Browsing by Author "Bilal, Usama"

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    Life expectancy and mortality in 363 cities of Latin America.
    (2021) Bilal, Usama; Hessel, Philipp; Pérez Ferrer, Carolina; Michael, Yvonne L.; Alfaro, Tania; Tenorio Mucha, Janeth; Friche, Amélia Augusta de Lima; Pina, Maria de Fátima de; Vives, Alejandra; Quick, Harrison; Alazraqui, Marcio; Rodriguez, Daniel A.; Miranda, J. Jaime; Roux, Ana V. Diez
    The concept of a so-called urban advantage in health ignores the possibility of heterogeneity in health outcomes across cities. Using a harmonized dataset from the SALURBAL project, we describe variability and predictors of life expectancy and propor- tionate mortality in 363 cities across nine Latin American countries. Life expectancy differed substantially across cities within the same country. Cause-specific mortality also varied across cities, with some causes of death (unintentional and violent inju- ries and deaths) showing large variation within countries, whereas other causes of death (communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional, cancer, cardiovascular disease and other noncommunicable diseases) varied substantially between countries. In multivariable mixed models, higher levels of education, water access and sanitation and less overcrowding were associated with longer life expectancy, a relatively lower proportion of communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional deaths and a higher proportion of deaths from cancer, cardiovascular disease and other noncommunicable diseases. These results highlight considerable heterogeneity in life expectancy and causes of death across cities of Latin America, revealing modifiable factors that could be amenable to urban policies aimed toward improving urban health in Latin America and more generally in other urban environments.
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    Longitudinal changes in the retail food environment in Mexico and their association with diabetes.
    (2020) Pérez Ferrer, Carolina; Auchincloss, Amy H.; Barrientos Gutierrez, Tonatiuh; Colchero, M. Arantxa; Cardoso, Leticia de Oliveira; Menezes, Mariana Carvalho de; Bilal, Usama
    The retail food environment is a potential population-level determinant of diet and nutrition-related chronic diseases, yet little is known about its composition and association with diabetes in low- and middle-income countries. Our objectives were: (1) to describe changes in the composition of the retail food environment in Mexican neighborhoods from 2010 to 2016 and (2) to examine the association between these changes and diabetes cases diagnosed over the same period. Individual level data came from the 2016 Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey (N = 2808 adults). Neighborhood level retail food environment data for 2010 and 2016 came from the National Directory of Economic Units of Mexico. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the adjusted association between changes in the neighborhood density per km2 of fruit and vegetable stores, chain convenience stores and supermarkets with diabetes. Small store formats still predominate in Mexico’s food environment, however there is evidence of fast increase in chain convenience stores and supermarkets. Adults living in neighborhoods that saw a decline in fruit and vegetable store density and a simultaneous increase in chain convenience store density experienced higher odds of diabetes, compared to adults who lived in neigh- borhoods where fruit and vegetable and convenience stores did not change (OR 3.90, 95% CI 1.61, 9.48). Considering the complex interplay between store types, understanding the mechanisms and confirming the causal implications of these findings could inform policies that improve the quality of food environments in cities.