Clinical and Social Epidemiology
Dr. Casey Crump’s research focuses on identifying clinical and social determinants of health, in order to enable better prevention, detection, and treatment of disease. His current work includes a new collaborative initiative between Stanford University and Lund University in Sweden to identify perinatal, hereditary, and environmental determinants of health using Swedish national health data. The following NIH-supported studies are ongoing:
1) Long-term health outcomes of preterm birth
Due to the growing number and improved survival of preterm infants in recent decades, their health outcomes in later life are becoming increasingly important. Dr. Crump is studying the long-term effects of preterm birth in a national cohort of more than 630,000 individuals born in Sweden from 1973 through 1979. More than 27,000 individuals who were born preterm are being followed in young adulthood for multiple health outcomes including cardiovascular, endocrine, neurologic, and immune disorders. The results will advance our understanding of the influence of perinatal factors on health in later life, and ultimately may lead to earlier interventions to prevent disease.
2) Hereditary and environmental influences on psychosocial conditions
This collaborative study investigates the relative contributions of hereditary and environmental factors on substance use, psychiatric disorders, and crime using multigenerational family data from 11.2 million people in Sweden. The results will help elucidate the etiologic mechanisms underlying these conditions which in turn may lead to more effective prevention, treatment, and public policy.
3) Neighborhood-level contextual effects on health
Dr. Crump is studying the contextual effects of neighborhood environment on mental and physical health. Recent work uses hierarchical models to examine the effects of neighborhood deprivation on depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders in a Swedish cohort of 7 million adults. The results of this study will advance our understanding of the influence of neighborhood environment on health, and help inform public policy toward creating healthier communities.