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Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness

The mission of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness is to build a rigorous and interdisciplinary science of positive health, happiness, and well-being with a focus on health equity, and to translate the science to influence practice and policy.

Location

Kresge Building 6th Floor
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

book

Publications

Center scholars and affiliate scientists are continuously investigating the complex interrelationships between physical, social, and mental health and designing and evaluating interventions for the improvement of overall well-being across the globe. Besides the connections between these three realms of health, key areas of focus include health equity, social media, loneliness, resilience, and positive psychology.

Research by Center Scholars and Affiliates 2025

Abe, K., Suzuki, K., Miyawaki, A., & Kawachi, I. (2025). Impact of COVID-19 on medical utilization for psychiatric conditions in Japan. Social Science & Medicine, 367

Durieux, N., Park, E. R., Hall, D., Meek, J., Fricchione, G., Mehta, D. H., & Luberto, C. (2025). Resiliency among Mass General Brigham Hospital employees post-COVID-19 pandemic. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health

Kwon, S., Shin, N., & Hernandez, R. (2025). A qualitative study on older Korean immigrants’ experience of anti-Asian racism and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Muñoz‑Vergara, D., Sesso, H. D., Kim, E., Fava, M., Lee, I.‑M., Buring, J. E., Manson, J. E., & Wayne, P. M. (2025). Pre‑pandemic physical activity and early COVID‑19 pandemic depressive symptoms in older adults. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 31(7), 654–663

James, P., et al. (2025). Does greenspace influence the associations between ambient temperature and violent crime? An observational study. Environmental Research Letters

James, P., et al. (2025). GPS-based street-view greenspace exposure and wearable assessed physical activity in a prospective cohort of US women. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 22 (9)

James, P., et al. (2025). Greenspace and depression incidence in the US-based nationwide Nurses’ Health Study II: A deep learning analysis of street-view imagery.  Environment International, 198, 109429

James, P., et al. (2025). Greenspace proximity in relation to sleep health among a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of US women. Environmental Research, 279(Part 1), 121698

James, P., et al. (2025). Residential greenness and diabetes incidence in two prospective cohorts of US women. Environmental Epidemiology, 9(4), e405James, P., et al. (2025). The Association between Multiple Environmental Exposures and Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in a Prospective, US-Based Cohort Study

James, P., et al. (2025). Seasonal average temperature differences and CVD incidence: Results from the US-based Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II, and the Health Professional Follow-up study. Environmental Health Perspectives

Koenen, K.C., et al. (2025). Associations between residential segregation, ambient air pollution, and hippocampal features in recent trauma survivors

Schwartz, J., et al. (2025). Disparities in the association of ambient air pollution with childhood asthma incidence in the ECHO consortium: A US-wide multi-cohort study. Environmental Epidemiology, 9(4), e398

Schwartz, J., et al. (2025). Fine particulate matter air pollution and longitudinal gray matter development changes during early adolescence: variation by neighborhood disadvantage level. Environment International, 201 (109561)

Schwartz, J., et al. (2025). Preconception, prenatal and early childhood exposure to green space and risk of neurodevelopmental delays: a national cohort study among Medicaid enrollees. Environment International, 202 (109666)

Schwartz, J., et al. (2025). The role of neighborhood and household level socio-economic status in determining air pollution exposure in two Indian cities. Environmental Research Letters, 20(5), 054063

Yi, L., & James, P. (2025). Invited Perspective: How Do Green- and Bluespaces Reduce Heat-Related Health Risks? Gaining New Insights from Street-View Imagery, Deep Learning Models, and Smartphone Data. Environmental Health Perspectives

Kim, E. S., Bradshaw, M., Chen, Y., Chopik, W. J., Okuzono, S. S., Wilkinson, R., Padgett, R. N., Lachman, M. E., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025). Characterizing the Childhood Roots of Adult Sense of Mastery Across 22 Countries in the Global Flourishing Study

Kim, E. S., Padgett, R. N., Bradshaw, M., Chen, Y., Chopik, W. J., Okuzono, S., Wilkinson, R., Lachman, M. E., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025). Mapping demographic variations in sense of mastery across the world: A cross-national analysis of 22 countries in the Global Flourishing Study

