Papers by Cluster (EXPERIMENTAL)

This view categorizes all papers using a problem-centric clustering scheme.

Health inequities across cities (US, Latin America, Spain) and scaling patterns

• Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Advancing equitable and sustainable urban health. Nature Medicine. 2025 Nov;31(11):3634-3647
• Ascensio EJ, Barja A, Montes-Alvis J, Kephart JL, Gouveia N, Rodriguez DA, Benmarhnia T, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U, Miranda JJ, Carrasco-Escobar G. Urban and socioeconomic disparities in PM2.5 exposure across 340 Latin American cities. Environmental Research Letters 2025 Dec 1;20(12):124044.
• McAlexander TP, de Ramos IP, Bilal U. Spatial Variability and Clustering of Life Expectancy in the US: 1990-2019. Epidemiology. 2025 Sep 1;36(5):616-624.
• Schnake-Mahl A, Anfuso G, Bilal U, Goldstein ND, Purtle J, Hernandez SM, Ebert JM. Court-Mandated Redistricting and Disparities in Infant Mortality and Deaths of Despair. BMC Public Health 2025 Mar 19;25(1):1058
• Santa-Ramirez HA, Bilal U, Marques-Vidal P, Nehme M, Guessous I, Stringhini S, Joost S. Local-scale deprivation is associated with the spatial distribution of poor diet quality in adults: a cross-sectional population-based study in Switzerland. Social Science and Medicine 2025 Mar 5;374:117926
• Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. A New Phase for the Journal of Urban Health: Building on the Journal’s History to Improve Urban Health, Equity, and Environmental Sustainability Worldwide. Journal of Urban Health 2025;100(4):e1-e3
• Wetzel S, Bilal U. Socioeconomic Status and Sleep Duration Among a Representative, Cross-Sectional Sample of US Adults. BMC Public Health. 2024 Dec 18;24(1):3410
• Trejo B, Lazo M, Hernandez S, Bilal U. Contribution of deaths of despair to the Hispanic mortality advantage in the US by person, place, and time: an ecological analysis of vital registration data. BMJ Public Health 2024;2:e001191.
• Trejo B, Michael Y, Diez Roux AV, Sanchez B, Sun N, Stocks H, Vidana-Perez D, Correa-Salazar C, Ortigoza A, Firche AAL, DiCecco V, Mazariegos M, Bilal U. Characterizing the killing of girls and women in urban settings in Latin America, 2000-2019: an analysis of variability and time trends using mortality data from vital registration systems. BMJ Public Health 2024;2:e000985.
• Quistberg DA, Perez-Ferrer C, Bilal U, Rodriguez-Hernandez JL, Ramirez-Toscano Y, Cardenas-Cardenas LM, Junquera-Badilla I, Yamada G, Barrientos-Gutierrez T, Diez Roux AV. The impact of an enhanced sobriety checkpoints program and publicity campaign on motor vehicle collisions, injuries, and deaths in Leon, MX: A synthetic control study. Injury Prevention 2024 Jul 22:ip-2023-045019
• Henson RM, Mullachery P, Sanchez Pajaro A, Cruz-Cruz C, Bilal U, Langellier B, Barrientos-Gutierrez T. Spatial heterogeneity in fatal overdose rate trends in Mexican cities: 2005-2021. American Journal of Public Health 2024 Jul;114(7):705-713
• Alpaugh V, Ortigoza A, Braverman-Bronstein A, Perez-Ferrer C, Wagner N, Pacifico N, Ezeh A, Caiaffa WT, Lovasi GS, Bilal U. Association Between Household Deprivation and Living in Informal Settlements and Incidence of Diarrhea in Children Under 5 in Seven Latin American Cities. Journal of Urban Health 2024 Jun;101(3):629-637.
• Schinasi L, Kondo MC, Edwards J, Clougherty JE, De Roos AJ, Bilal U. Does urban greenspace reduce mortality inequalities based on poverty- , race- or both, in Philadelphia, PA?. Journal of Urban Health 2023 Aug;100(4):686-695
• Trotta A, Bilal U, Acharya B, Harrison Q, Kari M, Perner MS, Alazraqui M, Diez Roux AV. Spatial inequities in life expectancy in small areas of Buenos Aires, Argentina 2015- 2017. Journal of Urban Health 2023;100(3):577-590
• de Lima Friche AA, Moreira Silva U, Bilal U, Sarmiento OL, de Salles Dias M, Prado-Galbarro FJ, Briceno-Leon R, Alazraqui M, Diez Roux AV, Caiaffa WT. Variation and predictors of youth and young adult homicides in cities of Latin America: the SALURBAL study. The Lancet Regional Health - The Americas. 2023;20:100476
• Braverman-Bronstein A, Ortigoza AF, Vidana-Perez D, Barrientos-Gutierrez T, Baldovino Chiquillo L, Bilal U, Friche AAG, Diez-Canseco F, Maslowski J, Diez Roux AV. Gender inequality, women’s empowerment, and adolescent birth rates in 363 Latin American cities. Social Science and Medicine, 2023 Jan, 317: 115566
• Latasa P, Gil-Borrelli C, Reques L, Bilal U. [Challenges for public health policies in the era of illiberalism]. Gaceta Sanitaria 2023;37:102340
• Mullachery PH, Quistberg DA, Lazo M, Indvik K, Perez-Ferrer C, Lopez-Olmedo N, Colchero MA, Bilal U. Evaluation of the national sobriety checkpoints program in Mexico: a difference-in-difference approach with variation in timing of program adoption. Injury Epidemiology, 2022, 9:32
• Schnake-Mahl AS, Mullachery PH, Li R, Purtle J, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Heterogeneity in Disparities in Life Expectancy Across US Metropolitan Areas. Epidemiology, 2022 Nov 1;33(6):890-899
• Kondo MC, McIntire R, Bilal U, Schinasi L. Reduction in Socioeconomic Inequalities in Self-Reported Mental Health Conditions with Increasing Greenspace Exposure. Health and Place 2022 Nov;78:102908
• de Ramos IP, Auchincloss AH, Bilal U. Exploring inequalities in life expectancy and lifespan variation by race/ethnicity and urbanicity in the United States: 1990 to 2019. Social Science and Medicine – Population Health 2022 Sep 13;19:101230
• Rodriguez Lopez S, Tumas N, Bilal U, Moore K, Arcaya B, Quick H, Quistberg DA, Acevedo GE, Diez Roux AV. Intraurban socioeconomic inequalities in life expectancy: a population-based cross-sectional analysis in the city of Córdoba, Argentina (2015-2018). BMJ Open 2022;12:e061277
• McCulley EM, Mullachery PH, Ortigoza AF, Rodriguez DA, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Urban Scaling of Health Outcomes: a scoping review. Journal of Urban Health 2022 May 5:1-18
• Mullachery PH, Lankenau S, Diez Roux AV, Li R, Henson RM, Bilal U. Urban scaling of opioid overdose deaths in the United States: a cross-sectional study in three periods between 2005 and 2017. BMJ Open 2022;12:e048831.
• Franco M, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Challenges and opportunities for urban health research in our complex and unequal cities. Cities and Health 2022 Dec;6(4):651-656
• Bilal U, de Castro CP, Alfaro T, Barrientos-Gutierrez T, Barreto ML, Leveau C, Martinez-Folgar K, Miranda JJ, Montes F, Mullachery PH, Pina MF, Rodriguez DA, dos Santos GF, Andrade RFS, Diez Roux AV. Scaling of Mortality in 742 Metropolitan Areas of the Americas. Science Advances 2021 Dec 10;7(50):eabl6325.
• Schnake-Mahl AS, Lazo M, Dureja K, Ehtesham N, Bilal U. Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Occupational Exposure Across and Between US cities. Social Science and Medicine - Population Health 2021;16:1009592
• O’Leary G, Schnake-Mahl AS, Vaidya V, Bilal U, Kolker J. Indoor dining and in-person learning: a comparison of 30 US cities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021, 18(20), 10967.
• Mullachery PH, Bilal U. Urban scaling of opioid analgesic sales in the United States. PLoS One. 2021 Oct 12;16(10):e0258526.
• Rodriguez S, Bilal U, Ortigoza A, Diez Roux AV. Educational inequalities, urbanicity and levels of non-communicable diseases risk factors: Evaluating trends in Argentina (2005-2013). BMC Public Health. 2021 Aug 20;21(1):1572.
• Mullachery PH, Rodriguez DA, Miranda JJ, Lopez-Olmedo N, Martinez-Folgar K, Barreto ML, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Mortality amenable to healthcare in Latin American cities: a cross-sectional study examining between-country variation in amenable mortality and the role of urban metrics. International Journal of Epidemiology 2021 Aug 2:dyab137.
• Tumas N, Rodriguez S, Bilal U, Ortigoza A, Diez Roux AV. Urban social determinants of non-communicable diseases risk factors in Argentina. Health and Place 2021 Jun 29:102611.
