Browsing by Author "Rodriguez, Daniel A."

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    Disentangling associations between vegetation greenness and dengue in a Latin American city : findings and challenges.
    (2021) Cunha, Maria da Consolação Magalhães; Ju, Yang; Morais, Maria Helena Franco; Dronova, Iryna; Ribeiro, Sérvio Pontes; Bruhn, Fábio Raphael Pascoti; Lima, Larissa Lopes; Sales, Denise Marques; Schultes, Olivia Lang; Rodriguez, Daniel A.; Caiaffa, Waleska Teixeira
    Being a Re-Emerging Infectious Disease, dengue causes 390 million cases globally and is prevalent in many urban areas in South America. Understanding the fine-scale relationships between dengue incidence and environmental and socioeconomic factors can guide improved disease prevention strategies. This ecological study examines the association between dengue incidence and satellite-based vegetation greenness in 3826 census tracts nested in 474 neighborhoods in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, during the 2010 dengue epidemic. To reduce potential bias in the estimated dengue-greenness association, we adjusted for socioeconomic vulnerability, population density, building height and density, land cover composition, elevation, weather patterns, and neighborhood random effects. We found that vegetation greenness was negatively associated with dengue incidence in a univariate model, and this association attenuated after controlling for additional covariates. The dengue-greenness association was modified by socioeconomic vulnerability: while a positive association was observed in the least vulnerable census tracts, the association was negative in the most vulnerable areas. Using greenness as a proxy for vegetation quality, our results show the potential of vegetation management in reducing dengue incidence, particularly in socioeconomically vulnerable areas. We also discuss the role of water infrastructure, sanitation services, and tree cover in lowering dengue risk.
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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.