Lomas, T., Koga, H., Padgett, R. N., Pawelski, J., Kim, E. S., Makridis, C. A., Gundersen, C., Bradshaw, M., Le Pertel, N., Shiba, K., Felton, C., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025).  Life evaluation, life satisfaction, and happiness: assessing inter-relations and 15 childhood and demographic factors across 22 Countries in the Global Flourishing Study

Peters, S., & Wagner, G. (2025). Flourishing in the high-risk workplace. In J. L. Ritchie-Dunham, K. E. Granville-Chapman, & M. T. Lee (Eds.), Leadership for flourishing (pp. 281–311). Oxford University Press

Krekel, C., Kavetsos, G., & Ziebarth, N. R. (2025). Passing on the flame: Do mega sports events promote health behaviours? Social Science & Medicine

Marciano, L., Kikut-Stein, A., & Viswanath, K. (2025). Communication, equity, and mental well-being: The road ahead. In M. C. Yzer & J. T. Siegel (Eds.), The handbook of mental health communication (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Matanovic, I., Mauro, S., Dalal, M., Millstein, R. A., & Frates, E. P. (2025). Sustaining Behavior Change. In Lifestyle medicine and the primary care provider (1st ed., p. 18). CRC Press

Adzrago, D., Elhabashy, M., Williams, D. R., & Williams, F. (2025). Psychological distress and its potential risk factors among Black and White adult immigrants in the United States – National Health Interview Survey 2005–2018. Preventive Medicine Reports, 103052

Berkman, L., et al. (2025). Effects of pension eligibility expansion on men’s memory decline and dementia probability: Findings from the HAALSI cohort in rural South Africa. PLOS ONE, 20(6), e0326321

Choi, K., et al. (2025). Stress-related genetic factors modify the effect of socioeconomic status on cardiovascular risk.  Neuropsychopharmacology, 50, 1327–1335

Denckla, C. A., et al. (2025). Multi-level socioeconomic modifiers of the comorbidity of post-traumatic stress and tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use: The importance of income. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

Grodstein, F., et al. (2025). Sexual orientation disparities in subjective cognitive decline in a large cohort of female nurses. LGBT Health

Kuo, C.-T., Hsieh, S.-H., Liao, P.-S., & Kawachi, I. (2025). Relative deprivation and subsequent health, happiness, and human flourishing: A longitudinal outcome-wide analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 384, 118537

Liu, M., Johnson, D. Y., & Bleich, S. N. (2025). Changes in Physical and Mental Health After the End of SNAP Emergency Allotments.  JAMA, 334(2)

Mahinpey, N., Amoako, A., Williams, D. R., & Siddiqi, A. (2025). Race, discrimination, and mental health adversity in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health

Mahinpey, N., Amoako, A., Williams, D. R., & Siddiqi, A. (2025). Race, discrimination, and mental health adversity in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health

Park, E.R., et al. (2025). Association of neurocognitive impairment and financial hardship in adult survivors of childhood cancer: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS). Journal of Clinical Oncology, 43(16), 10055

Park, E.R., et al. (2025). Longitudinal associations between chronic health condition burden and financial hardship among adult survivors of childhood cancer: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor study (CCSS). Journal of Clinical Oncology, 43(16)

Patel, V., et al. (2025). Macroeconomic income inequality, brain structure and function, and mental health. Nature Mental Health

Pinillos-Franco, S. & Kawachi, I. (2025). It’s not just your opinion, it’s a type of hate that may affect your health: the effect of homophobia on health in Europe

Ramanadhan, S., et al. (2025). Assessing equitable implementation of a social care initiative integrating medical and social services for Medicaid members. Health Services Research

Rastogi, R., Raval, V. V., Yip, T., Chen, J. A., & Liu, C. H. (2025). The effects of racial exclusion and racial othering on South Asian American identity and population health. American Journal of Public Health

Semanaz, C., Ghassabian, A., Delaney, S., Fang, F., Williams, D. R., & Tiemeier, H. (2025). Considerations when accounting for race and ethnicity in studies of poverty and neurodevelopment. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Williams, D. R., et al. (2025). A review of the impact of structural racism on lived experiences of adolescents of African descent: Implications for development, brain structure, and health. Neuropsychopharmacology

Williams, D.R., et al. (2025). Correlates of longitudinal patterns of racial discrimination in midlife and older Black adults: Evidence from the health and retirement study. Social Science & Medicine, 380, 118194

