Fifteen million Americans suffer from asthma, and the burden of morbidity appears to be rising. Asthma is also a major cause of health disparities among minority and low socio-economic groups. Yet the increasing prevalence and marked disparities in asthma remain largely unexplained by known risk factors, suggesting the potential role of community-level factors.
The aim of this application is to enable the candidate to undertake training and mentored research to address the question: what is the role of community and neighborhood-level processes in explaining the occurrence and distribution of asthma? The candidate has expertise in multilevel statistical modeling with substantive interest in the social determinants of health. Over the next five years, the candidate will gain training in: (1) asthma epidemiology and pathophysiology, (2) the theory and measurement of neighborhood-level processes, and (3) causal inference within a multilevel framework. Applying a multilevel approach that explicitly recognizes the embedding of asthma within its biologic, socioeconomic, environmental, and community contexts, the candidate will conduct mentored research to examine the causes of asthma disparities at different stages in the life-course. The proposed analysis will be carried out within three ongoing studies (Asthma Coalition on Community, Environment, and Social Stress; Boston Area Community Health Study; and Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods) in two American cities (Boston and Chicago). The research will examine the potential roles of neighborhood attributes such as structural disadvantage, collective psychosocial characteristics and physical environmental conditions in explaining the known disparities in the prevalence of asthma. The proposed award will be used to develop an integrative and transdisciplinary approach to these issues, drawing on the rich resources available within Harvard University, including access to community-based study populations as well as to expertise from multiple fields.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)
Project #
1K25HL081275-01
Application #
6959320
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHL1-CSR-M (M1))
Program Officer
Rothgeb, Ann E
Project Start
2005-09-30
Project End
2010-08-31
Budget Start
2005-09-30
Budget End
2006-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$145,235
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard University
Department
Social Sciences
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
149617367
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Bhan, Nandita; Kawachi, Ichiro; Glymour, Maria M et al. (2015) Time Trends in Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Asthma Prevalence in the United States From the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Study (1999-2011). Am J Public Health 105:1269-75
Camacho-Rivera, Marlene; Kawachi, Ichiro; Bennett, Gary G et al. (2015) Revisiting the Hispanic health paradox: the relative contributions of nativity, country of origin, and race/ethnicity to childhood asthma. J Immigr Minor Health 17:826-33
Camacho-Rivera, Marlene; Kawachi, Ichiro; Bennett, Gary G et al. (2014) Associations of neighborhood concentrated poverty, neighborhood racial/ethnic composition, and indoor allergen exposures: a cross-sectional analysis of los angeles households, 2006-2008. J Urban Health 91:661-76
Camacho-Rivera, Marlene; Kawachi, Ichiro; Bennett, Gary G et al. (2014) Perceptions of neighborhood safety and asthma among children and adolescents in Los Angeles: a multilevel analysis. PLoS One 9:e87524
Neuman, Melissa; Kawachi, Ichiro; Gortmaker, Steven et al. (2014) National economic development and disparities in body mass index: a cross-sectional study of data from 38 countries. PLoS One 9:e99327
Block, Jason P; Subramanian, S V; Christakis, Nicholas A et al. (2013) Population trends and variation in body mass index from 1971 to 2008 in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort. PLoS One 8:e63217
Suzuki, Etsuji; Kashima, Saori; Kawachi, Ichiro et al. (2013) Social and geographical inequalities in suicide in Japan from 1975 through 2005: a census-based longitudinal analysis. PLoS One 8:e63443
Cáceres, Isabel A; Arcaya, Mariana; Declercq, Eugene et al. (2013) Hospital differences in cesarean deliveries in Massachusetts (US) 2004-2006: the case against case-mix artifact. PLoS One 8:e57817
Neuman, Melissa; Kawachi, Ichiro; Gortmaker, Steven et al. (2013) Urban-rural differences in BMI in low- and middle-income countries: the role of socioeconomic status. Am J Clin Nutr 97:428-36
Nguyen, K H; Wright, R J; Sorensen, G et al. (2013) Association between local indoor smoking ordinances in Massachusetts and cigarette smoking during pregnancy: a multilevel analysis. Tob Control 22:184-9

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