Lisa F Berkman
Biographic Data
| ID | 147593 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lisa F Berkman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Lisa F |
| FAMILY NAME | Berkman |
| SIGNATURE | BERKMAN L F |
| AFFILIATIONS | Harvard School of Public Health |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 103 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1958 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 99 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 4 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1976 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 15 |
Associations between cohort derived dementia and Covid-19 serological diagnosis among older Black adults in rural South Africa
Objectives This study investigates the association between cohort derived dementia and serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, an underexplored phenomena in low-and middle-income countries. Examining this relationship in a rural South African community setting offers insights applicable to broader healthcare contexts. Methods Data were collected from Black South Africans in the Mpumalanga province who participated in the Health and Aging in…
Quantifying the Contribution of Work Characteristics to Educational Disparities in Health-Induced Work Limitations
Work environments appear to play an important role in educational disparities in mid- to late-life disability
Employee Cardiometabolic Risk Following a Cluster-Randomized Workplace Intervention From the Work, Family and Health Network, 2009–2013
Objectives. To examine whether workplace interventions to increase workplace flexibility and supervisor support and decrease work–family conflict can reduce cardiometabolic risk. Methods. We randomly assigned employees from information technology (n = 555) and long-term care (n = 973) industries in the United States to the Work, Family and Health Network intervention or usual practice (we collected the data 2009–2013). We calculated a validated c…
Subjective social position and cognitive function in a longitudinal cohort of older, rural South African adults, 2014–2019
Background The relationship between subjective social position (SSP) and cognitive ageing unclear, especially in low-income settings. We aimed to investigate the relationship between SSP and cognitive function over time among older adults in rural South Africa. Methods Data were from 3771 adults aged ≥40 in the population-representative ‘Health and Ageing in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa’ from 2014/2015 (bas…
Overtime: America's Aging Workforce and the Future of Working Longer
Residential addiction treatment providers: Identifying the role of social context in worker health and turnover
Childhood eviction and cognitive development: Developmental timing-specific associations in an urban birth cohort
Association Between New-Onset Medicaid Home Care and Family Caregivers’ Health
In this cohort study, Medicaid home care was associated with improvement in caregiver self-rated mental health, but not with any short-term change in self-rated physical health. When evaluating the social value of home care programs, policy makers should consider spillover benefits to caregivers
Do You See What Eye See? Measurement, Correlates, and Functional Associations of Objective and Self-Reported Vision Impairment in Aging South Africans
Objectives: Our study investigates measurement, correlates, and functional associations of vision impairment (VI) in an aging population in rural South Africa. Methods: 1582 participants aged 40-69 reported on near (NVI) and distance vision impairment (DVI) and completed objective vision tests. Logistic and linear regression were used to evaluate sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial correlates of VI and assess relationships between VI and c…
Work Redesign for the 21st Century: Promising Strategies for Enhancing Worker Well-Being
Work is a key social determinant of population health and well-being. Yet, efforts to improve worker well-being in the United States are often focused on changing individual health behaviors via employer wellness programs. The COVID-19 health crisis has brought into sharp relief some of the limitations of current approaches, revealing structural conditions that heighten the vulnerability of workers and their families to physical and psychosocial …
HIV Status and Antiretroviral Therapy as Predictors of Disability among Older South Africans: Overall Association and Moderation by Body Mass Index
Objectives: Among older people living with HIV (PLWH) and comparable individuals without HIV, we evaluated whether associations of HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) with disability depend on body mass index (BMI). Methods: We analyzed 4552 participants in the "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa." (HAALSI) We compared prevalence of disability (≥1 impairment in basic activities of daily livin…
You Say Tomato, I Say Radish: Can Brief Cognitive Assessments in the U.S. Health Retirement Study Be Harmonized With Its International Partner Studies
The cognitive assessments in the U.S. HRS and its International Partner Studies reflect comparable underlying cognitive constructs. We discuss the assumptions underlying our methods, present alternatives, and future directions for cross-national harmonization of cognitive aging data
Long-term effects of compulsory schooling on physical, mental and cognitive ageing: A natural experiment
BACKGROUND: Longer schooling is associated with better physical, mental and cognitive functioning, but there is controversy as to whether these associations are causal. We examine the long-term health impact of a policy that increased compulsory schooling by 2 years in France for cohorts born on or after January 1953, offering a natural experiment. METHODS: Data came from Constances, a randomly selected cohort of the French population assessed fo…
