Data from Stanford University Provide New Insights into Managed Care (The environmental chemical exposome and health insurance: Examining associations and effect modification of epigenetic aging in a representative sample of United States adults): Managed Care

2026 FEB 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in Managed Care. According to news reporting out of Palo Alto, California, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Environmental exposures are contributors to morbidity and mortality, yet the potential protective role of health insurance in mitigating these effects remains underexplored. We used data from the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine whether health insurance status is associated with the chemical exposome and whether being insured modifies relationships of environmental exposures with epigenetic aging biomarkers of morbidity and mortality (GrimAge2 and DunedinPoAm).”

Financial supporters for this research include Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Stanford University, “Among 2315 adults aged 50 - 84 years, we evaluated 64 chemical exposures. In covariate, socioeconomic status-adjusted models, being insured compared to being uninsured was marginally associated with 0.21-SD lower blood lead levels (95% CI: -0.39, -0.04, = 0.03) and 0.29-SD higher PCB180 levels (95% CI: 0.003, 0.57, = 0.048). In leukocyte- and covariate-adjusted models, insurance attenuated the relationship of lead with GrimAge2 (Insured: b = 0.08-years, 95% CI: -0.08, 0.24; Uninsured b = 0.65-years, 95% CI: 0.11, 1.20; = 0.04) and DunedinPoAm (Insured: b = 0.001, 95% CI: -0.002, 0.003; Uninsured b = 0.01, 95% CI 0.0001, 0.02; = 0.047). Similar trends were also observed for cadmium, cotinine, and PCB180 but not statistically different between insurance categories. These findings suggest that health insurance may serve as a protective factor against the biological aging impacts of certain environmental exposures, possibly through improved access to exposure monitoring and preventive/therapeutic care. While not a substitute for environmental policy or exposure remediation, insurance may represent a small, complementary, and more immediately actionable tool to help reduce harm.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “However, given the small magnitude of model estimates, results should be interpreted with caution regarding their practical significance.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The environmental chemical exposome and health insurance: Examining associations and effect modification of epigenetic aging in a representative sample of United States adults. Exposome, 2025;6(1).

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Dennis Khodasevich, Dept. of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Jamaji C. Nwanaji-Enwerem, Nicole Gladish, Hanyang Shen, Anne K. Bozack, Saher Daredia, Belinda L. Needham, David H. Rehkopf and Andres Cardenas.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1093/exposome/osaf015. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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