence and deprivation as risk factors for cognitive disorders remains sparse. Using data from the Vietnam Health and Aging Study, which relied upon a multistage probability sample of 2447 older adults residing in districts of northern Vietnam differentially exposed to wartime bombing and numerous war-related stressors, this paper investigates associations between early-life war-related stressors and later-life cognitive function in a cohort whose transition to adulthood took place during the American-Vietnam War. This study was funded by the National Institute on Aging. See the article link for more details on this research. 

CSDE alumni Matthew Z. Fowle (University of Pennsylvania) co-authored a new article in Health Affairs, titled “Mortal Systemic Exclusion Yielded Steep Mortality-Rate Increases In People Experiencing Homelessness, 2011–20“. The number and percentage of people in the US dying while homeless has increased in recent years. However, information about the causes of death most prevalent among this population, and about how cause-specific mortality rates may be shifting over time, has been limited to locally specific data. Using a unique data set of 22,143 homeless decedents in twenty-two localities across ten states and Washington, D.C., from the period 2011–20, authors found large increases in all-cause and cause-specific homeless mortality rates. Read more about the study’s findings and implications in the full abstract.

CSDE Affiliate Kathryn McConnell (Brown University) co-authored a new article in Landscape and Urban Planning, titled “Post-wildfire neighborhood change: Evidence from the 2018 Camp Fire“. As the number of highly destructive wildfires grows, it is increasingly important to understand the long-term changes that occur to fire-affected places. Integrating approaches from social and biophysical science, authors document two forms of neighborhood change following the 2018 Camp Fire in the United States, examining the more than 17,000 residential structures within the burn footprint.