Effects of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion on Subjective Well-Being in the US Adult Population, 2010–2016
Objectives. To determine whether the 2014 Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion affected well-being in the low-income and general adult US populations. Methods. We obtained data from adults aged 18 to 64 years in the nationally representative Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index from 2010 to 2016 (n = 1 674 953). We used a difference-in-differences analysis to compare access to and difficulty affording health care and subjective well-being outcomes…
Longer schooling but not better off? A quasi-experimental study of the effect of compulsory schooling on biomarkers in France
Less schooling is associated with increased biological risks for chronic disease, but whether increasing years of schooling through policy interventions reduces these risks remains unclear. We examine the effect of a major education reform introduced in 1959 that raised the minimum school leaving age from 14 to 16 years in France, offering a unique natural experiment. We assess the causal impact of increased schooling duration on 16 biomarkers of…
Cardiometabolic risks associated with work-to-family conflict: Findings from the Work Family Health Network
Objective: Work and family stressors may be associated with elevated cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: To assess the effects of work-to-family conflict (WTFC) on biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk, we examined 1524 extended care employees over 18 months and estimated multilevel linear models that accounted for the nested nature of the data. Results: WTFC was positively associated with BMI [β = 0.53, CI = (0.08, 0.98), p = .02 at baseline and …
School racial composition and lifetime non-medical use of prescription painkillers: Evidence from the national longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health
We found evidence of an effect of school racial composition on the risk of misusing prescription painkillers over a decade later, over and above individual race, with higher risk of misuse reported among participants who had attended white schools. Black participants who had attended predominantly white schools were, on average, twice as likely to report lifetime misuse of prescription painkillers compared to blacks who had attended black schools
Age and Gender Differences in Social Network Composition and Social Support Among Older Rural South Africans: Findings From the Haalsi Study
Marriage-related structural constraints impacted on older women's social networks in rural South Africa, but did not explain choice-based network contraction. These findings suggest that many older women in rural Africa, a growing population, may have an unmet need for social support
Partners' overwork and individuals' wellbeing and experienced relationship quality
The negative impact of long work hours, or overwork, on individuals' physical and psychological wellbeing is well documented. Less is known about the impact of overwork on individuals' families, especially in regard to partners. In this paper, we address this gap in the literature using high quality data from the Work, Family, and Health Network in a sample of IT workers in the US (N=590). Specifically we examine whether partners' long work hours…
Cardiometabolic risk in a population of older adults with multiple co-morbidities in rural south africa: The Haalsi (Health and Aging in Africa: longitudinal studies of INDEPTH communities) study
This cohort has high CMD risk based on both traditional risk factors and novel markers like hsCRP. Longitudinal follow-up of the cohort will allow us to determine the long-term impact of increased lifespan in a population with both high HIV infection and CMD risk
Economic Downturns, Retirement and Long-Term Cognitive Function Among Older Americans
Exposure to downturns around retirement is associated with a long-lasting decline in cognitive function in later life. Policies mitigating the impact of downturns on older workers may help to maintain cognitive function in later life
Childhood deprivation and later-life cognitive function in a population-based study of older rural South Africans
Short- and long-run associations between birth weight and children's height
Effects on cigarette consumption of a work–family supportive organisational intervention: 6-Month Results From the Work, Family and Health Network Study
BACKGROUND: Observational studies have linked work-family issues with cigarette consumption. This study examined the 6-month effects on cigarette consumption of a work-family supportive organisational intervention among nursing home workers. METHODS: Group randomised controlled trial where 30 nursing homes across New England states were randomly assigned to either usual practice or to a 4-month intervention aimed at reducing work-family conflict …
Work–Family Trajectories and the Higher Cardiovascular Risk of American Women Relative to Women in 13 European Countries
Objectives. To investigate whether less-healthy work–family life histories contribute to the higher cardiovascular disease prevalence in older American compared with European women. Methods. We used sequence analysis to identify distinct work–family typologies for women born between 1935 and 1956 in the United States and 13 European countries. Data came from the US Health and Retirement Study (1992–2006) and the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retir…
From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium
Two Shorter Forms of the CES-D Depression Symptoms Index
