Research Projects Directory

Burden of chronic diseases and health system access on Latino smokers

Latinos in the US encounter barriers to healthcare, such as language, stigma, and financial limitations, leading to disparities in access and outcomes. This contributes to higher smoking rates and disparities in tobacco treatment efficacy. Therefore the intersection between smoking and…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Latinos in the US encounter barriers to healthcare, such as language, stigma, and financial limitations, leading to disparities in access and outcomes. This contributes to higher smoking rates and disparities in tobacco treatment efficacy. Therefore the intersection between smoking and chronic disease underscores the pressing need to confront healthcare disparities among Latino smokers. While the AoU Program offers insights into comorbidity burden and health outcomes, there is a gap in research design and probabilistic support for robust statistical modeling and broader generalizability.
Aim1: Assess the prevalence of metabolic and smoking-related comorbidities among Latino smokers
Aim2: Explore the correlation between health assessment records in EMR and self-reported healthcare utilization patterns to comprehend healthcare access and outcomes comprehensively.
Aim3: Generalize estimates to individual states and the US using data from the ACS to create poststratification cells

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health
Methods Development

Scientific Approaches

While the AoU Program offers insights into comorbidity burden and health outcomes, there is a gap in research design and probabilistic support for robust statistical modeling and broader generalizability. Multilevel Regression and Poststratification (MrP) corrects estimates from non-representative samples, like AoU, by leveraging larger datasets like the American Community Survey (ACS) to enhance accuracy.
This study adopts an innovative approach by utilizing MrP to correct estimates derived from AoU. The ACS provides the poststratification cells with the number of subjects over combinations of demographic and regional variables, each representing a unique combination of their categories.
By employing Bayesian multilevel regression, we can train a models using survey and EHR data and reweight model-based estimates using the poststratification cells from ACS to get state-level estimates using the zipcodes available in AoU controlled tier.

Anticipated Findings

Leveraging techniques like MrP in the AoU data can help understand the complex relationship between healthcare disparities, smoking, comorbidity burden, and national prevalence’s by enhancing the accuracy of national estimates. These information are essential for all stakeholders aiming to develop targeted interventions nationwide.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Anthony Loria - Research Fellow, University of Rochester
Fernando Colugnati - Research Fellow, University of Rochester

Exploring the Prevalence and Variability of Cardiac Arrhythmias Among Latinos

The primary objectives of this research are to: 1. Determine the overall prevalence of different types of cardiac arrhythmias (such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, etc.) among Latino populations. 2. Analyze the variability in the presentation and severity of arrhythmias…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

The primary objectives of this research are to:
1. Determine the overall prevalence of different types of cardiac arrhythmias (such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, etc.) among Latino populations.
2. Analyze the variability in the presentation and severity of arrhythmias within this group, considering factors such as age, gender, socio-economic status, and underlying comorbidities.
3. Investigate the impact of lifestyle, genetic predispositions, and environmental factors on the incidence and progression of cardiac arrhythmias among Latinos.
This research is vital as it addresses the gap in knowledge regarding how cardiac arrhythmias affect Latinos specifically, which is crucial for devising more precise public health interventions and enhancing patient-specific treatment plans.

Project Purpose(s)

Disease Focused Research (heart disease)
Population Health
Ancestry

Scientific Approaches

Methodologically, the study will employ statistical analysis methods in R, or Python, to estimate prevalence rates and examine correlations between arrhythmia types and demographic or lifestyle factors. Advanced statistical techniques, such as multivariate regression models and survival analysis, will be used to adjust for potential confounders. Genetic analysis might also be incorporated to explore associations between genetic markers and arrhythmia risk among Latinos.