• Porta M, Pumarega J, Henriquez-Hernandez LA, Gasull M, Bartoll X, Arrebola JP, Morales E, Ibarluzea J, Algucil J, Bilal U, Luzardo OP. Reductions in blood concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in the general population of Barcelona from 2006 to 2016. Science of the Total Environment 2021, 777:146013
• Bilal U, Hessel P, Perez-Ferrer C, Michael YL, Alfaro T, Tenorio-Mucha J, de Friche AAL, Pina MF, Vives A, Quick H, Alazraqui M, Rodriguez DA, Miranda JJ, Diez-Roux AV, and the SALURBAL group. Life expectancy and mortality in 363 cities of Latin America. Nature Medicine 2021 Mar;27(3):463-470
• Abraham A, Gille D, Puhan MA, ter Riet G, von Wyl V, International Consortium on Teaching Epidemiology (incl. Bilal U). Defining Core Competencies for Epidemiologists in Academic Settings to Tackle Tomorrow’s Health Research Challenges: A Structured, Multi-National Effort: International Consortium on Teaching Epidemiology. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2021 Feb 1;190(3):343-352.
• Li R, Bilal U. Book Review: Interactive Web-based Data Visualization with R, plotly, and shiny. Biometrics 2021;77(2):776-7.
• Bilal U, Gullon P. [Book Review: A quien vamos a dejar morir?]. Gaceta Sanitaria, 2021 May-Jun;35(3):307.
• Bilal U. What has it meant for me to be an epidemiologist in 2020?. Epidemiology, 2021 Jan;32(1):146-147.
• Gullon P, Bilal U, Hirsch JA, Rundle A, Judd S, Safford M, Lovasi GS. Does a physical activity supportive environment ameliorate or exacerbate socioeconomic inequities in incident coronary heart disease?. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2020 Dec 14:jech-2020-215239
• Martinez-Amezcua P, Haque W, Khera R, Kanaya AM, Saptar N, Kandula NH, Jose PO, Narayan V, Agyemang C, Misra A, Jenum AK, Bilal U, Nasir K, Cainzos-Achirica M. The Upcoming Epidemic of Heart Failure in South Asia. Circulation: Heart Failure 2020 Oct;13(10):e007218
• Bilal U, Franco M, Lau B, Celentano D, Glass T. Measuring Neighborhood Social and Economic Change for Urban Health Studies. Urban Studies 2020; 57(6), 1301–1319
• Valiente R, Escobar F, Pearce J, Bilal U, Franco M, Sureda X. Estimating and mapping cigarette butt littering in urban environments: A GIS approach. Environmental Research 2020, 109142
• Hirsch JA, Zhao Y, Bilal U, Neckerman KM, Michael YL. Health and Health-Related Resources in Newly Designated Federally Qualified Opportunity Zones, US, 2012-2016. American Journal of Public Health 2020; 110 (3), 407-415
• Valiente R, Escobar F, Pearce J, Bilal U, Franco M, Sureda X. Mapping the visibility of smokers across a large capital city. Environmental Research 2020, 180, 108888
• Bilal U. [The dynamics of contagion in cities]. Revista Panorama Social FUNCAS, 2020 Dec;(32):77-94
• Bilal U. Comment on Precision Medicine and Individual Health. Issues in Science and Technology. Spring 2020;36(3)
• McCulley EM, Mullachery P, Rodriguez D, Diez-Roux AV, Bilal U. Urban Scaling of Health Outcomes: a protocol for a scoping review. BMJ Open 2019; 9 (11), e031176
• Knapp, EA, Bilal U, Lazo M, Dean LT, Celentano D. Economic Insecurity and Deaths of Despair in US Counties. American Journal of Epidemiology 2019; 188 (12), 2131-2139
• Cereijo L, Gullón P, Cebrecos A, Bilal U, Santacruz J, Valadés D, Badland H, Franco M. Does area-level socioeconomic status matter for access to and availability of exercise facilities in Madrid? International Journal of Health Geographics. 2019;18:15
• Langellier BA, Bilal U, Montes F, Meisel JD, de Oliveira Cardoso L, Hammond RA. Complex systems approaches to diet: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2019 Aug;57(2):273-281
• Miles B, Bilal U*, Hutton H, Lau B, Lesko C, Fojo A, McCaul M, Keruly J, Moore R, Chander G. Smoking, Substance Use, and Mental Health Symptoms in People with HIV in an Urban, HIV Clinic. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 2019, 30: 1083–1102
• Valiente R, Sureda F, Bilal U, Navas-Acien A, Pearce J, Franco M, Escobar FJ. Regulating the local availability of tobacco retailing in Madrid, Spain: a GIS study to evaluate compliance. Tobacco Control. 2019;28:325–333
• Bilal U, Cainzos-Achirica M, Cleries M, Santaeugenia S, Corbella X, Comin-Colet J, Vela E. Socioeconomic Status, Life Expectancy and Mortality in a Universal Healthcare Setting: An Individual-Level Analysis of More Than 6 Million Catalan Residents. Preventive Medicine 2019 Jun;123:91-94
• Quistberg DA, Diez-Roux AV, Bilal U, Moore K, Ortigoza A, Rodriguez DA, Sarmiento OL, Frenz P, Friche AA, Caiaffa WT, Vives A, Miranda JJ, the SALURBAL Group. Building a Data Platform for Cross-Country Urban Health Studies: the SALURBAL Study. Journal of Urban Health. 2019 Apr;96(2):311-337
• Cainzos-Achirica M, Bilal U*, Al Rifai M, McEvoy JW, Blumenthal RS, Kapoor K, Martin-Sanchez JM, Comin-Colet J, Pladevall-Vila M, Blaha MJ. Communication Issues in Nutritional Observational Research. Preventive Medicine. 2018 Oct;115:76-82.
• Bilal U, Diez-Roux AV. Troubling Trends in Health Disparities. New England Journal of Medicine. 2018; 378(16):1557-1558.
• Sureda F, Bilal U, Fernandez E, Valiente R, Escobar FJ, Navas-Acien A, Franco M. Second-hand smoke exposure in outdoor hospitality venues: smoking visibility and assessment of airborne markers. Environmental Research. 2018 Aug;165:220-27
• Martin-Sanchez J, Martinez-Sanchez J, Bilal U, Cleries R, Marcela F, Cristina L, Sureda F, Franco M, Fernandez E. Sex and age specific projections of smoking prevalence in Spain: a Bayesian approach. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2018 May 3;20:725-30
• Bilal U, Knapp EA, Cooper RS. Swing Voting in the 2016 Presidential Election in Counties Where Midlife Mortality has been Rising in White Non-Hispanic Americans. Social Science and Medicine. 2018 Jan;197:33-38
• Cainzos-Achirica M, Trapero-Bertran M, Bilal U, Corbella X, Comin-Colet J. Chronic Heart Failure Care and Costs: What Is the Efficiency of Investing in Quality?. JACC Heart Failure. 2018 Aug;6(8):723-724.
• Cainzos M, Pladevall-Vila M, Bilal U. Selection Bias and Residual Confounding in the studies by Gunter and Park. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2018 Mar 6;168(5):379-380.
• Bilal U, Cooper RS, Abreu FM, Nau C, Franco M, Glass TA. Economic growth and mortality: do social protection policies matter? International Journal of Epidemiology 2017 Aug 1;46(4):1147-1156. Link
• Fuentes S, Bilal U, Galan I, Villalbi JR, Espelt A, Bosque-Prous M, Franco M, Lazo M. Binge drinking and well-being in European Older Adults: Do gender and region matter? European Journal of Public Health. 2017 Aug 1;27(4):692-699.
• Bilal U, Kaufman JS. The Theft of Well-Being: A comment on Zunzunegui, et al. Gaceta Sanitaria. 2017 Sep - Oct;31(5):363-364.
• Carrasco M, Bilal U. A Sign of the Times: To Have or To Be? Social Capital or Social Cohesion? Social Science and Medicine. 2016 Jun 159: 127-131
• Bilal U, Beltran P, Navas-Acien A, Fernandez E, Bolumar F, Franco M. Gender Equality and Smoking: a theory-driven approach to smoking gender differences in Spain. Tobacco Control 2016 May;25(3):295-300
• Glass TA, Bilal U. Are neighborhoods causal? Complications arising from the ‘stickiness’ of ZNA. Social Science and Medicine. 2016 Oct;166:244-53.
• Carrasco M, Bilal U. Are subversion and conflict component parts of social cohesion? - A response to Lindstrom. Social Science and Medicine 2016 Sep 10;169:31-32
• Franco M, Bilal U, Diez-Roux AV. Preventing non-communicable diseases through structural changes in urban environments. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2015 Jun;69(6):509-11
• Suarez L, Bilal U*, Bordallo J, Cantabrana B, Sanchez M. Androgens block outward potassium currents and decrease spontaneous action potentials in GH3 cells. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2015 Jan;388(1):67-78.
• Bilal U, Fernandez E, Navas-Acien A, Bolumar F, Franco M. Five Authors Reply. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2014 Sep 15;180(6):659
• Padilla J, Carmona M, Bilal U. Trivializing conflict of interest, a crime against public health. British Medical Journal (Rapid-Response, 12 November 2013)
• Bilal U, Padilla J. Spanish government expels undocumented migrants from the health care system. European Journal of Public Health (E-Letter, 8 June 2012)