Brief measurement devices can alleviate respondent burden and lower refusal rates in surveys. This article reports on a field test of two shorter forms of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) symptoms index in a multisite survey of persons 65 and older. Factor analyses demonstrate that the briefer forms tap the same symptoms dimensions as does the original CES-D, and reliability statistics indicate that they sacrifice little …
Structural characteristics of social networks and their relationship with social support in the elderly: Who provides support
Cumulative biological risk and socio-economic differences in mortality: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging
Social Engagement and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life: Longitudinal Findings
Social engagement is independently associated with depressive symptoms cross-sectionally. A longitudinal association is seen only among those not depressed at baseline
Low birthweight among US Hispanic/Latino subgroups: The effect of maternal foreign-born status and education
Social networks and health: A life course perspective integrating observational and experimental evidence
Employment status, social ties, and caregivers' mental health
Racial/ethnic and gender differences in the association between self-reported experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination and inflammation in the Cardia cohort of 4 US communities
Beyond single indicators of social networks: A Lisrel analysis of social ties among the elderly
Effects of Social Integration on Preserving Memory Function in a Nationally Representative US Elderly Population
Objectives. We tested whether social integration protects against memory loss and other cognitive disorders in late life in a nationally representative US sample of elderly adults, whether effects were stronger among disadvantaged individuals, and whether earlier cognitive losses explained the association (reverse causation). Methods. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 16 638), we examined whether social integration predicted me…
The long-run effect of maternity leave benefits on mental health: Evidence from European countries
Childhood Health and Labor Market Inequality over the Life Course
The authors use data from the Health and Retirement Study's Earnings Benefit File, which links Health and Retirement Study to Social Security Administration records, to estimate the impact of childhood health on earnings curves between the ages of 25 and 50 years. They also investigate the extent to which diminished educational attainment, earlier onset of chronic health conditions, and labor force participation mediate this relationship. Those w…
Social support, volunteering and health around the world: Cross-national evidence from 139 countries
Social relations and self-reported health: A prospective analysis of the French Gazel cohort
Mothering alone: Cross-national comparisons of later-life disability and health among women who were single mothers
BACKGROUND: Single motherhood is associated with poorer health, but whether this association varies between countries is not known. We examine associations between single motherhood and poor later-life health in the USA, England and 13 European countries. METHODS: Data came from 25 125 women aged 50+ who participated in the US Health and Retirement Study, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Euro…
Use of Life Course Work–Family Profiles to Predict Mortality Risk Among US Women
Objectives. We examined relationships between US women’s exposure to midlife work–family demands and subsequent mortality risk. Methods. We used data from women born 1935 to 1956 in the Health and Retirement Study to calculate employment, marital, and parenthood statuses for each age between 16 and 50 years. We used sequence analysis to identify 7 prototypical work–family trajectories. We calculated age-standardized mortality rates and hazard rat…
Trends in the Educational Gradient of Mortality Among US Adults Aged 45 to 84 Years: Bringing Regional Context Into the Explanation
Objectives. We investigated trends in the educational gradient of US adult mortality, which has increased at the national level since the mid-1980s, within US regions. Methods. We used data from the 1986–2006 National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality File on non-Hispanic White and Black adults aged 45 to 84 years (n = 498 517). We examined trends in the gradient within 4 US regions by race–gender subgroup by using age-standardized death r…
Work-Family Enrichment and Conflict: Additive Effects, Buffering, or Balance
We used data from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS I) (N = 2,031) to compare three models of how work-family conflict and enrichment might operate to predict well-being (mental health, life satisfaction, affect balance, partner relationship quality). We found no support for a relative-difference model in which the conflict-enrichment balance predicted outcomes. In the work-to-family direction, the additive model fit best: Both …
Childhood deprivation and later-life cognitive function in a population-based study of older rural South Africans
Trends in Work–Family Context Among U.S. Women by Education Level, 1976 to 2011
The Influence of Social Context on Changes in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: Results of the Healthy Directions Studies
As part of the Harvard Cancer Prevention Program Project, we used a social contextual model of health behavior change to test an intervention targeting multiple risk-related behaviors in working-class, multiethnic populations. We examined the relationships between the social contextual factors in our conceptual model and changes in fruit and vegetable consumption from baseline to completion of intervention in health centers and small business stu…