Anticipated Findings

Anticipated outcomes include:
- A detailed epidemiological profile of cardiac arrhythmias among Latinos, highlighting specific patterns that differ from those seen in other ethnic groups.
- Insight into the role of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors in the development of arrhythmias in this population.
- Recommendations for screening and intervention strategies that are tailored to the specific needs and risk profiles of Latinos.
These findings will significantly contribute to the fields of cardiology and ethnic health disparities, offering evidence-based guidance to improve cardiovascular outcomes among Latinos.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Eduardo Perez - Graduate Trainee, Universidad Central del Caribe

Substance use and Cardiovascular disease risk among Latino and Hispanic people

This study will focus on using the All of us Research program dataset among Latino and Hispanic people to answer the following questions: 1) What is the prevalence of substance use and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk factors (hypertension and…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

This study will focus on using the All of us Research program dataset among Latino and Hispanic people to answer the following questions:
1) What is the prevalence of substance use and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk factors (hypertension and diabetes) among Latino and Hispanic people from diverse backgrounds?
2) What is the relationship between substance use, CVD and CVD risk factors (e.g., hypertension and diabetes) in the All of Us data?
3) What is the prevalence and relationship at multiple categories of identity? (e.g., immigrant status, family or ancestry roots, sexual orientation, and gender intersect)

This information is important to inform the development of culturally appropriate interventions that can reduce substance use and ultimately decrease and eliminate health complications and rates of mortality. Furthermore, the information obtained can be used to improve current measures among Latino and Hispanic people.

Project Purpose(s)

Disease Focused Research (Cardiovascular disease and risk, psychiatric disorders, and substance use)
Population Health
Social / Behavioral

Scientific Approaches

This study aims to use the All of Us Research program dataset among all participants that identify as Latino or Hispanic. Responses from the following questionnaires will be used demographics, lifestyle, overall health, healthcare access and utilization, social determinants of health questions.
The All of Us Researcher Workbench Jupyter notebook will be used to perform analyses with R. Analyses will be performed to describe, examine differences, and identify relationships between sociodemographic variables, substance use and CVD and related outcomes among Latino and Hispanic people from diverse backgrounds.

Anticipated Findings

Most research treats Latino and Hispanic people as one group, and does not examine results at different categories of identities. This limits our understanding on differences and potential areas of interventions. By exploring this relationship within the Latino and Hispanic population in the All of Us Research program across sociodemographic factors, this study will fill a gap in the literature and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between substance use, and cardiovascular disease. risk factors.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Juan Pena - Graduate Trainee, University of California, San Francisco

Genetics and cardiometabolic traits in Hispanics/Latinos

Can we identify population-driven genetic variants associated with cardiometabolic traits?

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Can we identify population-driven genetic variants associated with cardiometabolic traits?

Project Purpose(s)

Disease Focused Research (Hypertension, Type 2 DM, heart failure, coronary heart disease, CKD)
Ancestry

Scientific Approaches

Test the association of population-driven variants with cardiometabolic traits and the causal relationship with these outcomes.

Anticipated Findings

We expect that the findings will provide new insights on genetic risk in non-European populations for these traits. The study will also offer opportunities for training of graduate students in disease phenotyping and genetic analyses.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Emily Pfaff - Early Career Tenure-track Researcher, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Thanaphop Na Nakhonphanom - Research Assistant, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Collaborators:

Nora Franceschini - Mid-career Tenured Researcher, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Pain in Older Latinos

Exploring data for feasibility to examine predictors of pain in older Latinos.

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Exploring data for feasibility to examine predictors of pain in older Latinos.

Project Purpose(s)

Disease Focused Research (Examine Acute and Chronic Pain in Older Latinos)
Population Health
Social / Behavioral

Scientific Approaches

Descriptive, and regression models across diverse groups of older Latinos.

Anticipated Findings

Latinos are not monolithic group. Understanding nuances across subgroups of Latinos is necessary to enhance treatrment options.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

David Camacho - Early Career Tenure-track Researcher, University of Illinois at Chicago

Asthma genetics in Hispanic and Latino individuals

We will apply population genetics methods such as admixture and IBD mapping to identify genomic regions, and ultimately, genetic variants, that are associated with asthma in Hispanic and Latino individuals in the U.S. Hispanic and Latino individuals are admixed, and…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

We will apply population genetics methods such as admixture and IBD mapping to identify genomic regions, and ultimately, genetic variants, that are associated with asthma in Hispanic and Latino individuals in the U.S. Hispanic and Latino individuals are admixed, and this increases statistical power for some types of genetic association analyses such as admixture mapping. We will further study approaches to test association replication (specifically when relying on the above population-genetics based analytic approaches) between two separate studies of Hispanic and Latino individuals (one of these studies is All of Us).