COVID-19 inequalities and response

• Schnake-Mahl AS, Rollins H, Goldstein N, Bilal U, Diez Roux AV. Neighborhood disparities in influenza and influenza like illness hospitalization during seasonal and pandemic flu. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 2025 Aug 5;12(8):ofaf468
• D’Adamo A, Schnake-Mahl A, Bilal U, Miller J. Spatial inequities in COVID-19 vaccination in Philadelphia by race and income. Preventive Medicine Reports 2025;54:103091
• Mullachery PH, Bilal U, Li R, McClure LA. Area-level social vulnerability and severe COVID-19: a case-control study using electronic health records from multiple health systems in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Region. Journal of Urban Health. 2024 Aug;101(4):845-855
• Perner MS, Trotta A, Bilal U, Acharya B, Quick H, Pacifico N, Berazategui R, Alazraqui M, Diez Roux AV. Social inequalities and COVID-19 mortality between neighborhoods of Bariloche city, Argentina. International Journal for Equity in Health. 2023;22:198
• Fontan M, Gullon P, Bilal U, Franco M. Social and ideological determinants of COVID-19 vaccination status in Spain Public Health. Public Health. 2023;2019:139-145
• D’Adamo A, Schnake-Mahl A, Mullachery PH, Lazo M, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Health Disparities in Past Influenza Pandemics: a scoping review of the literature. Social Science and Medicine - Population Health 2023 Mar;21:101314.
• Schnake-Mahl AS, O’Leary G, Mullachery PH, Kolker J, Skinner A, Diez Roux AV, Raifman J, Bilal U. Paid Sick Leave and COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage: A longitudinal analysis of 37 large US cities. Health Affairs, 2022 Nov;41(11):1565-1574
• Bilal U, Mullachery PH, Schnake-Mahl AS, Rollins H, McCulley E, Kolker J, Barber S, Diez Roux AV. Heterogeneity in Spatial Inequities in COVID-19 Vaccination Across 16 Large US Cities. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2022 Aug 22;191(9):1546-1556
• Mullachery PH, Li R, Melly S, Kolker J, Barber S, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Inequities in spatial accessibility to COVID-19 testing in 30 large US cities. Social Science and Medicine, 2022 Aug 27;310:115307.
• Moran K, Mullachery PH, Lankenau S, Bilal U. Changes in racial/ethnic disparities in opioid-related outcomes in urban areas during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review of the literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9283
• Alfaro T, Martinez-Folgar K, Vives A, Bilal U. Excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in cities of Chile: Magnitude, inequalities, and urban determinants. Journal of Urban Health 2022 Jun;10:1-14.
• Schnake-Mahl AS, Bilal U. Disaggregating Disparities: a case study of heterogenous COVID-19 disparities across waves, geographies, social vulnerability, and political lean in Louisiana, USA. Preventive Medicine Reports 2022 Aug;28:101833.
• Spoer BR, McCulley EM, Lampe TM, Yang Hsieh P, Chen A, Ofrane R, Rollins H, Thorpe LE, Bilal U, Gourevitch MN. Validation of a Neighborhood-level COVID Local Risk Index in 47 Large U.S. Cities. Health and Place 2022 July;76:102814
• Rich J, Miech E, Bilal U, Corbin T. How Education and Racial Segregation Intersect in Neighborhoods with Persistently Low COVID-19 Vaccination Rates in Philadelphia. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:1044
• de Ramos IP, Lazo M, Schnake-Mahl A, Li R, Martinez-Donate A, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 Outcomes Among the Hispanic Population of 27 Large US Cities: 2020-2021. American Journal of Public Health 2022 May 19:e1-e11.
• Bilal U, McCulley EM, Li R, Rollins H, Schnake-Mahl A, Mullachery PH, Vaidya V, Koh C, Dureja K, Sharaf A, Furukawa A, Juliano C, Barber S, Kolker J, Diez Roux AV. Tracking COVID-19 Inequities across jurisdictions represented in the Big Cities Health Coalition: The COVID-19 Health Inequities in BCHC Cities Dashboard. American Journal of Public Health. 2022 Apr 14:e1-e9
• Bilal U, Jemmott JB, Schnake-Mahl A, Murphy K, Momplaisir F. Racial/ethnic and neighborhood social vulnerability disparities in COVID-19 testing positivity, hospitalization, and in-hospital mortality in a large hospital system in Pennsylvania: a prospective study of electronic health records. The Lancet Regional Health - The Americas. 2022;10:100220
• Schnake-Mahl AS, O’Leary G, Mullachery PH, Vaidya V, Connor G, Rollins H, Kolker J, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. The impact of keeping indoor dining closed on COVID-19 rates among large US cities: a quasi-experimental design. Epidemiology 2022 Mar 1;33(2):200-208. Awarded SER’s Lilienfeld Postdoctoral Prize Paper Award (to A. Schnake-Mahl).
• Jimenez-Carrillo M, Gullon P, Bilal U. [Conceptual framework to understand inequalities in COVID-19]. Revista Internacional de Estudios Vascos 2022. Accepted for Publication
• Green-McKenzie J, Shofer FS, Momplaisir F, Kuter BJ, Kruse G, Bilal U, Behta M, O’Donnell J, Al-Ramahi N, Kasbekar N, Sullivan P, Okala P, Brenann PJ. Factors Associated With COVID-19 Vaccine Receipt by Health Care Personnel at a Major Academic Hospital During the First Months of Vaccine Availability. JAMA Network Open. 2021 Dec 1;4(12):e2136582.
• Martinez-Folgar K, Alburez-Gutierrez D, Paniagua-Avila A, Ramirez-Zea M, Bilal U. Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Guatemala. American Journal of Public Health. 2021 Sep 23;e1-e8. doi:
• Kephart JL, Delclos-Alio X, Sarmiento OL, Barrientos-Gutierrez T, Ramirez-Zea M, Quistberg DA, Rodriguez DA, Bilal U*, Diez Roux AV. The impact of population mobility on COVID-19 incidence in 314 Latin American cities: a longitudinal ecological study. The Lancet Digital Health 2021 Aug 26;S2589-7500(21)00174-6
• Glodeanu A, Gullón P, Bilal U. Social Inequalities in Mobility During and Following the COVID-19 associated lockdown of the Madrid Metropolitan Area in Spain. Health and Place 2021 Jul;70:102580.
• Bilal U, Gullón P, Padilla-Bernáldez J. [Epidemiologic evidence on the role of hospitality venues in the transmission of COVID-19: a rapid review of the literature]. Gaceta Sanitaria 2021 Apr 8:S0213-9111(21)00075-3
• Calderón-Aynosa R, Bilal U, Kaufman JS. Variation in non-external and external causes of death in Peru in relation to the COVID-19 Lockdown. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 2021 Mar 31;94(1):23-40.
• Bilal U, Tabb LP, Barber S, Diez Roux AV. Spatial Inequities in COVID-19 Testing, Positivity, Confirmed Cases and Mortality in 3 US Cities: an Ecological Study. Annals of Internal Medicine 2021 Jul;174(7):936-944.
• Bilal U, Alfaro A, Vives A. COVID-19 and the worsening of health inequities in Santiago, Chile. International Journal of Epidemiology 2021 Jul 9;50(3):1038-1040
• Kephart JL, Avila-Palencia I, Bilal U, Gouveia N, Caiaffa WT, Diez Roux AV. COVID-19, ambient air pollution, and environmental health inequities in Latin American cities. Journal of Urban Health 2021 Jun;98(3):428-432.
• Trias-Llimos S, Bilal U, Franco M, Blanes A, Riffe T. [Declines in life expectancy in 2020 and SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence]. Gaceta Sanitaria 2021 Jul 28:S0213-9111(21)00139-4.
• Glodeanu A, Gullón P, Bilal U. [Our experience using mobility data to detect inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic]. Gaceta Sanitaria 2021 Jun 3:S0213-9111(21)00105-9
• Schnake-Mahl AS, Bilal U. Person, Place, Time and COVID-19 Inequities. American Journal of Epidemiology 2021 Aug 1;190(8):1447-1451.
• Trias-Llimos S, Riffe T, Bilal U. Monitoring life expectancy levels during the COVID-19 pandemic: Example of the unequal impact of the first wave on Spanish regions. PLoS One. 2020 Nov 5;15(11):e0241952.
• Trias-Llimos S, Bilal U. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on life expectancy in Madrid (Spain). Journal of Public Health, 2020;42(3):635-636.
• Bilal U. [COVID-19 in the US: inequality as cause and consequence]. Revista de Medicina y Cine, 2020;16(e):105-117

Environmental/climate risks and health (air, heat, flood, temperature, greenness)

