Food Insecurity Later in Life Linked to Nearly 4 Times Higher Dementia Risk
August 31, 2026
Newsweek discussed a Panel Study of Income Dynamics study which finds that older adults who struggle to afford food face a higher risk of developing dementia. Noura Insolera says the generosity of SNAP benefits during the pandemic was very beneficial to American families. If there is one thing I...
When a Friend Becomes a Caregiver
August 28, 2026
The New York Times cited the National Health and Aging Trends Study in an article about the ways which friends & neighbors help older adults with tasks like transportation or shopping, but Crystal Yee To Ng, a postdoc in the Demography of Aging, Disability and Care (DADC) says “There are...
Penn State bust put focus on cocaine but on most campuses the big risk is alcohol
August 28, 2026
While an alleged cocaine ring at Penn State University has drawn national headlines, cocaine use among young adults has been decreasing over the last 5 years. Megan Patrick tells NPR’s All Things Considered that the prevalence of cocaine use among young people is about 5% in the last...
![There's been a decrease over the past five years of cocaine use among young adults in the U.S. The prevalence is about 5% in the past 12 months [of young adults who] used cocaine. All Things Considered August 24, 2026 Megan Patrick, Monitoring the Future, Survey Research Center](https://api.isr.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Patrick-ATC.png)
Beyond hunger: Food insecurity in later life linked to dementia
August 27, 2026
ANN ARBOR—Older adults who experienced food insecurity in both midlife and later life had nearly four times the risk of probable dementia as those who remained food secure, according to new University of Michigan research.The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical...
ISR project selected to receive funding from U-M Strategic Initiative Fund
August 26, 2026
ANN ARBOR – A joint project between the Institute for Social Research (ISR) and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy has received a grant from the University of Michigan’s Strategic Initiatives Fund (SIF).The project, titled “Monitoring Food Hardship in the US,” is...
A quarter century later, landmark U-M study revisits Black health and aging
August 19, 2026
U-M researchers are seeking past survey participants, who can earn up to $150 for answering key questions about their health and well-being From left, Eyvonne Mixon, Shephanie Chardoul, Norma Reed, Deborah Robinson, Briana Mezuk, Toni Antonucci and Belinda Tucker of the NSAL team at ISR. Mixon...
Richard Curtin inducted into RV/MH Hall of Fame
August 19, 2026
Richard Curtin, professor emeritus and former director of Surveys of Consumers, was inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame. He was honored for his lasting contributions to how the RV industry tracks unit sales and consumer sentiment. https://myumi.ch/yk14V I take great pleasure in this award, because...
Beyond the park boundary: When green space has polluted neighbors
August 18, 2026
ANN ARBOR—More than half of U.S. public parks are within two miles of an active industrial facility that handles toxic chemicals, according to a new University of Michigan study.About 80,000 such parks are listed on the federal Toxics Release Inventory. In addition, nearly 27,000 parks...
Shifting incomes lead to new map of racial inequality in America
August 11, 2026
ANN ARBOR — The map of racial inequality in America is changing. While the income gap between Black and white families isn’t closing much on a national level, locally, things have moved quite a bit — and in surprising places, too.New research from Robert Manduca, assistant...
What Americans are telling economists about AI, inflation and the economy
July 28, 2026
ANN ARBOR—The stock market may be soaring, but many Americans aren’t celebrating. As the country heads toward another midterm election, a University of Michigan expert says that while investors are benefiting from record stock prices fueled in part by artificial intelligence, many...