Project Purpose(s)

Disease Focused Research (asthma)
Methods Development
Ancestry

Scientific Approaches

We will perform admixture mapping, relying on genetic ancestry within genomic regions, and identity-by-descent (IBD) mapping on recent relatedness that is not defined by ancestry. These methods will propose association regions that we will then fine map to identify specific variants associated with asthma.

Anticipated Findings

We anticipate to identify genetic variants, possible rare in individuals who are not Hispanic or Latino/a/e, that are associated with asthma.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Tamar Sofer - Mid-career Tenured Researcher, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Collaborators:

Brian Spitzer - Project Personnel, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Mariko Segawa - Research Fellow, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Sri Raj - Early Career Tenure-track Researcher, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Evaluating Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos with All of Us

We are interested in investigating the similarities and differences in risk factors/disease prevalence among US Latinos across three datasets, Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), NHANES, and All of Us. This will allow us to quantify how…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

We are interested in investigating the similarities and differences in risk factors/disease prevalence among US Latinos across three datasets, Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), NHANES, and All of Us. This will allow us to quantify how well do HCHS/SOL data on disease prevalences match NHANES and AoU Hispanic population samples at different time points.
Further, we would like to examine whether HCHS/SOL, NHANES, and AoU show congruent evidence for secular trends in health factors. This is an important topic to explore since the three studies utilized different sampling and recruitment methods, and we want to know the degree to which these studies permit conclusions about disease prevalence in the US Hispanic population.

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health
Control Set

Scientific Approaches

We will examine the three datasets individually and focus on All Hispanic and Mexican/Mexican Americans in the NHANES and AoU datasets. Descriptive comparisons between HCHS/SOL, NHANES, and AoU will include socioeconomic and health-related variables' prevalence and distribution (mean, median, SD), appropriately adjusted for age and sex.

Anticipated Findings

We want to show different disease prevalences across the three datasets and observe if HCHS/SOL data on disease prevalences match NHANES and AoUHispanic population samples. This comparison is meaningful in supporting the interpretation of HCHS/SOL as a representative sample over its follow-up phase. Results will assist the interpretation of SOL data regarding representativeness in nuanced ways. Further, we might be able to learn more about the representativeness in results from studies with different study designs.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Wenyan Ma - Project Personnel, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Latino Health Outcomes

What is the correlation between discrimination and depressive symptoms in Latinos(as) in the AOU study using the PHQ-9

Scientific Questions Being Studied

What is the correlation between discrimination and depressive symptoms in Latinos(as) in the AOU study using the PHQ-9

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health

Scientific Approaches

I plan to use the data from Latino(a)s in the AOU data set to find correlations in lifestyle, income, access, and experiences with discrimination and how they relate to depressive symptoms.

Anticipated Findings

I anticipate to find a positive correlations with discrimination and depressive symptoms. This will contribute to a better understanding of the unique needs and challenges of the Latino(a) population in the U.S.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Gabriela Da Silva - Undergraduate Student, University of Kentucky

Collaborators:

Danielle Yearby Walker - Project Personnel, University of Kentucky

Hispanic / Latino Analyses

The goal of this study is to study the intra-ethnic health disparities among Hispanic participants in the All of Us cohort. Specifically, we would like to see how racial identity and Hispanic ethnicity interact, as well as how genetic ancestry…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

The goal of this study is to study the intra-ethnic health disparities among Hispanic participants in the All of Us cohort. Specifically, we would like to see how racial identity and Hispanic ethnicity interact, as well as how genetic ancestry and Hispanic ethnicity interact to influence disease risk, using T2D as our disease of interest.

Project Purpose(s)

Disease Focused Research (Type 2 Diabetes)
Ancestry

Scientific Approaches

We plan to use the glm function in the stats package in R to model interaction effects between racial identity and Hispanic ethnicity, as well as the interaction effects between genetic ancestry and Hispanic ethnicity.

Anticipated Findings

We currently hypothesize that racial identity will have a greater effect on disease outcome than ethnicity and that the impact that racial identity will have on disease outcome will vary between Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants. We also anticipate that the impact of ancestry on disease outcome will vary between Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Shivam Sharma - Graduate Trainee, Georgia Institute of Technology
Sonali Gupta - Research Assistant, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Vincent Lam - Research Fellow, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Latino Hearthealth in the U.S.

