An Individual and Population Lifecourse Approach to the Determinants of Health

Award Year: 2001	Investigator: George Davey Smith, John Lynch	Budget: $57,325	Categories: Life Course, Population Health
Abstract: Drs. Lynch and Smith will develop an individual and population lifecourse framework to better understand the two dominant features of population health - widening disparities existing simultaneously with overall improvements. Through analyses conducted at the individual, regional (states and regions within the U.S. and U.K.), and international levels, the investigators will examine how lifecourse influences affect a particular cohort, different cohorts over time, and disease trends among populations in wealthy nations and between the rich and poor within these countries. A range of exposures and health outcomes will be studied including low birth weight and such cause-specific morbidity and mortality indicators as CHD, stroke, COPD, asthma, TB, suicide, cirrhosis, accidental/violent deaths, and lung, breast, and stomach cancer. Findings should clarify those poor starts in life that can and cannot be overcome and assist in identifying targets for interventions.