Research Snapshots

These are research highlights taken from our newsletter, the Life Course Ledger. Sign up to receive the LCC's monthly newsletter by emailing [email protected].



LCC Center Grant Renewed for Another Six Years

Funding from the National Institute on Aging Paves the Way for More Groundbreaking Research 

Congratulations to LCC Director Sarah Flood, LCC Associate Director Janette Dill and the entire Life Course Center team on the successful renewal of its P30 award from NIA!  This renewal will allow the LCC to continue to support innovative, interdisciplinary research on the demography and economics of aging and to build on its strengths in advancing impactful research, supporting emerging scholars, and fostering collaboration through its core programs.



Aging measures and cancer in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)

Nature Communications  |  LCC Members: Shuo Wang, Anna Prizment, Sithara Vivek, Bharat Thyagarajan



Understanding how the environment and genetics contribute to the link between personality and metabolic health

New research is furthering our understanding of how individual personality traits in midlife, influenced by both genetics and environmental factors, are linked to metabolic health outcomes in late-life, such as BMI, waist circumference, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar levels. 



How Does Education Affect Alzheimer’s and Dementia Risk? It’s About More Than Degree Attainment

Education has long been associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, but a new study reveals that this protection extends far beyond diplomas and degrees. 



Associations Between Loneliness, Epigenetic Aging, and Multimorbidity Through Older Adulthood

The Journals of Gerontology, Series B  |  LCC Member: Robert Krueger

  • Baseline loneliness was associated with greater epigenetic age acceleration in the GrimAge measure 
  • Loneliness and GrimAge each predicted increasing condition counts, but there was no evidence of an interactive effect
  • Results suggest the impact of loneliness on multimorbidity may, in part, operate through DNA methylation 



Which aspects of education are health protective? A life-course examination

BMC Public Health  |  LCC Member: Glenn Roisman

 



Racial Wealth Disparities in Older Age and Social Security Program Participation

Center for Financial Security and Retirement & Disability Research Center  

LCC Member Samuel L. Myers, Jr.   



The Making of African Made: Memory and Dementia Education by and for the African Immigrant Community

Life Course Center members Manka Nkimbeng, Tetyana Shippee, and Joe Gaugler collaborated with a community project advisory board to develop a culturally tailored dementia education program and booklet for the African immigrant community in Minnesota. 



Seeking Equity in Aging

LCC Members Shekinah Fashaw-Walters and Tetyana Shippee study the disparities that exist in care for aging BIPOC communities—and offer solutions.

Read more in this great feature from the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. 

 



Playing professional football may shorten players' lives

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  |  Rob Warren and Gina Rumore

The research team conducted two sets of analyses in this new study. First, they compared men drafted to play professional football in the 1950s — some of whom played and some of whom never played in any professional league. Second, they compared professional football players who began their careers in the late 1980s through the mid 1990s to a nationally representative group of men who — like football players — were employed, not disabled, not in poverty and who completed at least three years of college.  

They found:

  • Linemen die earlier than otherwise similar men.
  • Other position players die no sooner or later.
  • 3.1% of football players died within 25 years of initial observation.
  • 2.3% of comparable American men died within that time frame.