Researching the impact of CVD on Latinos in the US

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Researching the impact of CVD on Latinos in the US

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health

Scientific Approaches

Using public health data to review affects of environment on Latinos in the US

Anticipated Findings

to be determined

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Danielle Yearby Walker - Project Personnel, University of Kentucky

Multimorbidity in Latinos

We are interested in understanding the relationship between loneliness and the development of disabling complications from multimorbidity in Latinos. At this stage, however, our goal is to explore the availability of data to understand the types of question we are…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

We are interested in understanding the relationship between loneliness and the development of disabling complications from multimorbidity in Latinos. At this stage, however, our goal is to explore the availability of data to understand the types of question we are able to answer.

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health
Social / Behavioral

Scientific Approaches

We will only use data from All of Us, specifically survey responses and electronic health records. At this stage, we will use descriptive statistics.

Anticipated Findings

Understanding the relationship between loneliness and the development of complications from multimorbidity will elucidate opportunities to inform interventions to improve health outcomes for Latinos.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Mayra Sanchez Gonzalez - Early Career Tenure-track Researcher, Johns Hopkins University

Determinants of Substance use among Latino and Hispanic people by Subgroups

This study will focus on using the All of us Research program dataset among Latino and Hispanic people to answer the following questions: 1) What is the prevalence of substance use among Latino and Hispanic people of diverse backgrounds. 2)…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

This study will focus on using the All of us Research program dataset among Latino and Hispanic people to answer the following questions:
1) What is the prevalence of substance use among Latino and Hispanic people of diverse backgrounds.
2) What are the social determinants of substance use?
3) How does aggregating Latino and Hispanic people into one group versus subgroups limit our understanding of substance use and mental health at the intersect of multiple categories of identity (immigrant status, family or ancestry roots, sexual orientation, gender)?
This information is important to inform the development of culturally appropriate interventions that can reduce substance use and ultimately decrease and eliminate health complications and rates of mortality. Furthermore, the information obtained can be used to improve current measures among Latino and Hispanic people.

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health
Social / Behavioral

Scientific Approaches

This study aims to use the All of Us Research program dataset among all participants that identify as Latino or Hispanic. Responses from the following questionnaires will be used demographics, lifestyle, overall health, healthcare access and utilization, and social determinants of health questions.
The All of Us Researcher Workbench Jupyter notebook will be used to perform analyses with R. Analyses will be performed to describe, examine differences, and identify relationships between sociodemographic variables and different substance use outcomes among Latino and Hispanic people from diverse backgrounds.

Anticipated Findings

Most research treats Latino and Hispanic people as one group, which limits our understanding on differences that may exist. By disaggregating Latino and Hispanic respondents by subgroups that exist within the Latino and Hispanic population in the All of Us Research program across sociodemographic factors, this study will fill a gap in the literature and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the social determinants of substance use.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Juan Pena - Graduate Trainee, University of California, San Francisco

Dental health condition among Latino population and access to Dentist

1. What is the rate of dentist/ortho dentists visit by Latino population. (Past visit%) 2. What is the prevalence of dental conditions among Latinos. 3. What is Identifying the most vulnerable groups in terms of existing dental conditions and affordability.…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

1. What is the rate of dentist/ortho dentists visit by Latino population. (Past visit%)
2. What is the prevalence of dental conditions among Latinos.
3. What is Identifying the most vulnerable groups in terms of existing dental conditions and affordability.

Research has indicated that there are significant disparities in oral health among racial and ethnic groups, including Latinos. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that Hispanic adults have 2.7 times the rate of untreated dental caries compared to white adults, and they also have higher rates of periodontal disease than non-Hispanic whites. Additionally, data from a survey conducted by the American Dental Association Health Policy Institute suggests that Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanics to report difficulty accessing care due to affordability, with 47% of Hispanic respondents indicating that cost was a barrier to getting dental care.

Project Purpose(s)

Disease Focused Research (Various dental health conditions like Cavity, Caries, etc.)
Population Health
Other Purpose (For research publications and creating a poster for All of Us research scholar program 2023.)