Williams, D.R., et al. (2025). Fecundability in Association With Everyday and Lifetime Discrimination. JAMA Network Open, 8(7), e2523456

Wright, E., Dore, E. C., Koenen, K. C., Mangurian, C., Williams, D. R., & Hamad, R. (2025). Prevalence of and inequities in poor mental health across 3 US surveys, 2011 to 2022. JAMA Network Open, 8(1)

Fuller-Rowell, T. E., Sultana, S., & Kawachi, I. (2025). Global trends and disparities in social isolation. JAMA Network Open, 8(9), e2532008

Kim, E. S., Wilkinson, R., Holt-Lunstad, J., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025). Loneliness During Adolescence and Subsequent Health and Well-Being in Adulthood: An Outcome-Wide Longitudinal Approach.  Journal of Adolescent Health

Shakya, S., Sharp, L., Tintle, N., Fink, A. M., Hernandez, R., & Halloway, S. (2025). Social isolation and daily steps are associated with fatigue in older women with cardiovascular disease: A secondary analysis of the MindMoves trial. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity

Wilkinson, R., Shiba, K., Kim, E. S., Case, B., Okuzono, S., Cowden, R., Gundersen, C., Chen, Y., Padgett, R. N., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025). Loneliness in a global context: Sociodemographic disparities and childhood determinants

Choi, K., VanderWeele, T. J., Patel, V., et al. (2025). Optimizing Treatment for Depression in Primary Care Using Psychotherapy Versus Antidepressant Medication in a Low-Resource Setting: Protocol for the OptimizeD Randomized Controlled Trial. Research Square

Choi, K., et al. (2025). An encompassing Mendelian randomization study of the causes and consequences of major depressive disorder. Nature Mental Health, 3, 1002–1011

Hill, E. K., Bond, L., Weisz, J. R., & Patel, V. (2025). Addressing the adolescent mental health-care gap in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health

Koenen, K. C., et al. (2025). Cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) to screen for depression in southwestern Madagascar. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, 12, e78

Papola, D. & Patel. V. (2025). Towards person-centered care in global mental health: implications for meta-analyses and clinical trials. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences 34, e13, 1–5

Patel, V., et al. (2025). Scaling up the task-sharing of an evidence-based psychological treatment for depression in rural India: An implementation study. BMC Primary Care

Patel, V., et al. (2025). Effective components of collaborative care for depression in primary care: An individual participant data meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry

Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., O’Loughlin, J., Mezuk, B., Bouizegarene, N., Sauvageau, E., & Sylvestre, M.-P. (2025). Individual, intergenerational, and contextual factors associated with coping strategies, coping variability, and perceived coping efficacy among young adults. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

Williams, D.R., et al. (2025). Treatment coverage for mental disorders: Results from the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. In Oxford textbook of community mental health (2nd ed., pp. 45-56). Oxford University Press

Celano, C. M., Huffman, J., et al. (2025). Effects of exercise training on motivation in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Results from the randomized controlled Ex-DHF trial. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 196, 112344

Choi, K., et al. (2025). Shared genetic architecture of posttraumatic stress disorder with cardiovascular imaging, risk, and diagnoses. Nature Communications, 16 (5631)

Finkelstein-Fox, L., Perez, G. K., Park, E. R., et al. (2025). Psychosocial and NF-κB Activity Effects of the Stress Management and Resiliency Training: Relaxation Response Resiliency Program (SMART-3RP) on Patients With MGUS and Smoldering Multiple Myeloma: A Randomized Waitlist Control Trial. Psychooncology, 34(7), e70216

Grodstein, F., et al. (2025). Living beyond cancer: The long-term impact of breast cancer diagnosis on cognitive function. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 43(16_suppl), 1633

Huffman, J.C., et al. (2025). Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activity in a female trauma-exposed sample. Psychiatry Research, 351, 116573

Kawachi, I., et al. (2025). The Association Between Perceived Stress and Insomnia Among Asian Americans. Sleep, 48(Supplement_1), A73–A74

Kivimäki, M., & Kawachi, I. (2025). Work stress and health. In N. Schneiderman, T. W. Smith, N. B. Anderson, M. H. Antoni, F. J. Penedo, T. A. Revenson, & A. F. Abraído-Lanza (Eds.), APA handbook of health psychology, Vol. 1. Foundations and context of health psychology (pp. 611–637). American Psychological Association.

