2024-2025 Pilot Projects
Climate and Healthy Aging: Spatial Distributions of Environmental Hazards
PI: Katherine Curtis (Professor, Community & Environmental Sociology)
Graduate Student: Sara Ronnkvist (Graduate Student, Sociology)
Description: Environmental hazards have increased in recent decades with differential impacts on sub-populations, including older populations and marginalized racial groups 1-3. While scholars have given increased attention to the relationship between climate and aging 4-5, fundamental questions about observed population-level patterns remain unanswered including questions about the role of migration in shaping exposure to environmental hazardous contexts. We leverage novel population data on migration by demographic attributes to investigate annual migration patterns between distinct environmental hazard hotspots in the United States from 2000 to 2019. In our study, we estimate age- and age-by-race-specific migration probabilities to generate migration signatures characterizing moves between places with pronounced exposures to extreme heat, extreme cold, humidity, air pollution, wildfire smoke, hurricanes, and drought. In contrast to most previous studies and given the different pathways through which environmental hazards affect healthy aging, we consider multiple environmental hazards conjointly as opposed to a single hazard (e.g., heat only) or combining a set of hazards (e.g., risk index). Our approach permits us to generate new knowledge about age-by-race-specific exposures to distinct yet potentially multiple environmental hazards via migration between hotspots (e.g., from areas with extreme cold to areas with wildfire smoke). In addition, study findings will generate new knowledge about population aging patterns in place by assessing whether age-by-race-specific migration patterns have altered the population composition of origins and destinations for specific environmental hazard hotspots. Throughout our study, we will nest results in the nine National Climate Assessment (NCA) regions of the contiguous US to enhance the policy utility of our findings. Study results will also provide an empirical foundation necessary to develop an R01 proposal to NIA to study temporally dynamic environmental hazard typologies and their implications for healthy aging in place. The proposed pilot study contributes to CDHA’s research theme addressing the impacts of place on aging processes.
Prenatal Exposure to Racial Riots and Longevity
PI: Tiffany Green (Gloria E. Sarto, MD, PhD, Chair in Women’s Health and Health Equity Research)
Co-PI: Hoa Vu (Lead Economist, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University)
Description:This proposal aims to investigate the causal impacts of in utero exposure to 20th-century racial riots on racial disparities in life expectancy, particularly among Black individuals. By leveraging individual-level data on birth month-year and location from the CenSoc Project, alongside meticulously digitized racial riot data, this study seeks to address critical gaps in understanding the long-term health effects of early-life exposure to violence. Building on established evidence linking in utero stressors to both immediate and latent health outcomes, this research endeavors to explore how such exposure contributes to disparities in old-age longevity, particularly among Black Americans who have historically borne a disproportionate burden of violence exposure. By examining the enduring physiological and psychological impacts of traumatic events experienced during early development, this study aims to shed light on the mechanisms underlying racial disparities in health outcomes across the life course. This proposal aligns closely with two signature themes of the Center for Demography of Health and Aging (CDHA). Firstly, it contributes to the theme of “Aging trajectories and disparities across the life course” by investigating how early-life exposures to violence shape health trajectories into old age, thereby elucidating the mechanisms driving racial disparities in longevity. Secondly, it intersects with the theme of “Health economics and health services research” by providing insights into the long-term health consequences of environmental stressors, informing policies and interventions aimed at reducing racial health inequities and promoting equitable access to health services. Overall, this research holds significant promise for advancing our understanding of the complex interplay between early-life experiences, racial disparities in health outcomes, and the broader socio-economic determinants of health.
Neighborhood Characteristics and Trajectories of Functional Disability Among Older Black Adults
PI: Weidi Qin (Assistant Professor, Social Work)
Description: The proposed project aims to utilize a within-group approach to examine the neighborhood-disability associations among older Black adults. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this project will: 1) Characterize functional disability by neighborhood characteristics among older Black adults; and 2) Estimate the association between neighborhood characteristics and the trajectories of functional disability risk among older Black adults. This project will fill an important research gap of lacking within-group evidence on neighborhood and functional disability specifically among older Black adults. The project will also consider both structural (i.e., objectively measured neighborhood socioeconomic status) and social (subjective perceptions of social cohesion and physical disorder) aspects of neighborhood environment to obtain more accurate understanding of how neighborhood environment shapes late-life disability among older Black adults. The proposed research is in alignment with two signature themes of CDHA: 1) Aging trajectories and disparities across the life course; and 2) Impacts of place on aging processes.