Scientific Approaches

We plan to use the quantitative research method. First, we will be using All of Us's existing Basic Survey and Condition Survey to obtain demographic information and assess the prevalence of dental conditions among Latinos. We will then use the Health Care Access & Utilization survey to identify past visit rates as well as affordability issues for Latino participants. We will utilize these datasets in order to better understand the rate at which Latinos are accessing and utilizing dental care services, as well as what dental health conditions may be more prevalent among this population. Additionally, by using All of Us’s survey data we can also look into potential disparities related to affordability and access to care within the Latino community. In order to investigate these questions further, we plan to conduct an analysis of these datasets using R in the Jupityr notebook, descriptive statistics such as frequencies and counts will be used in order to gain insight.

Anticipated Findings

Based on the research questions posed above, it is expected that the findings of this study will reveal a significant disparity in oral health among Latinos compared to other racial and ethnic groups. This could include higher rates of untreated dental caries and periodontal disease, as well as other dental conditions. The findings are likely to also show a lower rate of dentist/orthodontist visits by the Latino population due to affordability issues.

The results of this study would contribute to the body of scientific knowledge in the field by providing insight into how unequal access to oral care across different racial and ethnic groups can impact their overall health. Additionally, these findings could lead to targeted interventions or policies that focus on reducing disparities in oral health among Latino populations.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Rishad Ahmed - Research Assistant, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Cardiovascular risk factors in Hispanic/Latino individuals

Hispanic and Latino individuals are the largest minority population in U.S. and have a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular risk factors and chronic kidney disease. Despite this, the Hispanic and Latino populations have been under-represented among genetic studies, which have been…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Hispanic and Latino individuals are the largest minority population in U.S. and have a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular risk factors and chronic kidney disease. Despite this, the Hispanic and Latino populations have been under-represented among genetic studies, which have been massively conducted in samples with European ancestry. Although socio-economic factors, such as suitable access to health care, may play a role in the differences of the disease risks across diverse populations, a better understanding of the genetic determinants influencing cardiovascular risk factors and the chronic kidney disease risk in Hispanic or Latino individuals will allow for personalized medical treatments, contributing to mitigate the health disparities. The aim of this study is perform a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants associated with several cardiovascular and kidney disease risk factors in Hispanic/Latino individuals.

Project Purpose(s)

Disease Focused Research (cardiovascular risk factors and chronic kidney disease)
Ancestry

Scientific Approaches

We will conduct a genome-wide association study for cardiovascular risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, obesity among others) and chronic kidney disease in samples with Hispanic or Latino ancestry backgrounds. The statistical models will be fit for age, sex at birth, the top 10 principal components, and other needed adjustments for each trait/disease. Samples and markers will be submitted to quality control procedures using PLINK, and the GWAS will be performed using Regenie software.

Anticipated Findings

We expected to identify novel and known Hispanic/Latino-specific genetic variants associated with these outcomes, as well as, genetic determinants that have been previously identified across different populations, denoting a shared genetic contribution to the disease risks.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Andrea Horimoto - Other, Mass General Brigham

Epigenetics of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Hispanic/Latino Population

In Hispanic/Latino adults who have a family history of rheumatoid arthritis, what is the relationship between a healthy lifestyle and the development of rheumatoid arthritis?

Scientific Questions Being Studied

In Hispanic/Latino adults who have a family history of rheumatoid arthritis, what is the relationship between a healthy lifestyle and the development of rheumatoid arthritis?

Project Purpose(s)

Educational

Scientific Approaches

Population is Hispanic/Latino Adults who have a family history of RA. I will use surveys on family medical history, personal medical history, lifestyle, and basics to identify different lifestyle factors to assess and demographics of the sample.

Anticipated Findings

Anticipate discovering health behaviors that promote or reduce the development of RA in those that are genetically predisposed. This can help with prevention counseling in those with a family history of autoimmune disorders RA. Will develop research with a minority population which is a general gap in research.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Nicole Hollander - Project Personnel, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Collaborators:

Kevin Kupzyk - Project Personnel, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Sheri Rowland - Senior Researcher, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Asthma heritability in Latino and African American

What is the heritability of asthma in Latino? Genetic factor plays an important role in asthma. Asthma heritability has not been studied extensively in Latinos and African Americans. We are going to use data in "All of Us" to investigate…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

What is the heritability of asthma in Latino? Genetic factor plays an important role in asthma. Asthma heritability has not been studied extensively in Latinos and African Americans. We are going to use data in "All of Us" to investigate asthma heritability in Latinos and African Americans.