• Hsu CK, Quistberg DA, Sanchez BN, Kephart JL, Bilal U, Gouveia N, Perez Ferrer C, Caiaffa WT, Friche AAL, Yannone U, Rodriguez DA. Effects of ambient temperature on road traffic mortality in Latin America: Individual- and city-level variations across 272 SALURBAL cities. Nature Cities 2025;2:897–906
• Bakhtsiyarava M, Kephart JL, Sanchez BN, Ramarao MVS, Arunachalam S, Gouveia N, Dronova I, Schinasi LH, Bilal U, Caiaffa WT, Jaffe A, Diez Roux AV, Rodriguez DA, and the SALURBAL Project. Future temperature-related mortality in Latin American cities under climate change and population scenarios. Environment International 2025;202:109694
• Kephart JL, Bilal U, Gouveia N, Sarmiento OL, Shingara E, Rangel Moreno K, Bakhtsiyarava M, Rodriguez JP, Ayala S, Carrasco-Escobar G, Diez Roux AV, and the SALURBAL-Climate Project. Social disparities in flood exposure and associations with the urban environment in 44,698 neighborhoods in 276 cities in 8 Latin American countries. Nature Cities 2025 Feb 10;2:246-253
• Kephart JL, Gouveia N, Rodriguez DA, Indvik K, Alfaro T, Texcalac JL, Miranda JJ, Bilal U*, Diez Roux AV. Ambient nitrogen dioxide in 47,187 neighborhoods across 326 cities in eight Latin American countries: population exposures and associations with urban features. The Lancet Planetary Health 2023;7:e976–84
• Quistberg DA, Hessel P, Rodriguez DA, Sarmiento OL, Bilal U, Caiaffa WT, Miranda JJ, Pina MF, Hernandez-Vasquez AA, Diez Roux AV. Urban Landscape and Street Design Factors Associated with Road Traffic Mortality: A study of 328,408 road traffic deaths in 366 Latin American Cities: an Ecological Study. The Lancet Planetary Health 2022;6:e122–3
• Moran MR, Bilal U*, Dronova I, Ju Y, Gouveia N, Caiaffa WT, de Lima Friche AA, Moore K, Miranda JJ, Rodriguez DA. The equigenic effect of greenness on the association between education with life expectancy and mortality in 28 large Latin American cities. Health and Place 2021 Nov;72:102703
• Bilal U, Diez-Roux AV, Alazraqui M, Caiaffa WT, Lopez-Olmedo N, Martinez-Folgar K, Miranda JJ, Rodriguez DA, Vives A. Life expectancy inequalities within six large Latin American cities in the SALURBAL study: an ecological analysis. The Lancet Planetary Health 2019;3(12):e503–e510

Built environment, mobility, and safety

• Paiva ASS, Santos GF, Castro CP, Rodriguez DA, Bilal U, Sousa Filho F, Freitas A, Montes F, Dronova I, Barreto ML, Andrade RFS. A scaling investigation of urban form features in Latin America cities. PLOS ONE 2023;18(12): e0293518
• Anza-Ramirez C, Lazo M, Zafra-Tanaka JH, Avila-Palencia I, Bilal U, Hernandez-Vasquez A, Knoll C, Lopez-Olmedo N, Mazariegos M, Moore K, Rodriguez DA, Sarmiento OL, Stern D, Tumas N, Miranda JJ. The urban built environment and adult BMI, obesity, and diabetes in Latin American cities. Nature Communications. 2022 Dec 29;13(1):7977.
• Avila-Palencia I, Sanchez BN, Rodriguez DA, Perez-Ferrer C, Miranda JJ, Gouveia N, Bilal U, Useche AF, Wilches-Mogollon MA, Moore K, Sarmiento OL, Diez Roux AV. Health and environmental co-benefits of city urban form in Latin America: an ecological study. Sustainability, 2022, 14(22), 14715
• Sarmiento OL, Useche AF, Rodriguez DA, Dronova I, Guaje O, Montes F, Stankov I, Wilches MA, Bilal U, Wang X, Guzman LA, Peña F, Quistberg DA, Guerra-Gomez JA, Diez Roux AV. Built Environment Profiles for Latin American Urban Settings: The SALURBAL study. PLoS ONE 2021, 16(10):e0257528
• Gullon P, Bilal U, Sanchez P, Diez J, Lovasi GS, Franco M. A comparative case study of walking environment in Madrid and Philadelphia using multiple sampling methods and street virtual audits. Cities & Health 2020;4(3):336-344.
• Gullon P, Bilal U*, Cebrecos A, Badland HM, Galan I, Franco M. Intersection of neighborhood dynamics and socioeconomic status in small-area walkability: the Heart Healthy Hoods project. International Journal of Health Geographics. 2017; 16:21
• Gullon P, Badland HM, Alfayate S, Bilal U, Escobar F, Cebrecos A, Diez J, Franco M. Assessing walking and cycling environments in the streets of Madrid: Comparing on-field and virtual audits. Journal of Urban Health. 2015 Oct;92(5):923-39

