Olga L Sarmiento

Los Andes University (Colombia) | UNIANDES · Faculty of Medicine

Background: Childhood obesity is a rising global health problem. The rapid urbanization experienced in Latin America might impact childhood obesity through different pathways involving urban built and social features of cities. We aimed to evaluate the association between built and social environment features of cities and childhood obesity across...

Commuters in Bogotá (Colombia) are exposed to high concentrations of air pollutants, in part, due to their proximity to mobile sources. This paper analyzes current inequalities in the potential daily inhaled dose of particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), and carbon monoxide (CO) that commuters experience in transport microenvironments accor...

Background Interventions to promote physical activity among women breast cancer survivors (BCS) in low- to middle-income countries are limited. We assessed the acceptability and preliminary efectiveness of a theory-driven, group-based dance intervention for BCS delivered in Bogotá, Colombia. Methods We conducted a quasi-experimental study employing...

We know little about how smoking prevention interventions might leverage social network structures to enhance protective social norms. In this study we combined statistical and network science methods to explore how social networks influence social norms related to adolescent smoking in school-specific settings in Northern Ireland and Colombia. Pup...

A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords: Breast cancer survivors Community-based program Physical activity promotion Social network analysis Social support Ego-network analysis A B S T R A C T Physical activity (PA), social networks, and social support have been associated with decreased mortality and improved quality of life among breast cancer survivors (...

Latin America is the world’s most urbanized region and its heterogeneous urban development may impact chronic diseases. Here, we evaluated the association of built environment characteristics at the sub-city —intersection density, greenness, and population density— and city-level —fragmentation and isolation— with body mass index (BMI), obesity, an...

Background Santa Ana is home to an Afro-descendant rural population of the island of Barú in Cartagena, Colombia. While a popular area for tourism, Santa Ana’s population is affected by multidimensional poverty, precarious work conditions, homelessness, broken streets and sewer systems, limited quality education, and a lack of recreation and sport...

The SALURBAL (Urban Health in Latin America) Project is an interdisciplinary multinational network aimed at generating and disseminating actionable evidence on the drivers of health in cities of Latin America. We conducted a temporal multilayer network analysis where we measured cohesion over time using the structural properties of the network and...

Given its origins in high-income countries, the field of physical activity and public health research and promotion has broadly followed a choice-based model. However, a substantial amount of the physical activity occurring routinely in many settings, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), is the result of economic necessity and...

There is growing evidence that longer travel time by private car poses physical and mental risks. Individual-level obesity and diabetes, two of the main public health challenges in low- and middle-income contexts, could be associated to city-level travel times by car. We used individual obesity and diabetes data from national health surveys from in...

Commuters in urban settlements are frequently exposed to high concentrations of air pollutants due to their proximity to mobile sources, making exposure to traffic-related air pollutants an important public health issue. Recent trends in urban transport towards zero- and low-tailpipe emission alternatives will likely result in decreased exposure to...

Background Mild cognitive impairment often precedes dementia. The purpose of this analysis was to estimate the population attributable fraction for physical activity in Colombia, which is the reduction in cases that would occur if all participants were physically active. Methods The sample included 20,174 men and women aged 70.04 ± 7.68 years (mea...

We investigated the association of urban landscape profiles with health and environmental outcomes, and whether those profiles are linked to environmental and health co-benefits. In this ecological study, we used data from 208 cities in 8 Latin American countries of the SALud URBana en América Latina (SALURBAL) project. Four urban landscape profile...

While income gradients and gender inequalities in excess weight have been noted elsewhere, data from Latin American cities is lacking. We analyzed gender-specific associations between city-level women’s empowerment and income inequality with individual-level overweight/obesity, assessing how these associations vary by individual education or living...

RESUMEN La Ciclovía es un programa multisectorial en el que se cierran las calles a los automóviles para que las personas tengan un espacio seguro e inclusivo para la recreación y la actividad física en Bogotá, Colombia. Este estudio tuvo como objetivos a) determinar en qué medida el método de ciencia ciudadana con participación comunitaria, Nuestr...

Background and objective More research is required to understand associations of body mass index (BMI) and sarcopenia with cognition, especially in Latin America. The objective of this study was to investigate associations of BMI and sarcopenia with mild cognitive impairment in Colombia. Design, setting, and participants Data were from the Nationa...

Little is known about the personality and cognitive traits that shape adolescents’ sensitivity to social norms. Further, few studies have harnessed novel empirical tools to elicit sensitivity to social norms among adolescent populations. This paper examines the association between sensitivity to norms and various personality and cognitive traits us...

Abstract: Background and Objectives: Particulate Matter (PM), particles of variable but small diameter can penetrate the respiratory system via inhalation, causing respiratory and/or cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to evaluate the association of environmental particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) with respiratory health in users...

Background: Understanding how urban environments influence people's health, especially as individuals age, can help identify ways to improve health in the rapidly urbanizing and rapidly aging populations. Objectives: To investigate the association between age and self-reported health (SRH) in adults living in Latin-American cities and whether ge...