Maternal social and pyschological conditions and physical growth in low-income children in Piauí, Northeast Brazil
Age and Gender Differences in Social Network Composition and Social Support Among Older Rural South Africans: Findings From the Haalsi Study
Marriage-related structural constraints impacted on older women's social networks in rural South Africa, but did not explain choice-based network contraction. These findings suggest that many older women in rural Africa, a growing population, may have an unmet need for social support
Work Factors and Occupational Class Disparities in Sickness Absence: Findings From the Gazel Cohort Study
Objectives. To estimate the contribution of stress-related and physical work factors to occupational class disparities in sickness absence from work. Methods. Our sample consisted of 8847 men and 2886 women participating in the French GAZEL cohort study. Occupational class and medically certified sickness absence data (1995–2001) were obtained from the participants’ employer. Work characteristics (physical and stress-related) were self-reported. …
Social Class, Susceptibility and Sickness
Social Networks, Host Resistance, and Mortality: A Nine-Year Follow-Up Study of Alameda County Residents
The relationship between social and community ties and mortality was assessed using the 1965 Human Population Laboratory survey of a random sample of 6928 adults in Alameda County, California and a subsequent nine-year mortality follow-up. The findings show that people who lacked social and community ties were more likely to die in the follow-up period than those with more extensive contacts. The age-adjusted relative risks for those most isolate…
Health and ways of living: The Alameda County study
The Impact of Social Stressors and Social Networks on Pediatric Medical Care Use
Substantial differences in the use of pediatric medical resources reinforce the need for identifying and understanding factors that influence the use of medical services for children. This research assesses the simultaneous impact of sociodemographic characteristics, health attitudes and beliefs, psychologic distress, social stressors, and social networks on the use of pediatric acute care services during a 12-month period. Using a prospective lo…
Depressive Symptoms in Relation to Physical Health and Functioning in the Elderly
The associations between depressive symptoms and functional disability and chronic conditions are examined in an elderly cohort of 2,806 noninstitutionalized men and women living in New Haven, Connecticut who were interviewed in 1982 as a part of the Yale Health and Aging Project. The aim is to explore several potential sources of invalidity in using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) to measure depressive symptoms in e…
Structural characteristics of social networks and their relationship with social support in the elderly: Who provides support
Social Support and Depressive Symptoms in the Elderly
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of characteristics of social networks and support on depressive symptoms in the elderly. The subjects were 1,962 noninstitutionalized persons 65 years and older from the New Haven Establishment of Populations for Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly in 1982, who were available to give a complete follow-up interview in 1985. Baseline depression, functional disability in 1982, and any change in disa…
Emotional Support and Survival after Myocardial Infarction: A Prospective, Population-based Study of the Elderly
OBJECTIVE: To compare the survival of elderly patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction who have emotional support with that of patients who lack such support, while controlling for severity of disease, comorbidity, and functional status. DESIGN: A prospective, community-based cohort study. SETTING: Two hospitals in New Haven, Connecticut. PATIENTS: Men (n = 100) and women (n = 94) 65 years of age or more hospitalized for acute myocar…
High, usual and impaired functioning in community-dwelling older men and women: Findings from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on successful aging
Maintaining Mobility in Late Life. I. Demographic Characteristics and Chronic Conditions
To assess the role of demographic factors and chronic conditions in maintaining mobility in older persons, this study utilized longitudinal data collected as part of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly between 1981 and 1987 on 6,981 men and women aged 65 years and older in East Boston, Massachusetts; Iowa and Washington counties, Iowa; and New Haven, Connecticut. Results are presented for those who at baseline rep…
Maintaining Mobility in Late Life. II. Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, Physical Activity, and Body Mass Index
While positive health behaviors have been shown to extend life, their association with extending active life has not been well investigated. In this report, several health behaviors were investigated in relation to maintaining mobility during 4 years of follow-up among 6,981 men and women aged 65 years and older with intact mobility at baseline between 1981 and 1983 who lived in one of three communities: East Boston, Massachusetts; Iowa and Washi…
Two Shorter Forms of the CES-D Depression Symptoms Index
Brief measurement devices can alleviate respondent burden and lower refusal rates in surveys. This article reports on a field test of two shorter forms of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) symptoms index in a multisite survey of persons 65 and older. Factor analyses demonstrate that the briefer forms tap the same symptoms dimensions as does the original CES-D, and reliability statistics indicate that they sacrifice little …
The Role of Social Relations in Health Promotion