Food, alcohol, and commercial environments

• Li J, Lazo M, Bilal U, Tabb LP, Hirsch JA, Lovasi GS, Melly S, Sanchez BN. Twenty-five-year changes in alcohol environment in US metropolitan areas: Examining patterns by area level sociodemographic characteristics. Cities. 2025 Dec;167:106326
• Martin-Turrero I, Valiente R, Pastor A, Bilal U, Sureda X. Does geographic availability of alcohol influence drinking in adolescents? A systematic review of literature associations. Health and Place. 2024 Oct 4;90:103362
• Martín-Turrero I, Sureda X, Escobar F, Bilal U, Berasaluce M, Valiente R. How Can We Measure Alcohol Outlet Density Around Schools? A Comparison Between Two Buffer-Based Methods. Journal of Urban Health 2023 Jun;100(3):627-637
• Santa-Ramirez HA, Otalvaro-Castro GJ, Joost S, Melgar-Quinonez H, Bilal U*, Stringhini S. Small area vulnerability, food insecurity and child malnutrition in Medellin, Colombia: results from a repeated cross-sectional study. The Lancet Regional Health - The Americas 2023;20:100476
• Ramirez-Toscano Y, Perez-Ferrer C, Bilal U, Auchincloss A, Barrientos-Gutierrez T. Longitudinal association between density of retail food stores and body mass index in Mexican school children and adolescents. International Journal of Obesity. 2023 May;47(5):365-374
• Fernandez-Escobar C, Diez J, Martinez-Garcia A, Bilal U, O’Flaherty M, Franco M. Food availability and affordability in a Mediterranean urban context: Associations by store type and area-level socioeconomic status. Public Health Nutrition, 2022 Oct 24:1-21.
• Ramirez-Toscano Y, Perez-Ferrer C, Bilal U, Auchincloss AH, Barrientos-Gutierrez T. Socioeconomic deprivation and changes in the retail food environment of Mexico from 2010 to 2020. Health and Place 2022 Aug 3;77:102865
• Armendariz M, Perez-Ferrer C, Basto-Abreu A, Lovasi G, Bilal U, Barrientos-Gutierrez T. Changes in the Retail Food Environment in Mexican Cities and their Association with Blood Pressure Outcomes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022, 19(3), 1353
• Martin-Turrero I, Valiente R, Molina-de la Fuente I, Bilal U, Lazo M, Sureda X. Accessibility and availability of alcohol outlets around schools: an ecological study in the city of Madrid, Spain, according to socioeconomic area-level. Environmental Research, 2022 Mar;204(Pt C):112323
• Sadler RC, Bilal U, Furr-Holden CD. Linking Historical Discriminatory Housing Patterns to the Contemporary Food Environment in Baltimore. Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology 2021 Feb;36:100387
• Perez-Ferrer C, Auchincloss AH, Barrientos-Gutierrez T, Colchero A, Cardoso L, Menezes M, Bilal U. Longitudinal Changes in the Retail Food Environment in Mexico and their Association with Diabetes. Health and Place 2020, 66, 102461
• Martinez-Garcia A, Diez J, Fernandez-Escobar C, Trescastro-Lopez EM, Pereyra-Zamora P, Ariza C, Bilal U, Franco M. Adaptation and evaluation of the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in stores to assess Mediterranean food environments (NEMS-S-MED). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020, 17(19), 7031
• Lazo M, Bilal U, Mitchell MC, Potter J, Hernaez R. Clark JM. Interaction between alcohol consumption and PNPLA3 variant in the prevalence of hepatic steatosis in the U.S. Population. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2020 Aug 31:S1542-3565(20)31213-1.
• Misiaszek C, Kvit A, Burns C, Harding J, Buczynski AB, Freishtat H, Bassarab K, Bilal U, Palmer A. Reliability of an audit tool to measure healthy food availability in food outlets across Baltimore City. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 2020;15(5)628-42
• Diez J, Cebrecos A, Galen I, Perez-Freixo H, Franco M, Bilal U. Assessing the retail food environment in Madrid: evaluation of administrative data against ground-truthing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019, 16(19), 3538
• Diez J, Bilal U, Franco M. Unique features of the Mediterranean food environment: Implications for the prevention of chronic diseases. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2019 Jul;72(Suppl 1):71-75.
• Diez J, Cebrecos A, Rapela A, Borrell LN, Bilal U, Franco M. Socioeconomic inequalities in the retail food environment around schools in the city of Madrid. Nutrients. 2019;11(7)1511
• Bilal U, Jones-Smith J, Diez J, Lawrence RS, Celentano DD, Franco M. Neighborhood social and economic change and retail food environment change in Madrid (Spain): The Heart Healthy Hoods Study. Health & Place. 2018 May;51:107-17.
• Bilal U, Lau B, Matthews CW, Mayer K, Geng E, Napravnik S, Eron JJ, Mugavero MJ, Hutton H, Cropsey K, McCaul ME, Crane H, Chander G. Predictors of Longitudinal Trajectories of Alcohol Consumption in People with HIV. Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research. 2018 Mar;42(3):561-570.
• Cebrecos A, Diez J, Gullon P, Bilal U, Franco M, Escobar F. Characterizing physical activity and food urban environments: a GIS-based multicomponent proposal. International Journal of Health Geographics. 2016;15:35
• Diez J, Bilal U, Cebrecos A, Buczynski A, Lawrence RS, Glass TA, Escobar F, Gittelsohn J, Franco M. Understanding differences in the local food environment across countries: A case study in Madrid (Spain) and Baltimore (USA). Preventive Medicine. 2016 Aug; 89: 237-244
• Bilal U, Lau BM, Lazo M, McCaul ME, Hutton HE, Sulkowski MS, Moore RD, Chander GD. Interaction Between Alcohol Consumption Patterns, Antiretroviral Therapy Type and Liver Fibrosis in Persons Living with HIV. AIDS Patient Care and STDs 2016 May;30(5):200-7.
• Cobb LK, Anderson CA, Appel LJ, Jones-Smith J, Bilal U, Gittelsohn J, Franco M. Changes in healthy food availability in Baltimore City food stores, 2006-2012 and the impact of the 2009 WIC policy change. Health Affairs. 2015 Nov 1;34(11):1849-5

