As of late July, Black people in the US were dying of the coronavirus at more than twice the rate of white people. One reason for this alarming ratio is that African-Americans have higher rates of diabetes, hypertension and asthma—ailments linked to worse outcomes after infection with the coronavirus. Decades of research show that these health conditions, usually diagnosed in adulthood, can reflect hardships experienced while in the womb. Risk factors linked to maternal poverty—such as malnutrition, smoking, exposure to pollution, stress, or lack of health care during pregnancy—can predispose babies to future disease in middle age and beyond. This research article focuses on current studies in this field relying on commonly collected statistics, such as low birth weight, with the author pointing out that it is difficult to conduct traditional direct research because it would be unethical and immoral to knowingly expose fetuses to negative conditions to track the long-term health effects. When fully developed, the Colorado Longitudinal Study will track biological specimens and naturally occurring social determinants of health factors on participants throughout the lifespan, enabling researchers to objectively study the linkages and level of impact between these types of prenatal factors and long-term health outcomes.
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