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health
Educational
Ancestry

Scientific Approaches

We are going to use the software GCTA (Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis) to estimate asthma heritability in Latinos and African Americans. We will calculate the genetic relationship matrix (GRM) from all the autosomal SNPs. We will then use restricted maximum likelihood (REML) and Haseman-Elston (HE) regression to estimate the variance explained by all SNPs.

Anticipated Findings

The heritability of asthma ranges between 35% and 95%. Our results in Latino and African American will show the importance of the genetic factor in asthma in these 2 populations.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Donglei Hu - Project Personnel, University of California, San Francisco

Pregnancy Outcomes and COVID-19 in Latinos

Research question #1: Do the Latino health patterns in All of Us data replicate well-established Latino paradox patterns in pregnancy outcomes? Has COVID-19 disrupted this pattern? Research question #2: Do the Latino health patterns in All of Us data replicate…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Research question #1: Do the Latino health patterns in All of Us data replicate well-established Latino paradox patterns in pregnancy outcomes? Has COVID-19 disrupted this pattern?
Research question #2: Do the Latino health patterns in All of Us data replicate well-established Latino paradox patterns in aged-adjusted all-cause mortality? Has COVID-19 disrupted this pattern? If so, was the pattern specifically disrupted in certain geographic locations (i.e., Orange County, California)?

Project Purpose(s)

Social / Behavioral

Scientific Approaches

All variables necessary for carrying out this research project are available in the All of Us data. Descriptive analyses will first focus on breaking down and stratifying pregnancy outcomes, age-adjusted all-cause mortality, and COVID-19 illness and vaccination into cross-tabulations rates in the following ways:
• Hispanic/Latino versus non-Hispanic Latino White, non-Hispanic Latino Black, and non-Hispanic Latino Asian groups;
• Then, to explore Latino heterogeneity, by Mexican versus non-Mexican Hispanic/Latinos and, if available, by race;
• Then, to explore whether these patterns vary by US-born versus foreign-born status (using country of birth or preferred language as a proxy, depending on what’s available in the dataset)

Anticipated Findings

The findings generated by this project are expected to advance and deepen understanding of Latino health, have implications for possible interventions that may benefit this marginalized group, lead to high impact publications that use the NIH All of Us dataset, and lead to new collaborations with other NIH All of Us researchers.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Vida Pourmand - Graduate Trainee, University of California, Irvine

Duplicate of Urban Health Disparities among Black and Latino People

Globally, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas; and urbanization negatively affects the social determinants of health (WHO, 2022). Access to healthy foods and a healthy and safe environment are especially affected by urbanization; and barriers…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Globally, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas; and urbanization negatively affects the social determinants of health (WHO, 2022). Access to healthy foods and a healthy and safe environment are especially affected by urbanization; and barriers to these necessities facilitate negative mental and physical health outcomes. Environmental hazards and food access barriers disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups in urban areas, especially Black and Latino people. This analysis will utilize the All of Us Research data to analyze how urbanization contributes to health disparities in Black and Latino people who reside in a New York City borough.

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health
Social / Behavioral

Scientific Approaches

This study will utilize secondary quantitative data from the All of Us Research dataset. Multiple logistic regression will be used to determine associations between the negative aspects of urbanization and its effect on health outcomes of Black and Latino urbanites. The regression models will be adjusted for race/ethnicity, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and other determinants of health.