Chronic disease and metabolic risk

• de Oliveira DCRS, Gouveia N, de Oliveira TL, Miranda JJ, Kroker-Lobos MF, Ramirez-Zea M, Alfaro T, Nazzal C, Tumas N, Caiaffa WT, Yamada G, Bilal U*, de Oliveira Cardoso L. Associations between social and built environments and cardiovascular disease mortality across 342 Latin American cities: results from the SALURBAL study. Journal of Global Health 2025 Oct 31;15:04262
• Gómez LF, Kinnee E, Young MT, Kaufman JD, Fitzpatrick AM, Nyenhuis SM, Solway J, White SR, Naureckas ET, Phipatanakul W, Wechsler ME, Kunselman SJ, Mauger DT, McClure LA, Bilal U, Lazarus SC, Holguin F, Clougherty JE. Asthma Treatment Response Modified by PM2.5, NO2, and O3 Among African American Children: A Reanalysis of the AsthmaNet’s BARD Trial. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2025 Apr 15:S0091-6749(25)00416-6
• Paiva ASS, Bilal U, Andrade RFS, Cruz Neto CC, de Sousa Filho JF, Santos GF, Barreto ML, Rodriguez DA, Mullachery P, Sanchez B, Diez Roux AV, Montes F, Trotta A, Alfaro T, Miranda JJ, Barrientos-Gutierrez T. Scaling of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in 230 Latin American Cities. Scientific Reports 2025 Mar 1;15(1):7279.
• Alfaro T, Martinez-Folgar K, Stern D, Wilches-Mogllon MA, Munoz MP, Quick HS, Alazraqui M, Ramirez M, Miranda JJ, Lazo M, Caiaffa WT, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Variability and social patterning of cancer mortality in 343 Latin-American Cities. The Lancet Global Health 2025 Feb;13(2):e268-e276
• Boyajyan V, Bilal U. Assessing the relationship between Diabetes Mellitus and Dental Caries among US adults: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2020. Public Health. 2025 Jan 9;239:77-79
• Gómez LF, Kinnee E, Kaufman JD, Young MT, Fitzpatrick AM, Phipatanakul W, Mauger DT, McClure LA, Bilal U, Holguin F, Clougherty JE. Modification of asthma treatment efficacy by healthcare access: A reanalysis of AsthmaNet Step-Up Yellow Zone Inhaled Corticosteroids to Prevent Exacerbations (STICS) clinical trial. Respiratory Medicine. 2024 Nov-Dec;234:107853
• Gomez LF, Kinnee E, Kaufman JD, Young MT, Fitzpatrick AM, Phipatanakul W, Mauger DT, McClure LA, Bilal U, Holguin F, Clougherty JE. Asthma Treatment Efficacy Modification by Healthcare Access: A Reanalysis of AsthmaNet Step-Up Yellow Zone Inhaled Corticosteroids to Prevent Exacerbations (STICS) Clinical Trial. Respiratory Medicine 2024 Nov-Dec:234:107853
• Meisel JD, Esguerra V, Perez Ferrer C, Stank I, Montes F, Tumas N, Bilal U, Valdivia JA, Diez Roux AV, Sarmiento OL. Understanding the obesity dynamics by socioeconomic status in Colombian and Mexican cities using a system dynamics model. Heliyon 2024 Oct 29;10(22):e39921
• Kundrick J, Rollins H, Mullachery P, Sharaf A, Schnake-Mahl A, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U. Heterogeneity in disparities by income in cardiovascular risk factors across 209 US metropolitan areas. Preventive Medicine Reports 2024;47:102908
• Plans-Beriso E, Gullon P, Fontan-Vela M, Franco M, Perez-Gomez B, Pollan M, Cura-Gonzalez I, Bilal U. The modifying effect of urban parks on socioeconomic inequalities in diabetes prevalence: a cross-sectional population study of Madrid City, Spain. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2024 May 9;78(6):360-366
• Cereijo L, Gullon P, del Cura I, Valades D, Bilal U, Franco M, Badland H. Exercise facility availability and incidence of type 2 diabetes and complications in Spain: A population-based retrospective cohort 2015–2018. Health and Place 2023 May;81:103027.
• Diez J, Tablet G, Fontan-Vela M, Gonzalez-Rabago Y, Cereijo L, Sandin-Vazquez M, Rodriguez E, Franco M, Borrell C, Bilal U, Gullon P. Trends and determinants of social inequalities in cardiovascular risk factors in Spain: a mixed-methods study. Gaceta Sanitaria. 2023;37:102298.
• Mullachery PH, Vela E, Cleries M, Comin-Colet J, Nasir K, Diez Roux AV, Cainzos-Achirica M, Mauri J, Bilal U. Inequalities by income in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in the adult population of Catalonia. Journal of the American Heart Association 2022;11:e026587
• Gutierrez-Leon E, Escamilla-Santiago RA, Martinez-Amezcua P, Bilal U, Lazo M, Ogaz-Gonzalez R, Lopez-Cervantes M. Trends and effect of marginalization on Diabetes Mellitus-related Mortality in Mexico from 1990 to 2019. Scientific Reports 2022 Jun;12(1):9190
• Satish P, Vela E, Bilal U, Cleries M, Kanaya AM, Kandula N, Virani SS, Islam N, Valero-Elizondo J, Yahya T, Comin-Colet J, Nasir K, Mauri J, Cainzos-Achirica M. Burden of cardiovascular risk factors and disease in five Asian groups in Catalonia: a disaggregated, population-based analysis of 121 000 first-generation Asian immigrants. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2022 May 6;29(6):916-924.
• Koh C, Kondo M, Rollins H, Bilal U. Socioeconomic Disparities in Hypertension by Levels of Green Space Availability: A Cross-Sectional Study in Philadelphia, PA. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;19(4), 2037
• Cereijo L, Gullon P, del Cura I, Valades D, Bilal U, Badland H, Franco M. Exercise facilities and the prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes in the city of Madrid. Diabetologia Diabetologia. 2022 Jan;65(1):150-158
• Lazo M, Martinez-Folgar K, Bilal U. Racial/ethnic disparities in hepatocellular carcinoma: the role of neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 2022;31(12):1234-1236
• Vela E, Cleries M, Bilal U, Banach M, McEvoy JW, Mortensen MB, Blaha MJ, Nasir K, Comin-Colet J, Mauri J, Cainzos-Achirica M. Implications of the 2021 ESC Cardiovascular Risk Classification among 283,000 European Immigrants Living in a Low-Risk Region: A Population-Based Analysis in Catalonia. Archives of Medical Science 2021
