# The Association of Unconventional Natural Gas Development with Adolescent Internalizing Disorders

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $45,520

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) has dramatically expanded since 2000 along with its
chemical, physical, and psychosocial hazards as well as more general community impacts. While UNGD has
been of public concern for over a decade, no study yet has evaluated the relationship between UNGD and
mental health outcomes in adolescents, despite the recognition that children may be the most vulnerable
population for the adverse effects of environmental exposures. Identifying factors associated with depression
and anxiety is of high importance because these disorders can lead to disability, decrease quality of life, and
require high expenditures for clinical care and public health. Prior research implicates two primary pathways
from UNGD activity, air quality and stress, both of which can impact the mental health of children. My
hypothesis is therefore that UNGD activity is contributing to increased odds of new onset internalizing
disorders in adolescents. We propose to test this hypothesis using electronic health records (EHRs) from the
Geisinger health system in Pennsylvania, conducting an epidemiologic study of the association between
UNGD activity (assigned individually to patients using existing metrics which incorporate spatial and temporal
information on UNGD by well phase, size, and gas production, and the patient’s residence), and new onset
internalizing disorders, classifying our outcome using combinations of diagnosis codes and medication orders,
in an adolescent population of approximately 35,000. For my sub-aims, analysis will be directed toward effect
modification of this association, specifically by sex, receipt of Medical Assistance, prescription of
antidepressants, and residential greenness. My second aim proposes to examine the association of UNGD
activity with depressive symptoms among approximately 28,000 adolescents, using scores from Patient Health
Questionnaires (PHQ-9). Using PHQ-9 data will enable us to evaluate a broader range of shorter-term
depressive symptoms with higher sensitivity, while diagnoses and medication orders will identify more severe
anxiety and depression disorders with higher specificity. In sub-aims, I will assess if the association
strengthens when the UNGD activity metric is limited to specifically the drilling and hydraulic fracturing phases
(because of higher reported truck traffic) and if it strengthens when limiting the symptoms evaluated to those
regarding sleep and concentration. The proposed studies will be the first to investigate UNGD activity in
relation to adolescent mental health. By utilizing EHR data with a large sample size in a region with extensive
UNGD activity, these studies can advance the state of knowledge on potential health impacts of UNGD.
Through a comprehensive training plan and close mentorship, the PI will receive training in the subject area of
adolescent mental health, the use of analytic methods for environmental epidemiology, and the communication
of resear...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10066618
- **Project number:** 1F31ES031478-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Irena Gorski Steiner
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $45,520
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-15 → 2022-07-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10066618

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10066618, The Association of Unconventional Natural Gas Development with Adolescent Internalizing Disorders (1F31ES031478-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10066618. Licensed CC0.

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