Anticipated Findings

It is hypothesized that this study will find that urbanization negatively affects the social determinants of health, specifically food and healthcare access and a safe environment; and thus increases the likelihood of developing Type II diabetes, asthma, obesity, and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. WHO (2022) anticipates that by 2050 more than 68% of the worlds population will live in urban areas. This study will add knowledge about health disparities in already marginalized populations that are most affected by the rate of urban sprawl.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Jade Bedell - Other, New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice

Effects of COVID-19 on Socialization and Isolation in Latino Populations

The primary purpose is to investigate the relationships between 1) individual characteristics (e.g., age), 2) socialization, 3) loneliness/isolation, and 4) health. Emphasis will be given to comparing aging Latino/Hispanic populations to non-Latino/Hispanic populations and contextualizing results within COVID-19. To emphasize…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

The primary purpose is to investigate the relationships between 1) individual characteristics (e.g., age), 2) socialization, 3) loneliness/isolation, and 4) health. Emphasis will be given to comparing aging Latino/Hispanic populations to non-Latino/Hispanic populations and contextualizing results within COVID-19. To emphasize aging, we plan to focus on adults aged 50+. The data may inform on the experience of diverse aging populations during isolating events. Results may further understanding of the effects of isolation on activity, socialization, and health in aging populations across cohorts. These data will help inform on the relationships between socialization and loneliness in aging adults. This study will investigate relationships between (dis)engagement and health; health may be a barrier to traditional forms of socialization, while isolation may similarly reduce health outcomes. Findings will be contextualized within ethnicity to contribute to research on ethnic minorities.

Project Purpose(s)

Social / Behavioral
Other Purpose (Findings from this study may contribute to manuscripts for scientific journals and/or conference submissions.)

Scientific Approaches

Dataset development will utilize All of Us data and will occur in the researcher workbench. Data will be pulled from several All of Us datasets including: The Basics, Overall Health, Lifestyle, Personal Medical History, Health Care Access & Utilization, COVID-19 Participant Experience (COPE), and Physical Measurements. All data analysis and data visualization will be conducted within the All of Us workbench. Normality tests, regression analyses and tests of correlation (e.g. chi-square analysis, Pearson correlation, etc.) will be utilized in analyses. Results will be reported in APA style.

Anticipated Findings

The objectives of this study are to inform on the relationships between individual characteristics, socialization, loneliness/isolation, and health, particularly in aging Latino adults in the context of COVID-19. We hypothesize variables associated with disadvantage & poorer health will negatively affect downstream outcomes, including socialization; persons with less disadvantage and greater access may have higher levels of socialization; this may reduce isolation/loneliness. This may also relate to better health outcomes. However, we may uncover contributing evidence of the benefit of large/multigenerational homes, which are common in Latino cultures as they help buffer isolation for at-risk populations. This contributes to minority & marginalized peoples research by providing greater context for health/behavioral research. It may also inform future meaningful interventions to improve health and reduce isolation across diverse aging populations, particularly during isolating events.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Julie Blaskewicz Boron - Mid-career Tenured Researcher, University of Nebraska, Omaha
Sarah Hubner - Graduate Trainee, University of Nebraska, Omaha

Collaborators:

Athena Ramos - Senior Researcher, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Harlan Sayles - Project Personnel, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Effects of Physical Activity on Health in Aging Latino Populations

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between 1) individual characteristics (e.g., age, gender, etc.), 2) ethnicity, 3) physical activity, and 4) subjective/objective physical health. The data will be used to further understanding of the effects…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between 1) individual characteristics (e.g., age, gender, etc.), 2) ethnicity, 3) physical activity, and 4) subjective/objective physical health. The data will be used to further understanding of the effects of antecedent characteristics on physical activity and health. Similarly, these data will help inform on the relationships between health and physical activity in aging individuals. Findings will concentrate on the context of ethnicity to contribute to research on aging ethnic minorities and marginalized populations.

The specific questions we aim to elucidate are as follows:
AIM 1. How do individual characteristics affect engagement in physical activity and subjective/objective health; how are these relationships affected by ethnicity?
AIM 2. What are the relationships between physical activity and subjective/objective health; how are these relationships affected by ethnicity?

Project Purpose(s)

Social / Behavioral
Educational
Other Purpose (Findings from this study may contribute to manuscripts for scientific journals and/or conference submissions. )

Scientific Approaches

Dataset development and analyses will utilize All of Us data and will occur in the researcher workbench. Data will be pulled from several All of Us datasets including: The Basics (e.g., demographic, ability, etc.), Overall Health (e.g., quality of life, everyday activities, etc.), Lifestyle (e.g., substance use), Personal Medical History (e.g., cardiovascular history), and Physical Measurements (e.g., height, weight, etc.). Normality tests, regression analyses and tests of correlation (e.g. chi-square analysis, Pearson correlation, etc.) will be utilized in analyses. Results will be reported in APA style.

