Trump’s Presidency Makes Some People Sick, According to a Number of Studies

Yes, you’ve heard it correctly. It isn’t just one study, but a number of studies. Researchers have identified correlations between Trump’s election and “worsening cardiovascular health, sleep problems, anxiety and stress, especially among Latinos in the United States.”

A study published Friday using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the risk of premature birth was higher than expected among Latina women following Trump’s election. The new study is particularly powerful, experts say, because unlike ailments such as depression or stress that can be hard to quantify, births come with hard data.

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Complications such as low birth weight and premature birth have been shown to rise with the stress of natural disasters, racism and domestic violence. Friday’s study, however, is unusual in its suggestion that politics can be a risk factor for poor pregnancy outcomes.

More than two years after Trump’s election, researchers say they now have enough data to begin to analyze its consequences on American society and health. Political scientists have tried to measure President Trump’s effect on partisanship and discourse. Social scientists are studying whether Trump has changed people’s feelings or predispositions about racism, incivility and bullying. Public health experts have focused on health effects of Trump’s presidency among populations such as youths, women and LGBT communities.

Some of the research has been inconclusive, but the evidence is growing for a possible “Trump effect” on the health of Hispanics. And Trump’s intensifying rhetoric, such as telling minority members of Congress to “go back” to countries they came from, has given the scientists’ work more urgency.

See the full story at The Washington Post.

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