The Economic and Educational Contributions to Emerging Adults’ Cardiometabolic Health (3E) Study was created to understand the “social determinants of cardio metabolic health in college students.” Initiated in 2023 by Dr. Allison Cohen — Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Associate Professor of Psychology at Fordham University — this study particularly examines the cardio-health of Hispanic students’ throughout their time in college.
To understand the factors impacting the physical health of students, the study examines socioeconomic status, race, gender, family, background, education, as well as aspects of everyday lives such as work-life balance and mental health. Once registered for the study, students are given a survey to fill out all of their demographic information, and then visit the lab to measure “physical parameters” such as body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, blood pressure and heart rate. Once student data is logged, they are invited back again after another six months to a year to collect the same information and take the survey again. Depending on if the students continue their assessments after their first sessions, the study could measure students’ health over the course of their undergraduate career.
UC Riverside (UCR), because of their high Hispanic student population has become a location for the study. Dr. Robert Ream — a dean for the School of Education — currently oversees the project at the UCR location. Initially conducted in Northern California, the 3E study was conducted in California State University, East Bay for the same reason. The 3E study has managed to gather some preliminary results on this target demographic, finding further evidence supporting that Latina women are at higher risk for developing eating disorders in college.
Omisha Sangani, an undergraduate researcher, explains that one of the biggest misunderstandings about a study like the 3E study is that things “aren’t as simple as they seem, and we really have to look into all of these factors.” She explains that many within the 3E study are trying to do sub-studies involving talking more with the students and asking them to explain their experiences to avoid assumptions regarding the data.
Though research done by the 3E study has yet to be fully analyzed, one of the early buffers against poor physiological and mental health that the 3E study has identified is having a mentor. Sangani explains that students who reported being very satisfied with their mentors were also significantly correlated with reduced anxiety, stress and depression. Interpersonal relationships and having a sense of community are known to increase a sense of mental well-being, and because of this, the 3E study gives those who participate in the study the opportunity to be mentored by a graduate student.
Sangani explains that the institutional impacts of the study’s research will likely have to do with establishing more mentoring programs in universities as well as making resources for different demographics, such as first generation students more accessible.
