How childhood events shaped lifespan for people born ~1910–1930
Uncovering Life Course Constellations of Exposures through Big Data on Place, Time, and Family Factors
Researchers are using large historical records to look at how childhood experiences like epidemics, economic hardship, and disasters affected long-term health and mortality for people born around 1910–1930.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Wisconsin-Madison NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11324555 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project links millions of U.S. death records with information about place, time, and family conditions to understand how early-life exposures influence later-life mortality. The team combines hypothesis-driven tests with data-driven discovery using the CenSoc database (>15 million death records from 1975–2005) and variance-decomposition methods. They focus on birth cohorts born about 1910–1930 and examine main, interactive, and cumulative effects across sensitive developmental periods. The work aims to untangle how childhood disease, economic change, and disasters shaped lifespan at the population level.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: The findings are most relevant to people (or descendants) born around 1910–1930 whose life or family records can be linked to historical datasets.
Not a fit: People seeking immediate clinical treatments or those without connections to early-20th-century birth cohorts are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this historical, population-level research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could clarify long-term effects of early-life conditions and guide public health efforts to prevent harms that have lifelong consequences.
How similar studies have performed: Other developmental-origins studies have linked childhood exposures to adult health, but this project uses a much larger, place-and-family linked dataset and variance-decomposition methods that are partly novel.
Where this research is happening
Madison, United States
- University of Wisconsin-Madison — Madison, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fletcher, Jason Michael — University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Study coordinator: Fletcher, Jason Michael
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.