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Author: Catalano, Ralph
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Catalano, Ralph
Goldman-Mellor, Sidra
Saxton, Katherine
Margerison-Zilko, Claire E.
Subbaraman, Meenakshi
Lewinn, Kaja
Anderson, Elizabeth
The Health Effects of Economic Decline
Annual Review of Public Health 32 (April 2011): 431-450.
Also: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031210-101146
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Annual Reviews
Keyword(s): Economic Changes/Recession; Economic Well-Being; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Poverty; Stress; Unemployment

Political pronouncements and policy statements include much conjecture concerning the health and behavioral effects of economic decline. We both summarize empirical research concerned with those effects and suggest questions for future research priorities. We separate the studies into groups defined by questions asked, mechanisms invoked, and outcomes studied. We conclude that although much research shows that undesirable job and financial experiences increase the risk of psychological and behavioral disorder, many other suspected associations remain poorly studied or unsupported. The intuition that mortality increases when the economy declines, for example, appears wrong. We note that the research informs public health programming by identifying risk factors, such as job loss, made more frequent by economic decline. The promise that the research would identify health costs and benefits of economic policy choices, however, remains unfulfilled and will likely remain so without stronger theory and greater methodological agreement.
Bibliography Citation
Catalano, Ralph, Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Katherine Saxton, Claire E. Margerison-Zilko, Meenakshi Subbaraman, Kaja Lewinn and Elizabeth Anderson. "The Health Effects of Economic Decline." Annual Review of Public Health 32 (April 2011): 431-450.
2. Margerison-Zilko, Claire E.
Catalano, Ralph
Hubbard, Alan
Ahern, Jennifer
Maternal Exposure to Unexpected Economic Contraction and Birth Weight for Gestational Age
Epidemiology 22,6 (November 2011): 855-858.
Also: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21900824
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wolters Kluwer
Keyword(s): Birthweight; Economic Changes/Recession; Economic Well-Being; Geocoded Data; Gestation/Gestational weight gain; Job Turnover; Maternal Employment; Poverty; State-Level Data/Policy; Stress; Unemployment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: The macro-level economy may affect fetal health through maternal behavioral or physiologic responses.

Methods: We used a multilevel design to examine associations between exposure to state-level unexpected economic contraction during each trimester of gestation and birth weight for gestational age percentile and small for gestational age (SGA), using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. We examined differences in observed associations by maternal educational attainment, race/ethnicity, employment status, and poverty status.

Results: Exposure in the first trimester was associated with a 3.7 percentile point decrease in birth weight for gestational age (95% confidence interval [CI] = −6.8 to −0.6). This association appeared stronger for women “keeping house” or with <12 years education. Exposure in the first trimester was also associated with increased odds of SGA (odds ratio = 1.5 [95% CI = 1.1 to 2.1]) and term SGA (odds ratio = 1.6 [95% CI = 1.2 to 2.3]).

Conclusions: Unexpected economic contraction during early pregnancy may be associated with reduced fetal growth.

Bibliography Citation
Margerison-Zilko, Claire E., Ralph Catalano, Alan Hubbard and Jennifer Ahern. "Maternal Exposure to Unexpected Economic Contraction and Birth Weight for Gestational Age." Epidemiology 22,6 (November 2011): 855-858.