Proposed US Census rule changes could distort health data, warns epidemiologist

Nancy Krieger, a professor of social epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, wrote an opinion piece warning that proposed changes to the U.S. decennial census could have severe public‑health consequences.

She explains that inaccurate census counts would create artificial spikes in mortality and morbidity rates projected for 2030, even though no new disease outbreaks or declines in health‑care access would occur.

The distortions would not be uniform; Krieger notes they would be most pronounced in certain states and among college‑age adults, seniors, people of color and immigrants.

Krieger stresses that correcting the census methodology is a preventive step that does not require new treatments, and she urges swift action before the proposed regulations are finalized.