Life Course Neighborhood Disadvantage, Psychosocial Health and Biological Aging
PI: Wei Xu (Assistant Professor, Epidemiology & Social Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin)
Co-PI: Christine Kamis (Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign)
Description: This project aims to present new evidence of how psychosocial factors, such as depression, anxiety, sense of community belonging and empowerment, and stress, may mediate the relationship between life course cumulative neighborhood disadvantage and variation in epigenetic age acceleration (Aim 1). Additionally, the research explores how gender and race/ethnicity may moderate these mediating mechanisms (Aim 2). The proposed project will use Survey of Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) data, newly harmonized with spatially and temporally granular residential histories (up to 5 decades) and epigenetic aging measures through the Researching Epigenetics, Weathering, Aging, & Residential Disadvantage (REWARD) study. Establishing mediating pathways and effect-modifying factors will critically advance our understanding of neighborhood effects on biological aging. The findings of this study can inform intervention strategies that aim to enhance both contextual and individual factors that contribute to biological aging while promoting racial/ethnic and gender equity in healthy aging. The proposed project will contribute to several of the CDHA’s signature themes, including the impacts of place on aging processes and biodemography by applying an integrative framework linking cumulative neighborhood exposures to accelerated biological aging. Findings from this study will provide the basis for an NIH R01 application examining cumulative neighborhood disadvantage, psychosocial mechanisms, and accelerated epigenetic aging across race/ethnicity and gender in a larger, national data set.
The Lasting Impacts of Childhood Waterborne Lead Exposure on Women
PI: Gisella Kagy (Assistant Professor, Consumer Science)
Description: This project explores the enduring health and aging repercussions stemming from childhood exposure to lead-contaminated water among women. The investigation focuses on the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the U.S., a period marked by the construction of lead pipe infrastructure. During this era, a woman’s childhood residence significantly influenced her exposure to the environmental toxin. The sample of interest is successive cohorts of women who were children between the ages of 0-10 from each of the full count decennial censuses from 1880 – 1920, who can be linked across censuses to assess the effects on their fertility, family development, and mortality as measured into the 1940s. These women were exposed to varying levels of waterborne lead based on the water infrastructure and chemical properties of the water supply in their residences as children. Furthermore, the research connects these historical records to contemporary Census and Social Security Administration records at the Wisconsin Census Research Data Center to evaluate later life well-being, measured through disability claims, for the younger cohorts. Despite the widespread recognition of lead’s adverse effects on human health, its specific implications for women, particularly in terms of fertility patterns and disability status, remain relatively unexplored. This study seeks to illuminate how aging processes and disparities unfold across a lifetime in the presence of a common environmental toxin.
Longitudinal Patterns of Intergenerational Estrangement and Later Life Health
PI: Jooyoung Kong (Assistant Professor, Social Work)
Description: Family estrangement, i.e., an emotional cutoff and cessation of contact/communication with one or multiple family members, is no longer a rare phenomenon in the US. According to a nationwide survey conducted by Dr. Karl Pillemer, more than one in four Americans reported being estranged from another family member. In particular, there is a growing perception that intentional parent-child estrangement is on the rise. Parental estrangement may be associated with severe negative ramifications on individual well-being; however, relatively little is known about the prevalence and predictors of adult children’s estrangement from their mothers and fathers during middle and older adulthood. Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, the current study aims to 1) describe the prevalence of parental estrangement over time, 2) explore the socio-demographic and life course factors, such as childhood adversities, associated with adult children’s estrangement from aging parents, and 3) examine the effects of parental estrangement on the health of adult children. By addressing emerging family dynamics that can facilitate cumulative disadvantage for older adults, this proposed study seeks to fulfill one of the Center for Demography of Health and Aging (CDHA)’s signature themes: (1) Aging trajectories and disparities across the life course.