Koenen, K. C., et al. (2025). Experiences of stalking and obtaining a restraining order are associated with onset of cardiovascular events in women: A prospective analysis in the Nurses’ Health Study II. Circulation, 152, 570–581

Koenen, K., et al. (2025). Childhood or adolescent abuse and primary open-angle glaucoma in a longitudinal cohort of women.  Eye, 39, 1975–1982

Koenen, K., et al. (2025). Mental health diagnoses and acute care use among individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus in the All of Us Research Program. The Journal of Rheumatology, 52(Suppl 1), 125–126

Ng, A. E., Gruenewald, T., Juster, R.-P., & Trudel-Fitzgerald, C. (2025). Affect regulation and mortality risk: The role of allostatic load. Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine

Park, E. R., et al. (2025). Blended survivorship and palliative care for patients with advanced lung cancer receiving targeted therapy: An open pilot.  Journal of Clinical Oncology, 43(16_suppl), 1634

Stelson, E. A., Sorensen, G., Berkman, L., Ballou, S., Hashimoto, D., Kubzansky, L. D., & Sabbath, E. L. (2025). Physical health consequences of vicarious trauma: Prospective relationship between hospital patient care worker vicarious trauma symptoms and gastrointestinal disorders. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 67(8)

Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Chen, L., McGrath, C. B., Qureshi, F., Huang, T., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2025). Emotion Regulation and Favorable Cardiovascular Health Among Women. Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine

Lazar, S. W., et al. (2025). Psychological assessments, allostatic load and gene expression analyses in a randomized controlled trial comparing meditation, yoga, and stress education. Frontiers in Psychology, 16

Park, E. R., Yeh, G., et al. (2025). Managing, not lessening, uncertainty: A novel mind–body intervention for fear of cancer recurrence. Journal of Cancer Survivorship.

Wayne, P.M., et al. (2025). Combined chiropractic care and Tai Chi for chronic neck pain: A protocol for a pilot randomized trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 45

Wayne, P. M., Ahn, A., Clark, J., Irwin, M. R., Kong, J., Lavretsky, H., Li, F., & Yeh, G. Y. (2025). The science of Tai Chi and Qigong and whole person health part I: Rationale and state of the science. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine

Yeh, G. Y., Ahn, A., Clark, J., Irwin, M. R., Kong, J., Lavretsky, H., Li, F., & Wayne, P. M. (2025). The Science of Tai Chi and Qigong as Whole Person Health-Part II: Evidence Gaps and Opportunities for Future Research and Implementation.

Yeh, G., et al. (2025). Pilot study protocol for a novel perioperative mind-body intervention for peripheral vascular interventions. JVS-Vascular Insights, 3, 100199. Presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery, March 28, 2025, Austin, Texas

Marino, V. R., Kubzansky, L. D., Grodstein, F., Kim, S., Spiro, A., & Lee, L. O. (2025). Optimism and cognitive functioning trajectories in a cohort of aging men. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 80(10), gbaf139

Carlon, H. A., Hurlocker, M. C., Hoeppner, B. B., & Witkiewitz, K. (2025). Positive psychological interventions for substance use, addiction, and recovery: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction

Hernandez, R., & Huffman, J. C., et al. (2025). Impacts of a church-based positive psychological intervention in Spanish-speaking Hispanics/Latinos with uncontrolled hypertension: Results from the ¡Alegrate! randomized clinical trial. Journal of Happiness Studies, 26 (24)

Huffman, J. C., Celano, C. M., et al. (2025). A randomized waitlist-controlled trial of a positive psychology intervention for irritable bowel syndrome: The WISH proof-of-concept trial. Neurogastroenterology and Motility

Davison, K., et al. (2025). Leveraging psychological empowerment in community-based participatory research: A case study. Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 6(3)

Mondragon, P., Sylvestre, M.-P., Dore, I., O’Loughlin, J., & Trudel-Fitzgerald, C. (2025). Abstract P1147: Psychological well-being: an asset for healthy lifestyles in young adults and primordial prevention later in life. Circulation, 151(Suppl_1), P1147

