Office of the Scientific Director

National Institute On Minority Health And Health Disparities

Investigators

Abstract

US Health Disparities Project: In FY19, NIMHD DIR launched a landmark collaborative study, the US Health Disparities Project. It is a collaboration with University of Washington Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) to produce U.S. county-level estimates of the morbidity and mortality associated with disease, and stratified by race and/or ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), sex, and age. The ultimate goal is to routinely generate and maintain these estimates to inform national and local efforts to improve the health of all populations in the US. During FY25, the NIMHD DIR expanded its work examining US county-level morbidity and mortality and identifying key health disparities. Estimates of mortality, non-fatal health outcomes, and risk factors by county and race and/or ethnicity are being updated to incorporate the most recent data available to include data through 2023. Methodological refinements included updates to cause-specific incidence and prevalence estimates based on incidence-to-mortality and prevalence-to-mortality ratios, as well as new modeling approaches for estimating cause-specific incidence and prevalence. Work also continued on refining risk exposure models and calculating population-attributable fraction estimates. Six publications were produced during FY25, covering topics such as life expectancy by educational attainment and healthy life expectancy, as well as mortality by diabetes, lung cancer, and malnutrition among others. In addition, several abstracts were presented at national and international meetings in fields including public health, internal medicine and pharmacoepidemiology. Behavioral Risk and Impact on General Health Trend (BRIGHT) Study: The President’s Executive Order (EO) 14212, Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, seeks to improve the health of Americans by addressing chronic diseases and promoting children’s health. Chronic diseases remain the leading causes of death and disability in the US, contributing to rising healthcare costs, reduced workforce productivity, and stagnating life expectancy. Addressing these challenges requires promoting health-protective behaviors, discouraging health risk behaviors, and collecting timely, high-quality, nationally representative data on health behaviors and their multilevel risk factors. In alignment with the NIH mission and NIMHD’s statutory purpose to understand and reduce health disparities, NIMHD DIR planned a new longitudinal study of health behaviors among U.S. adults and youth, with a focus on populations experiencing health disparities (e.g., rural Americans and low SES). This study will provide critical data to guide interventions, inform resource allocation, and monitor progress toward national health goals. Advancing collection of detailed sociodemographic and social need information at the NIH Clinical Center: Working in collaboration with the NIH SDOH Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) and the NIH Clinical Center (CC), the Office of Scientific Director assisted in advancing the collection of detailed sociodemographic and social need data as part of the standard procedure for patients participating in clinical research at the NIH Clinical Center. A set of recommended items were presented to the NIH CC Medical Executive Committee to be incorporated in the admission process. Epidemiology Summer Bootcamp: NIMHD DIR hosted the Epidemiology Summer Bootcamp from June 25, 2025, to August 27, 2025, offering an intensive and practical introduction to core epidemiology concepts and methods for NIMHD intramural trainees and interested extramural staff. Over the course of 10 weeks, participants took part in a structured curriculum combining lectures, hands-on activities, literature reviews, and cases studies. These activities were designed to introduce and strengthen foundational concepts in epidemiology and enhance participants’ ability to apply epidemiologic principles to their work. The program led by DIR Staff Scientist, Dr. Christian Alvarez Privado and supported by guest lecturers. NIH Health Disparities Interest Group: NIMHD DIR provides financial and administrative support to the NIH Health Disparities Interest Group. During FY25, NIMHD DIR hosted 4 Health Disparities Interest Group Seminar and 7 DIR seminars on every 2nd Tuesday of each month. It also organized a workshop on rural health title “Health in Rural America: Challenges and Opportunities” at the 2025 NIH Research Festival. Community-Engaged Research Initiatives to reduce health disparities: In FY25, NIMHD DIR continues to partner with NINR DIR, and community members and academic institutions in eastern Virginia through the ENRICHe+ collaborative. NIMHD DIR completed a group model building project with ENRICHe+ partners to develop a community-informed causal loop diagram to illustrate how multilevel factors influence health disparities in the local context. The project also solicited potential interventions to reduce health disparities in the eastern Virginia area. NIMHD DIR also established new partnership with West Virginia University to start a new community-based research project focusing on improving rural health in West Viriginia. US Health Disparities Project Publications: 1. GBD US Health Disparities Collaborators (2025). Life expectancy by county and educational attainment in the USA, 2000-19: an observational analysis. The Lancet. Public health, 10(2), e136–e147. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00303-7 2. Nassereldine, H., Li, Z., Compton, K., Kendrick, P., Kahn, E., Kelly, Y. O., Baumann, M. M., Schmidt, C. A., Sylte, D. O., Ong, K. L., La Motte-Kerr, W., Daoud, F., McLaughlin, S. A., Hay, S. I., Rodriquez, E. J., Nápoles, A. M., Mensah, G. A., Pérez-Stable, E. J., Mokdad, A. H., & Dwyer-Lindgren, L. (2025). The Burden of Diabetes Mortality by County, Race, and Ethnicity in the U.S., 2000-2019. Diabetes care, 48(4), 546–555. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc24-2259 3. GBD US Health Disparities Collaborators, Strassle, P. D., Kendrick, P., Baumann, M. M., Kelly, Y. O., Li, Z., Schmidt, C., Sylte, D. O., Compton, K., Bertolacci, G. J., La Motte-Kerr, W., Daoud, F., Naghavi, M., Rodriquez, E. J., Mensah, G. A., Murray, C. J. L., Mokdad, A. H., Dwyer-Lindgren, L., & Pérez-Stable, E. J. (2025). Homicide Rates Across County, Race, Ethnicity, Age, and Sex in the US: A Global Burden of Disease Study. JAMA network open, 8(2), e2462069. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.62069 4. GBD US Health Disparities Collaborators (2025). Healthy life expectancy by county, race, and ethnicity in the USA, 2009-19: a systematic analysis of health disparities. Lancet regional health. Americas, 45, 101064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2025.101064 5. Hooshmand, S., Rodriquez, E. J., Strassle, P. D., Mensah, G. A., Choi, K., Hamilton-Mosely, K. R., George, S. M., Dwyer-Lindgren, L., Mokdad, A., Kahn, E., Kelly, Y. O., Li, Z., Sylte, D. O., Baumann, M. M., La Motte-Kerr, W., Hinerman, A., El-Toukhy, S., & Pérez-Stable, E. J. (2025). Lung Cancer Mortality by County, Race and/or Ethnicity, and Sex in the USA, 2000-2019. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202504-398OC. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202504-398OC 6. Teruel Camargo, J., Otero Machuca, J., Hinerman, A. S., Rodriquez, E. J., Alvarez, C. S., Mensah, G. A., George, S. M., Bandiera F., Li, Z., Sylte, D. O., Kelly Y. O., McHugh, T. A., Baumann, M. M., Celone, M., Haile, D., La Motte-Kerr, W., Murray C. J. L., Dwyer-Lindgren, L., Mokdad, A. H., & Perez-Stable, E. J. The burden of malnutrition mortality among older adults by county and race and/or ethnic population groups in the United States, 2000-2019. (2025). American Geriatrics Society. In Press.