Employment Changes During The COVID-19 Pandemic and The Impact on Psychological Well-Being: Evidence From The Survey of the Health Of Wisconsin
PI: Mariétou Ouayogodé (Assistant Professor, Population Health Sciences)
Description: The proposed pilot project involves analysis of the SHOW data to improve understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological distress across retired and working age populations in Wisconsin. The pilot will support the development of a proposal to be submitted to NIA. The pilot project would run from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. The project satisfies CDHA signature themes (1) and (4). Our proposed project contributes to different bodies of literature. First, our paper contributes to the sizable body of literature assessing the impact of the COVID-19-induced economic downturn on retirement rates and excess retirement. Second, our project will contribute to the literature evaluating the impact of labor market outcomes on psychological health before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Asante et al. 2023; Baird et al. 2022; Mousteri, Daly, and Delaney 2020; Murphy and Athanasou 1999; Olesen et al. 2013) and on the broader effect of the pandemic on psychological distress. Third, it can contribute to the literature on the differential impact of the pandemic on labor outcomes by gender and industry/occupation (Alon et al., 2020; Dingel and Neiman, 2020; Mongey and Weinberg, 2020). Additionally, this project furthers the signature themes of aging trajectories and disparities across the life course (CDHA signature theme (1)) as well as health economics (CDHA signature theme (4)) by examining COVID-19-era trends in retirement that concern aging populations and inevitably involve discussions about labor market impacts as well as mental and physical health concerns.
Exploring legal system engagement and aging-related chronic health conditions among Milwaukee County residents
PI: Tawandra Rowell-Cunsolo (Associate Professor, Social Work)
Description: Approximately six million people in the United States are currently involved with the criminal legal system (CLS). Minoritized populations are overrepresented in each stage of the CLS and experience more intensive surveillance in the community and harsher penalties for criminal offenses. CLS involvement is typically a persistent, self-propagating spiral, with some evidence suggesting particular elements of CLS exposure have direct and indirect deleterious health effects. We hypothesize that exposure to the CLS system results in higher burden of aging-related chronic health conditions compared to no CLS exposure. We will use multi-level modeling strategies to investigate the associations of CLS engagement with incidence of aging-related conditions (e.g., metabolic conditions, neurodegenerative diseases, mental health diagnoses) over a 1-year period (2022). Integrating state of Wisconsin statewide administrative data sources, the specific aims are to: 1) examine the incidence of aging-related conditions by characteristics of CLS exposure (e.g., residing in highly surveilled communities and/or communities with high incarceration rates, incarceration) compared to a matched sample of Medicaid-enrolled Milwaukee County adults with no history of CLS engagement and 2) identify racial/ethnic disparities in incidence of aging-related conditions among residents exposed to the CLS system compared to those who have not been exposed. The proposed study was developed in response to recent calls for research on the collateral damage of the carceral system and the dearth of research comprehensively quantifying health impacts of CLS exposure. This proposal is well-aligned with CDHA’s interest in aging trajectories and disparities and the National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) interest in supporting research to clarify health disparities related to aging.
Feasibility & validity of aging biomarkers from self-collected blood
PI: Amy A. Schultz (Scientist, Department of Population Health Sciences)
Description: Alzheimer disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disease research has widely relied on amyloid-PET imaging and/ or the measure of Aβ peptides, tau, and phosphorylated-tau concentrations within the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Yet, these techniques require a clinic visit, are expensive, and invasive. As a result, studies using these techniques are not generalizable and lack representation from underrepresented populations (URP) and those who are unable to participate due to burden, distance to clinic, or lack of transportation or insurance. Yet, AD prevalence continues to disproportionately affect URP. In part due to the lack of representation in aging research, there remain gaps in our understanding as to why the AD disparities exist and how social, behavioral, ethnocultural, and environmental factors associated with place (where one lives) impact the aging process across the life course. The aims of this pilot project will be to determine the validity of self-collected blood for measurement of neurodegenerative biomarkers and assess the feasibility of self-administered, at-home blood collection on a general population, including persons from underrepresented populations (URP).