Anticipated Findings

The objectives of this study are to inform on the relationships between individual characteristics, physical activity, and health, particularly in aging Latino adults. We anticipate that variables associated with increased cumulative disadvantage (e.g., race, gender, etc.) will disproportionally affect physical activity engagement and health; it is hypothesized that physical activity will positively impact health and vice versa, such that persons with more engagement are healthier. This contributes to ethnic, minority and marginalized peoples research by providing greater context for health and behavioral research by exploring both risk and protective factors. It may also serve to inform future meaningful interventions to improve health and activity in aging diverse populations.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Sarah Hubner - Graduate Trainee, University of Nebraska, Omaha

Collaborators:

Athena Ramos - Senior Researcher, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Julie Blaskewicz Boron - Mid-career Tenured Researcher, University of Nebraska, Omaha
Harlan Sayles - Project Personnel, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Urban Health Disparities among Black and Latino People

Globally, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas; and urbanization negatively affects the social determinants of health (WHO, 2022). Access to healthy foods and a healthy and safe environment are especially affected by urbanization; and barriers…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Globally, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas; and urbanization negatively affects the social determinants of health (WHO, 2022). Access to healthy foods and a healthy and safe environment are especially affected by urbanization; and barriers to these necessities facilitate negative mental and physical health outcomes. Environmental hazards and food access barriers disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups in urban areas, especially Black and Latino people. This analysis will utilize the All of Us Research data to analyze how urbanization contributes to health disparities in Black and Latino city dwellers.

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health
Social / Behavioral

Scientific Approaches

This study will utilize secondary quantitative data from the All of Us Research dataset. Multiple logistic regression will be used to determine associations between the negative aspects of urbanization and its effect on health outcomes of Black and Latino urbanites. The regression models will be adjusted for race/ethnicity, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and other determinants of health.

Anticipated Findings

It is hypothesized that this study will find that urbanization negatively affects the social determinants of health, specifically food and healthcare access and a safe environment; and thus increases the likelihood of developing Type II diabetes, asthma, obesity, and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. WHO (2022) anticipates that by 2050 more than 68% of the worlds population will live in urban areas. This study will add knowledge about health disparities in already marginalized populations that are most affected by the rate of urban sprawl.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Controlled Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Jade Bedell - Other, New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice

Structural Heart Disease Risk in the Hispanic/Latino Community

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the general US population and the second leading cause of death in Hispanics/Latinos. However, the epidemiology of valvular heart disease in this population is less well known. Given the paucity of…

Scientific Questions Being Studied

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the general US population and the second leading cause of death in Hispanics/Latinos. However, the epidemiology of valvular heart disease in this population is less well known. Given the paucity of data, the objective of this study is to explore the burden and clinical correlates of structural heart disease in Hispanics/ Latinos in the in the All of Us Research Program.

Project Purpose(s)

Population Health

Scientific Approaches

We will use the All of US dataset V5. We will identify variables that represent (1) structural heart disease (aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis, tricuspid stenosis); (2) all the known risk factors for each of these conditions; (3) physiological variables that are associated with risk of structural heart disease (blood pressure, cholesterol levels, hemoglobin A1C); (4) anatomical variables that are associated with risk of structural heart disease (chamber size and function, valve morphology and severity, and effect on pulmonary and systemic circulation); and (5) identify the minority groups of interest. We will use linear and logistic regression to test for association between risk factors and the conditions of interest.

Anticipated Findings

We expect to find that: (1) a substantial number of the known vascular risk factors increase risk of structural heart disease in across all evaluated groups; (2) known risk factors for structural heart disease disproportionately affect some minority groups; and (3) the effect of these risk factors will be stronger in some minority groups. These findings will helps us to (1) identify groups of persons at particularly high risk of sustaining these conditions that may benefit from tailored diagnostic and therapeutic interventions; and (2) identify new precision medicine treatments for these conditions.

Demographic Categories of Interest

Data Set Used

Registered Tier

Research Team

Owner:

Adriana Mares - Other, University of Texas at El Paso

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