The Impact of Slavery Legacy on the Ecological Framework of Health: A Lasting Power Dynamic Impacting Present-Day Health

Ross Arena, Shuaijie Wang, Nicolaas P. Pronk, Colin Woodard, José Daniel Pacas, Tanvi Bhatt, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Science, University of Illinois, Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection , HealthPartners Institute, Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota, Nationhood Lab, Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, Salve Regina University, Constellation Lab at Constellation Fund

American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine

Published online on February 17, 2026

Abstract

American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, Ahead of Print.
Drivers of population-level health in the United States (U.S.) are complex. This analysis refines an ecologic framework of health, employing artificial intelligence modeling to estimate the impact of slavery on present-day, population-level lifespan. This ...