Collaborative research: The Intergenerational Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

本项目研究了怀孕期间暴露于COVID-19对分娩结果的影响，并对不同不利来源定义的不同群体进行了研究。2019冠状病毒病大流行是一个巨大的冲击，可能通过多种途径影响婴儿健康，包括孕产妇感染、压力和焦虑、经济困难以及获得产前护理。由于这些因素在美国各群体之间存在差异，因此COVID-19对出生结果的影响可能会在优势较少的群体和某些人口群体中更大，从而加剧了美国的差异。了解这些影响至关重要，因为出生结果可以预测整个生命过程中的健康和社会经济成就。这项研究依赖于因果推理技术，利用不同时间和地点的感染率变化来捕捉大流行对出生结果差异的影响，特别是宫内生长限制，这是早期生命认知、教育和最终收入的关键预测因素。在州一级获得的提前释放出生记录被用来提供尽可能早的证据。研究的重点是六个州，这些州提供了大量不同的样本，这些样本分布在疫情发生显著变化的地区。关于COVID发病率和死亡率的时变数据以及地方官方的应对措施与这些数据相关联。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project examines the effects of COVID-19 exposure during pregnancy on birth outcomes, over time, and across different groups defined by different sources of disadvantage. The COVID-19 pandemic is a large shock likely to affect infant health through multiple pathways including maternal infection, stress and anxiety, economic hardship, and access to prenatal care. Because these factors differ across groups in the United States, the impact of COVID-19 on birth outcomes will likely be stronger among groups with fewer advantages and certain demographic groups, exacerbating differences in the United States. These effects are critical to understand because birth outcomes predict health and socioeconomic attainment throughout the life course. This study relies on causal inference techniques exploiting variation in infection rates across time and place to capture the consequences of the pandemic on differences in birth outcomes, in particular intrauterine growth restriction, a key predictor of early-life cognition, education, and ultimately earnings. Birth records obtained at the state level with early release are used to provide the earliest possible evidence. Research focuses on six states that provide large and diverse samples across areas where the pandemic has unfolded with significant variation. Time-varying data on COVID incidence and mortality, and local official responses are linked to these data.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.