Doctoral Dissertation Research: Perception of water insecurity and epigenetic signatures of stress

博士论文研究：对水不安全的感知和压力的表观遗传特征

基本信息

批准号：
2217691
负责人：
Jacinta Beehner
金额：
$ 3.12万
依托单位：
Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2022-08-15 至 2024-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2217691&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Doctoral Dissertation Research Perception water

项目摘要

Water insecurity is a worldwide problem and can be a major stressor that negatively impacts mental and physical health. Despite this burden, the connections between perceived water insecurity, psychological stress, and biological responses are not well understood. This doctoral dissertation project incorporates a biocultural approach to examine whether objective and/or perceived water insecurity are socio-environmental exposures that impact human biology. The study focuses on the experiences of women who often must cope with the burden of water insecurity, examining relationships between stress, resource insecurity and health that may be variable and mediated by culturally specific practices. The project findings may aid in the development of future policies addressing environmental and social inequality. Results from this research are shared with national and international communities through outreach activities, which strengthens international collaborations and can inform future studies exploring the short and long-term effects of resource insecurity. This study builds upon biocultural studies of embodiment and health, proposing that the subjective perception of resource insecurity, in this case water insecurity, and the practices derived from it are key factors contributing to health disparities. This project investigates the connections between perceived water insecurity, psychological stress, and DNA methylation in stress-related genes by comparing women from water-secure and water-insecure neighborhoods in a rapidly growing megacity. Perceived water insecurity and perceived stress are gauged using interview questionnaires. Saliva samples are collected to measure DNA methylation in stress-related genes. This mixed-methods approach can provide a critical biocultural understanding of the extent to which perception, anticipation, or fear of water insecurity may impact mental and physical health.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.

水不安全是一个世界性问题，可能是对身心健康产生负面影响的主要压力源。尽管有这样的负担，但感知到的水不安全、心理压力和生物反应之间的联系尚不清楚。该博士论文项目采用了生物文化方法来检查客观和/或感知的水不安全是否是影响人类生物学的社会环境暴露。该研究重点关注经常必须应对水不安全负担的女性的经历，研究压力、资源不安全和健康之间的关系，这些关系可能是可变的，并受到特定文化习俗的调节。该项目的研究结果可能有助于制定解决环境和社会不平等问题的未来政策。这项研究的结果通过外展活动与国家和国际社会分享，这加强了国际合作，并可以为未来探索资源不安全的短期和长期影响的研究提供信息。这项研究建立在体现和健康的生物文化研究的基础上，提出对资源不安全的主观看法，在这种情况下是水不安全，以及由此衍生的做法是造成健康差异的关键因素。该项目通过比较快速发展的特大城市中来自水安全和水不安全社区的女性，调查感知的水不安全、心理压力和压力相关基因中的 DNA 甲基化之间的联系。使用访谈问卷来衡量感知的水不安全和感知的压力。收集唾液样本来测量应激相关基因的 DNA 甲基化。这种混合方法可以对水不安全的感知、预期或恐惧可能影响心理和身体健康的程度提供重要的生物文化理解。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的评估进行评估，被认为值得支持。智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。