• Javed Z, Valero-Elizondo J, Dudum R, Khan SU, Dubey P, Hyder A, Xu J, Bilal U, Kash BA, Cainzos-Achirica M, Nasir K. Development and Validation of A Polysocial Risk Score for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease. American Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 2021 Aug 30;8:100251
• Guadamuz JS, Kapoor K, Lazo M, Eleazar A, Yahya T, Kanaya AM, Cainzos-Achirica M, Bilal U. Understanding Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health: Cardiovascular Disease in Hispanics/Latinos and South Asians in the United States. Current Atherosclerosis Reports. 2021 Mar 27;23(6):25.
• Cainzos-Achirica M, Bilal U. Further improvements in coronary heart disease mortality in Spain: context, paradoxes, and pathways forward. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed). 2021 Jun 19:S1885-5857(21)00178-X
• Mullachery PH, Bilal U. The Social Cross-Over in Cardiovascular Disease: Context Matters. Heart 2021 May;107(10):778-780.
• Gullon P, Diez J, Cainzos-Achirica M, Franco M, Bilal U. Social Inequities in Cardiovascular Risk Factors in women and men by Autonomous Regions in Spain. Gaceta Sanitaria 2020 Jul 13:S0213-9111(20)30117-5.
• Cainzos-Achirica M, Bilal U. Polypill for Population-Level Primary Cardiovascular Prevention in Underserved Populations at Heterogeneous Risk — A Social Epidemiology Counterargument. American Journal of Medicine, 2020 May 20:S0002-9343(20)30420-4.
• Bilal U, Cainzos-Achirica M. Polypill for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in an Underserved Population. New England Journal of Medicine, 2020; 382 (1), 94-95
• Bilal U, Glass T, del Cura-Gonzalez I, Sanchez-Perruca L, Celentano D, Franco M. Neighborhood Social and Economic Change and Diabetes Incidence: The HeartHealthyHoods Study. Health and Place 2019;58:102149
• Cainzos-Achirica M, Fedeli U, Sattar N, Agyemang C, Jenum AK, McEvoy JW, Murphy JD, Brotons C, Elosua R, Bilal U, Kanaya AM, Kandula NR, Martinez-Amezcua P, Comin-Colet J, Pinto X. Epidemiology, risk factors, and opportunities for prevention of cardiovascular disease in individuals of South Asian ethnicity living in Europe. Atherosclerosis. 2019;286:105-113.
• Cainzos-Achirica M, Vela E, Cleries M, Bilal U, Mauri J, Pueyo MJ, Rosas A, Blaha MJ, Kanaya AM, Enjuanes C, Garcia-Eroles L, Comin-Coilet J. Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Disease among Non-European Immigrants Living in Catalonia. Heart 2019 Aug;105(15):1168-1174.
• Cainzos-Achirica M, Capdevila C, Vela E, Cleries M, Bilal U, Garcia-Altes A, Enjuanes C, Garay A, Yun S, Farre N, Corbella X, Comin-Colet J. Individual Income, Mortality and Healthcare Resource Use in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure Living in a Universal Healthcare System: A Population-Based Study in Catalonia, Spain. Int J Cardiol. 2019 Feb 15;277:250-257
• Bilal U, Hill-Brigs F, Sanchez-Perruca L, del Cura I, Franco M. Association of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Diabetes Burden using Electronic Health Records in Madrid (Spain): The Heart Healthy Hoods Study. BMJ Open. 2018;8:e021143.
• Knapp EA, Bilal U, Burke BT, Dougherty GB, Glass TA. A network approach to understanding obesogenic environments for children in Pennsylvania. Connections. 2018;38(1):1-11
• Cainzos-Achirica M, Bilal U*, Kapoor K, Quispe-Ayala R, McEvoy JW, Pladevall-Vila M, Blumenthal RS, Blaha MJ. Methodological Issues in Nutritional Epidemiology Research – Sorting Through the Confusion. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports. 2018;12:4
• Bilal U, Auchincloss AH, Diez-Roux AV. Neighborhood Environments and Diabetes Risk and Control. Current Diabetes Reports. 2018;18:62
• Goldstein D, Bilal U, Prasad V. Pembrolizumab as first line therapy in PD-L1 positive advanced lung cancer: Is it as effective as we think it is? Cancer. 2017; 123(20):3872-3874
• Martin-Sanchez J, Bilal U, Cleries R, Lidon-Moyano C, Marcela F, Gonzalez-de Paz L, Franco M, Fernandez E. Martinez-Sanchez J. Modelling Lung Cancer Mortality Rates from Smoking Prevalence: Fill in the Gap. Cancer Epidemiology. 2017 May 18;49:19-23
• Bilal U, Diez J, Alfayate S, Gullon P, del Cura I, Escobar F, Sandin M, Franco M. Population Cardiovascular Health and Urban Environments: The Heart Healthy Hoods exploratory study in Madrid, Spain. BMC Medical Research Methodology. 2016;16:104
• Bilal U, Padilla-Bernaldez J. [Cancer and Meat Consumption: Beyond Individual Lifestyles]. Gaceta Sanitaria. 2016 Jul-Aug;30(4):318.
• Prasad V, Bilal U. The Role of Censoring on Progression Free Survival: Oncologist Discretion Advised. European Journal of Cancer 2015. 2015 Nov;51(16):2269-71
• Lazo M, Bilal U*, Perez-Escamilla R. Epidemiology of NAFLD and Type 2 Diabetes: Health Disparities Among Persons of Hispanic Origin. Current Diabetes Reports. 2015 Dec;15(12):116
• Redondo O, Villamor E, Valdes J, Bilal U, Caballero B, Roche D, Kroker F, Ramirez M, Franco M. Validation of a BMI cutoff point to predict an adverse cardiometabolic profile with DEXA adiposity measurements in Guatemalan children. Public Health Nutrition 2014 Jun 23:1-8.
• Franco M, Bilal U, Orduñez P, Benet M, Morejon A, Caballero B, Kennelly JF, Cooper RS. Population-wide body weight loss and regain in relation to diabetes and cardiovascular disease mortality: Cuba 1980-2010. British Medical Journal. BMJ 2013;346:f1515.
• Franco M, Bilal U, Guallar E, Sanz G, Gomez A, Fuster V, Cooper R. Systematic Review of Three Decades of Spanish Cardiovascular Epidemiology: Improving Translation for a Future of Prevention. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 2013 Ago;60(4):565-576.
• Franco M, Cooper R, Bilal U, Fuster V. Challenges and opportunities for cardiovascular disease prevention. American Journal of Medicine. 2011 Feb;124(2):95-102.
• Franco M, Cooper R, Bilal U, Fuster V. Control of Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors and Evidence-Based Therapies: Joint Efforts for Coronary Heart Disease Prevention in Spain. Revista Española Cardiología. 2011 Nov;64(11):962-964