In considering new paradigms for the prevention and treatment of disease and disability, we need to incorporate ways to promote social support and develop family and community strengths and abilities into our interventions. There is now a substantial body of evidence that indicates that the extent to which social relationships are strong and supportive is related to the health of individuals who live within such social contexts. A review of popul…
Depressive Symptomatology and Hypertension-Associated Morbidity and Mortality in Older Adults
This study determines, in a population of older adults with diagnosed hypertension, the concurrent association between depressive symptomatology and blood pressure control and the longitudinal association between depressive symptomatology and blood pressure control, stroke, and cardiovascular-related mortality. Data are from the East Boston, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut; and Iowa sites of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Stu…
Driving Cessation and Increased Depressive Symptoms: Prospective Evidence from the New Haven Epese
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between driving cessation and depressive symptoms among older drivers. Previous efforts in this area have focused on the factors associated with cessation, not the consequences of having stopped. DESIGN: Cohort study SETTING: Urban community PARTICIPANTS: A driving survey was administered in 1989 to surviving noninstitutionalized members of the New Haven Established Population…
Stressful Life Events and Depressive Symptoms among the Elderly: Evidence from a Prospective Community Study
We examined the effect of a series of common stressful life events on change in depressive symptoms among the elderly. The subjects were 1,962 noninstitutionalized people 65 years of age or older from the New Haven EPESE project. Multivariate regression models revealed that 8 of 11 stressful life events examined predicted change in depressive symptoms at follow-up (1985) after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms age, socioeconomic factor…
Beyond single indicators of social networks: A Lisrel analysis of social ties among the elderly
Psychosocial Experiences Influence Functioning: New Risks, New Outcomes
Department of Health and Social Behavior; Harvard School of Public Health; 677 Huntington Avenue; Boston, MA 02115
Is Educational Attainment Associated With Shared Determinants of Health in the Elderly? Findings From the MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of educational attainment with an array of risk factors for poor health among high-functioning older men and women. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses of psychosocial, behavioral, and biological factors and educational attainment were conducted using data from a population-based cohort study of older men and women. Participants consisted of 70- to 79-year-old residents of communities of East Boston, MA; Ne…
Social Disengagement and Incident Cognitive Decline in Community-Dwelling Elderly Persons
BACKGROUND: Social engagement, which is defined as the maintenance of many social connections and a high level of participation in social activities, has been thought to prevent cognitive decline in elderly persons. However, few longitudinal studies of this relation have been done. OBJECTIVE: To determine the relation between social disengagement and incident cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly persons. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: …
Social Epidemiology
The authors of this excellent text define social epidemiology as the epidemiologic study of the social distribution and social determinants of states of health, implying that the aim is to identify socio-environmental exposures which may be related to a broad range of physical and mental health outcomes. In the first systematic account of this field, they focus on methodological approaches but draw widely from related disciplines such as sociolog…
Social Support, Social Networks, Social Cohesion and Health
(2000). Social Support, Social Networks, Social Cohesion and Health. Social Work in Health Care: Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 3-14.
Social Integration, Social Networks, Social Support, and Health
It is difficult now to reconstruct the logic that led us to believe that the nature of human relationships—the degree to which an individual is interconnected and embedded in a community—is vital to an individual’s health and well-being as well as to the health and vitality of entire populations. In retrospect, a combination of observations and reading the rich theoretical literature on social integration, attachment, and social networks led us t…
The Effect of Race and Health-Related Factors on Naming and Memory: The MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging
The racial differences found in test performance may reflect differences in cultural appropriateness of the material rather than differences in ability
Psychosocial intervention in stroke: Families in recovery from stroke trial (FIRST)
A family-focused psychosocial intervention for stroke survivors is described and illustrated with case studies. It is designed to improve functional recovery through four specific pathways: increased knowledge, efficacy, and control through stroke education; optimized social support; increased network cohesion; and improved problem-solving abilities. Rationales for these pathways are presented and methods of implementing them discussed
Medicine (87 works) · Psychology (65 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (48 works) · Demography (45 works) · Gerontology (44 works) · Population (36 works) · Psychiatry (36 works) · Gerontology (33 works) · Environmental health (32 works) · Sociology (29 works)