Advances July 2025

Life expectancy increased across the United States in the 20th century, but there were stark disparities across individual states, according to a study led by Dr. Theodore R. Holford, PhD ’73, Susan Dwight Bliss Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics. Researchers at Yale, the University of Michigan, and the University of British Columbia analyzed more than 179 million deaths between 1969 and 2020 and found that states in the Northeast and West, along with the District of Columbia, saw gains of 20 or more years, while some states in the South saw minimal increases. The study provides new insights into how public health policies, social conditions, and environmental factors appear to have fundamentally shaped Americans’ longevity based on where people live.

• Study: All-Cause Mortality and Life Expectancy by Birth Cohort Across US States
  JAMA Network Open

• Yale story: Living in these states may be dangerous to your health

YSPH students helped officials respond to a measles outbreak in Texas. The students built a comprehensive situational report that included color-coded maps of outbreak areas, charts noting county infection levels and vaccination rates, and details on how local and state governments were responding to the crisis. The report also included measles symptoms and vaccine information for the public, and containment and treatment guidance for local health officials. The students were taking Public Health Emergencies: Disaster Planning and Response, taught by Lt. Col. (retired) Joanne McGovern, lecturer in medical and public health disaster planning and operations at YSPH. McGovern said their dashboard “filled a critical gap” in information on the outbreak.

• Yale story: YSPH Students Learn to Lead with Measles Outbreak Report

Regular mammograms for women aged 40 to 74 reduce the risk of late-stage breast cancer and improve breast cancer survival rates. A new study led by Sida (Stark) Huang, a second-year MPH candidate, and Dr. Michaela Dinan, PhD, associate professor of chronic disease epidemiology, examined data for more than 13,000 women and found similar results for women 75 and older. The researchers found that women who had had regular mammograms before diagnosis had better health outcomes, including earlier stage diagnosis and better survival rates. The same appeared true of women aged 75 and older. The benefit of more early-stage disease diagnoses must be weighed against the risk of overdiagnosis, and that balance likely varies among individual women over age 70, said Dinan, co-leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Yale Cancer Center.

• Yale story: Older Women May Benefit from Regular Mammograms

• Study: Screening History, Stage at Diagnosis, and Mortality in Screen-Detected Breast Cancer
  JAMA Network Open

Chemicals commonly used in firefighting are associated with a higher risk of the brain cancer glioma, according to a study led by Dr. Elizabeth Claus, PhD, MD, professor of biostatistics and director of medical research at YSPH. The chemicals, haloalkanes, have a distinct genetic pattern or mutational signature in tumors. Claus’s study examined 35 members of the University of California Adult Glioma Study and found that firefighters were more likely to have gliomas associated with haloalkanes, which are associated with flame retardants, fire extinguishants, and propellants. The study reinforces earlier research suggesting a link between firefighting and the development of cancer. Because glioma usually correlates with age, “our finding that some gliomas have tumor signatures associated with environmental agents, such as haloalkanes, is of great interest given the lack of risk factors previously identified for glioma development.” Claus said.

• Yale story: Studying chemical exposure and brain cancer risk in firefighters

• Study: Glioma mutational signatures associated with haloalkane exposure are enriched in firefighters
  Cancer

Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, the Pastoral, was his effort to set the sounds of nature to music. Students in New Haven public schools used artificial intelligence and other tools to express information about climate change musically, through a project led by Dr. Judith Lichtman, PhD, Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Epidemiology, and director of the Humanities, Arts, and Public Health Practice at Yale Initiative (HAPPY). Lichtman worked with Matthew Suttor, a composer who led a Yale course “Nature, AI and Performance,” to bring Suttor’s work on data sonification into the schools. Listening to what the students created “was the most amazing experience,” Lichtman said.

• Yale story: Novel course translates data from the natural world into art

When churches close, it can affect community members regardless of what they believe and whether they belong. Churches often house food pantries and host other local services such as health screenings. Soon, people in the United States can visualize the geographic patterns of church closures through a dashboard developed by the Social Connectedness and Health (SOCAH) lab, with support from the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions and Yale Public Health Data Science Data Equity. The dashboard gathers county-level data about church closings in context with other social determinants such as education and poverty levels. The dashboard was conceived by SOCAH director Dr. Yusuf Ransome, MPH, DrPH, associate professor of public health (social and behavioral sciences), who previewed it at the inaugural Faith, Place & Health event in June. Ransome said the dashboard should be released for general use in December.

• Yale Story: A Data-Driven Approach to Understanding Church Closures