Methods, policy measurement, and governance

• Schnake-Mahl AS, Diez Roux AV, Bilal U, Schwartz G, Burris S. Rigorous Policy Measurement: causal inference challenges and opportunities. American Journal of Epidemiology 2025;194(11):3099-3105
• Schnake-Mahl AS, Diez Roux AV, Liu B, Holaday LW, Siu A, McCulley E, Bilal U, Ornstein KA. Where you live and where you receive care: using cross-classified multilevel modeling to examine hospital and neighborhood variation in in-hospital mortality and mortality disparities. Annals of Epidemiology 2025 Jul 22:S1047-2797(25)00171-1
• Rodriguez Lopez S, Diez Roux AV, Tumas N, Moore K, Sarmiento OL, Sanchez BN, Perez-Ferrer C, Flores-Alvarado S, Mazariegos M, Bilal U*, Lazo M. Neighbourhoods’ social, built, and natural environment characteristics and body mass index in Latin American cities. International Journal of Epidemiology 2025 Apr 12;54(3):dyaf047
• Schnake-Mahl AS, Hernandez S, Anfuso G, Bilal U. Geospatial Data Aggregation Methods for Novel Geographies: Validating Congressional District Life Expectancy Estimates. Epidemiology 2025 Jan 1;36(1):119-125
• Moore K, Lazo M, Ortigoza A, Quistberg DA, Sanchez B, Acharya B, Alfaro T, Kroker-Lobos MF, Menezes MC, Sarmiento OL, de Souza Andrade AC, Perez Ferrer C, Hernandez Vasquez A, Caiaffa WT, Diez Roux AV; SALURBAL Group. Data Resource Profile: Harmonized health survey data for 240 cities across 11 countries in Latin America: the SALURBAL project. Int J Epidemiol. 2024 Dec 16;54(1):dyae171.
• Schnake-Mahl AS, Anfuso G, Goldstein ND, Purtle J, Eberth JM, Ortigoza A, Bilal U. Measuring Variation in Infant Mortality and Deaths of Despair by U.S. Congressional Districts in Pennsylvania: A Methodological Case Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 2024 Jul 8;193(7):1040-1049.
• D’Souza N, Carroll-Scott A, Bilal U, Headen IE, Quick H, Reis R, Abraham M, Martinez Donate AP. Development and validation of statewide survey-based measures of livability in Connecticut. Health in Place 2024 Jun 4;89:103282.
• Xu H, Li R, Bilal U. findSVI: an R package to calculate the Social Vulnerability Index at multiple geographical levels. Journal of Open Source Software, 2024;9(99), 6525
• D’Souza N, Carroll-Scott A, Headen I, Bilal U, Reis R, Quick H, Abraham M, Martinez-Donate A. Investigating the measurement properties of livability: a scoping review. Cities and Health 2023;7(5):839-853
• Correa-Salazar C, Braverman-Bronstein A, Bilal U, Amon J, Page K, Groves AK, Vera A, Ballesteros L, Fernández L, Hessel P, Martínez-Donate AP. The impact of social violence on HIV risk for women in Colombia: A concurrent mixed methods study. PLOS Global Health 2023;3(2): e0001571.
• Schnake-Mahl AS, Jahn J, Purtle J, Bilal U. Considering multiple governance levels in epidemiologic analysis of public policies. Social Science and Medicine 2022 Oct: 115444
• Langellier B, Stankov I, Hammond RA, Bilal U, Auchincloss AH, Barrientos T, de Oliveira Cardoso L, Diez Roux AV. Potential impacts of policies to reduce purchasing of ultra-processed foods in Mexico at different stages of the social transition: an agent-based modeling approach. Public Health Nutrition. 2021 Dec 13:1-9
• Bilal U, Fernandez E, Beltran P, Navas-Acien A, Bolumar F, Franco M. Validation of a Method to Reconstruct Historical Smoking Prevalence Rates. American Journal of Epidemiology 2014;179 (1): 15-19.
• Gullón P, Bilal U, Franco M. Physical activity environment measurement and same source bias. Gaceta Sanitaria. 2014 Jul-Aug;28(4):344-5