College of Health

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Women living in parts of the United States with lower air quality, especially neighborhoods with heavy emissions from motor vehicles, are more likely to develop breast cancer, according to a multiyear analysis involving more than 400,000 women and 28,000 breast cancer cases.

The research, which included Veronica Irvin of the Oregon State University College of Health, was published in the American Journal of Public Health.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and similar platforms are apparently no antidote for the global loneliness epidemic, according to Oregon State University research that linked increases in social media use with a greater likelihood of feeling alone.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Child care, particularly for children of preschool age, is becoming more available to Oregon families in many parts of the state, a new report by Oregon State University researchers has found.

Only nine of Oregon’s 36 counties are now considered preschool child care deserts, and child care supply has increased across the state since 2022, researchers found.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A groundbreaking study led by Oregon State University scientists shows that multiple Portland neighborhoods have levels of noise that are likely unhealthy.

The research, the first of its kind in the United States, provides a framework for studying noise pollution in other cities in the U.S., which lags behind European nations in examining the effects of noise on human health.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – An analysis of high school soccer players suggests that incorporating a lower extremity injury prevention program results in fewer anterior cruciate ligament tears and a big reduction in health care expenses.

The study by Oregon State University researchers shows that every dollar spent on preventing ACL tears saves more than seven times that much in treatment and rehabilitation costs, which the researchers note could mean a huge return on investment for insurance companies willing to fund lower extremity injury prevention programs, or IPPs.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The majority of low-income mothers in Oregon who rely on federal cash assistance around the time of childbirth are in the program for less than a year, suggesting they’re using it as a form of paid family leave, Oregon State University research shows.

The first-of-its-kind study has important implications in the state, which in 2023 established a taxpayer-funded paid family leave program, and throughout the United States as poverty has a particularly high incidence among young children.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A study of more than 700 counties across multiple U.S. states found a link between childhood leukemia and levels of decaying radon gas, including those lower than the federal guideline for mitigation.

The findings are important because there are few established risk factors for cancer in children and the role of the environment has not been explored much, said Oregon State University’s Matthew Bozigar, who led the research.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — A recent study by Oregon State University researchers highlighted the ways motor skills and cognitive skills develop in connection with each other in young children with autism, and found an opportunity for behavioral and physical therapists to work together to improve care.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Military veterans’ individual perceptions of their combat experiences and the social supports they receive when they return home are greater predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms than the specific conflict in which they served, a new Oregon State University study found.