Choi, K., et al. (2025). Multisystemic resilience and its impact on youth mental health: Reflections on co-designing a multi-disciplinary, participatory study. Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 4

Choi, K., et al. (2025). Psychometric properties and socio-demographic correlates of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in three large population-based cohorts including Danish and Icelandic adults. Journal of Mood & Anxiety Disorders

Dijk, S. W., Krijkamp, E., & Hunink, M. (2025). Economic evaluation of resilience training for medical students: A cohort state-transition model. Medical Teacher

Mondragon, P., Kubzansky, L., Smith, S., & Trudel-Fitzgerald, C. (2025). Abstract P1148: Coping with stressors: Does it predict health behaviors over more than a decade? Circulation, 151(Suppl_1), P1148

Sampson, L., Scoglio, A. A. J., Nishimi, K., Choi, K., Kim, A. H., Zhu, Y., Sun, Q., Kang, J. H., Rimm, E. B., Koenen, K. C., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2025). Psychological resilience to trauma and longitudinal sleep outcomes among current and former nurses. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 192, 112090

Kim, E. S., Bradshaw, M. ,Padgett, R. N., Chen, Y., Shiba, K., Ritchie-Dunham, J. L., Case, B. W., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025). Identifying Childhood Correlates of Adult Purpose and Meaning Across 22 Countries (Global Flourishing Study)

Chen, J. et al. (2025). It takes a village: Social engagement with family is associated with reduction in postpartum depression during psychotherapy

Ha, J., Kang, H., Kawachi, I., Hwang, J., & Cho, S.-i. (2025). Prosociality and public support for tobacco control policies among South Korean adults: A cross-sectional study. SSM – Population Health, 30, 101809

Hsu, Y.-T., Grodstein, F., Liu, T.-H., Kawachi, I., & Chen, J. T. (2025). A prospective study of grandchild caregiving and late-life cognitive function in Taiwan (1996 to 2015). American Journal of Epidemiology

Hsu, Y., Grodstein, F., Liu, T., Chang, C., Kawachi, I., & Chen, J. T. (2025). Causal mediation of the association between educational attainment and late-life cognitive function by trajectories of social participation. Social Science & Medicine, 370, 117861

Kawachi, I., et al. (2025). Community connectedness as a source of adherence to HIV prevention behaviors and resilience among transgender women of color in New York City, 2020–2022. American Journal of Public Health, 115, 1631–1641

Kawachi, I., et al. (2025). Disaster-related home loss, mental health, and risk of cognitive disability: Causal mediation analysis using longitudinal data of disaster survivors. American Journal of Epidemiology

Koenen, K., et al. (2025). The relationship between social adversity, micro-RNA expression and post-traumatic stress in a prospective, community-based cohort

Lindert, J., Arndt, S., Cook, N., Bain, P. A., & Kawachi, I. (2025). Positive and negative family relationships correlate with mental health conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Public Health Reviews, 46, 1607381

Nakamura, J. S., Shiba, K., Shi, B., Leong, R. S., VanderWeele, T. J., & Kim, E. S. (2025). How is volunteering associated with reduced mortality? A mediator-wide approach. Health Psychology, 44(5), 518–527

Viswanath, K., et al. (2025). Improving Mental Health Among Indian Adolescents: Evidence From an Innovative Adolescent Peer-Led Intervention in Rajasthan, India.  Journal of Adolescent Health, 76(3)

Williams, D. R., et al. (2025). The role of religiosity and spirituality in coping with sickle cell disease clinical severity. Journal of Sickle Cell Disease, 2(1)

Chopik, W. J., Rosella, L., Helliwell, J., Shiba, K., & Kim, E. S. (2025). Life satisfaction moderates the impact of daily stressors on well-being and health. Health Psychology

Nielsen, K., Sorensen, G., El-Salanti, N., & Munch-Hansen, M. (2025). Designing, implementing, and evaluating sustainable interventions in organizations: The how-to of improving worker health and well-being. Oxford University Press

Park, E.R., et al. (2025). Development of the bi-directional engagement strategy tool (BEST) to assist implementation of wellness programs in federally qualified health centers. Crisis, Stress, and Human Resilience: An International Journal, 6(3)

Wang, K., Goldenberg, A., Lerner, J. S., & Gross, J. J. (2025). Enhancing workplace well-being through reappraisal in a nationwide field experiment