Montez Quoted in Washington Post Article on Politics, Policy and Increasing Mortality Rates

December 28, 2022

The Washington Post

Jennifer Karas Montez

Shannon Monnat

Sociology Department

Aging Studies Institute

Center for Aging and Policy Studies

Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health

Health Policy

Longevity

United States

The Washington Post

Jennifer Karas Montez

Shannon Monnat

A recent study, "U.S. state policy contexts and mortality of working-age adults," co-authored by University Professor Jennifer Karas Montez and Shannon Monnat, professor of sociology, found that conservative state policies regarding the environment, gun safety, labor, taxes and tobacco have been associated with higher mortality rates among working-age people relative to liberal policies.

Montez, director of the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, says the findings show "state policy knobs are a lever that we could use to really turn this country around and stop this alarming—just horrible when you think about it—increase in the risk of dying before age 65."

Read more in the Washington Post article, "Can politics kill you? Research says the answer increasingly is yes."