Public Health, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 08.06.2026
AJPH: Fatherhood and Cardiovascular Health: Race-Based Differences Found in 35-Year CARDIA Study
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_74139" align="alignleft" width="160"] Dr. Parker[/caption]
John James (JJ) Parker, MD, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Medicine
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Attending Physician, Division of Advanced General Pediatrics & Primary Care
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Attending Physician, Transitional Care Clinic, Northwestern Medical Group
Chicago, Illinois 60611
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Fathers are a critical but overlooked population. We know the health of fathers influences the health of their families and there is growing evidence that fatherhood influences men's health, but studies from the US are lacking. This study used data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which is a cohort study that has followed young adults for 35 years, allowing us to measure associations of fatherhood with health during the life course of men.
We found multiple associations between fatherhood and men's health, and our outcomes differed by race. Black fathers had lower death rates than Black nonfathers, which we did not detect in White men. For both Black and White men, becoming a father at less than 25 was associated with poor health outcomes. For Black men early entry to fatherhood was associated with higher mortality rates and for White men it was associated with worse cardiovascular health.
Dr. Parker[/caption]
John James (JJ) Parker, MD, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Medicine
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Attending Physician, Division of Advanced General Pediatrics & Primary Care
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Attending Physician, Transitional Care Clinic, Northwestern Medical Group
Chicago, Illinois 60611
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Fathers are a critical but overlooked population. We know the health of fathers influences the health of their families and there is growing evidence that fatherhood influences men's health, but studies from the US are lacking. This study used data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which is a cohort study that has followed young adults for 35 years, allowing us to measure associations of fatherhood with health during the life course of men.
We found multiple associations between fatherhood and men's health, and our outcomes differed by race. Black fathers had lower death rates than Black nonfathers, which we did not detect in White men. For both Black and White men, becoming a father at less than 25 was associated with poor health outcomes. For Black men early entry to fatherhood was associated with higher mortality rates and for White men it was associated with worse cardiovascular health.
Dr. Paller[/caption]
Amy S Paller, MD
Chair, Department of Dermatology
Director, Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-Based Center
Walter J. Hamlin Professor of Dermatology
Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics (Dermatology)
Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University
Dr. Paller discusses the FDA approval of Dupixent® (dupilumab) for children aged 6 to 11 years with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema), whose disease is not adequately controlled with topical prescription therapies or when those therapies are not advisable.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this announcement? Would you briefly discuss what is meant by atopic dermatitis and how it affects children?
Response: “Atopic dermatitis, the most common form of eczema, is a chronic inflammatory disease that often appears as a rash on the skin. Moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis is characterized by rashes that can potentially cover much of the body and can include intense, persistent itching, skin lesions and skin dryness, cracking, redness or darkness, crusting and oozing. Itch is one of the most burdensome symptoms for patients and can be debilitating.
This recent FDA approval expands the use of Dupilumab in the U.S. to include children aged 6 to 11 years with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, making it the only biologic medicine approved for this use in this population. Dupilumab is also approved in the U.S. to treat patients aged 12 years and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.
Moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis can place a particularly substantial burden on young children aged 6 to 11 years and their families. Limited treatment options leave many of these children to cope with intense, unrelenting itch and skin lesions. Families of these children can spend countless hours helping them to manage their disease.”
Dr. Gupta[/caption]
Ruchi Gupta MD MPH
Mary Ann & J Milburn Smith Senior Scientist in Child Health Research
Director, Science & Outcomes of Allergy & Asthma Research
Professor of Pediatrics & Medicine
Clinical Attending
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Institute for Public Health and Medicine
Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
[caption id="attachment_47681" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr. Warren[/caption]
Christopher M. Warren, PhD
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Readers may be familiar with the so-called "top 8" food allergens (i.e. peanut, tree nut, cow's milk, fin fish, shellfish, egg, wheat and soy), which are responsible for the majority of food allergies in the US. However, in recent years increasing attention has been paid to sesame allergy, which evidence suggests can lead to anaphylaxis, frequently results in accidental exposure among affected patients, and is infrequently outgrown. Until now, only one 2010 study has systematically assessed the prevalence of sesame among both US children and adults. It concluded that sesame allergies were reported by approximately .1% of the US population.
However, this study, which surveyed a sample of approximately 5000 US households only captured 13 individuals with reported sesame allergy, which limited the authors' ability to draw more detailed conclusions about the specific characteristics of sesame allergy in the United States.