An essential characteristic of a healthy and sustainable city is a physically active population. Effective policies for healthy and sustainable cities require evidence-informed quantitative targets. We aimed to identify the minimum thresholds for urban design and transport features associated with two physical activity criteria: at least 80% probab...

Introducción. La actividad física durante el embarazo puede ser útil para la prevención de complicaciones gestacionales. Objetivo. Estimar la prevalencia de actividad física en mujeres gestantes adultas en Colombia y evaluar los factores asociados con su práctica. Materiales y métodos. Se hizo un análisis secundario de la información recolectada en...

Benefits of physical activity (PA) in breast cancer survivors (BCS) are well established. However, programs to promote PA among BCS tailored to real-world contexts within low- to middle-income countries are limited. Cross-sector co-creation can be key to effective and scalable programs for BCS in these countries. This study aimed to evaluate the ne...

Las transformaciones urbanas tienen el potencial de impactar la salud de las personas; particularmente el transporte, como determinante social de la salud, es fundamental para la mejora de la equidad y la salud en las ciudades. El TransMiCable de Ciudad Bolívar en Bogotá fue acompañado por una transformación urbana integral aumentando el acceso a s...

Background Community-based physical activity (PA) programs are appealing to women in Latin America and show potential for improving women’s health. This study aimed to engage healthy middle-aged women, breast cancer survivors and local stakeholders participating in two publicly funded community-based PA programs in Bogotá, Colombia ( Recreovía and...

Massive molecular testing for COVID-19 has been pointed out as fundamental to moderate the spread of the pandemic. Pooling methods can enhance testing efficiency, but they are viable only at low incidences of the disease. We propose Smart Pooling, a machine learning method that uses clinical and sociodemographic data from patients to increase the e...

The Particulate Matter (PM), particles of variable but small diameter could penetrate the respiratory system via inhalation, causing respiratory and/or cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to evaluate the association of environmental particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) with respiratory health and physical activity in users travelin...

Objectives: Excessive recreational screen time (RST) is associated with detrimental effects for physical, psychological and cognitive development. This article aims to describe the prevalence of excessive RST among Colombian preschoolers, children and adolescents and explore its factors associated. Methods: We analyzed data from the National Survey...

Background Road-traffic injuries are a key cause of death and disability in low-income and middle-income countries, but the effect of city characteristics on road-traffic mortality is unknown in these countries. The aim of this study was to determine associations between city-level built environment factors and road-traffic mortality in large Latin...

Despite unprecedented progress in developing COVID-19 vaccines, global vaccination levels needed to reach herd immunity remain a distant target, while new variants keep emerging. Obtaining near universal vaccine uptake relies on understanding and addressing vaccine resistance. Simple questions about vaccine acceptance however ignore that the vaccin...

Cable cars are a viable alternative to improve citizens’ accessibility in zones with limitations on urban public transport supply due to the topography. In Latin America, such systems have recently been implemented in zones with high levels of poverty and vulnerability. Although the social implications of their implementation are relevant, individu...

Background: Interventions to promote physical activity among women breast cancer survivors (BCS) in low to middle-income countries are limited. We assessed the acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a theory-driven group dance intervention for BCS delivered in Bogotá, Colombia. Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental study employing a mi...

Background Despite a steady decline in adolescent smoking globally, it remains a prevalent risk factor for non-communicable disease. Previous research points to differences in socio-environmental and psychosocial risk factors for smoking and how they vary across different settings with disparate social and cultural characteristics. As a result, smo...

Introducción. Bogotá cuenta con una red de monitoreo de la calidad del aire que registra las condiciones atmosféricas de la ciudad. No obstante, no hay datos disponibles sobre la exposición a contaminantes desde la perspectiva de los microambientes de transporte. Objetivo. Analizar la relación entre la exposición a contaminantes del aire en diferen...

The built environment of cities is complex and influences social and environmental determinants of health. In this study we, 1) identified city profiles based on the built landscape and street design characteristics of cities in Latin America and 2) evaluated the associations of city profiles with social determinants of health and air pollution. La...

The characteristics of urban green space have context-dependent associations with socioeconomic status (SES). Latin American cities provide a unique but understudied context to assess the green space-SES associations. We measured the quantity and quality of green space as greenness from satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and...

Resumen Prevenir la obesidad entre los jóvenes latinos que viven en Estados Unidos y en países latinoamericanos requiere reconocer la especificidad de los contextos y las interacciones entre actividad física (AF) y entorno construido (EC). El objetivo de este artículo es avanzar en la agenda de investigación sobre el EC y la AF con el fin de preven...

Resumen Aunque se han hecho avances en el desarrollo y aplicación a gran escala de intervenciones eficaces contra la obesidad infantil, los retos siguen siendo importantes. Nuestro objetivo era comprender las causas del éxito de Estados Unidos y los países latinoamericanos en la implementación de políticas y programas (PYP) contra la obesidad e ide...

Background: Little is known about the effect of changes in mobility at the subcity level on subsequent COVID-19 incidence, which is particularly relevant in Latin America, where substantial barriers prevent COVID-19 vaccine access and non-pharmaceutical interventions are essential to mitigation efforts. We aimed to examine the longitudinal associa...

Background: In Colombia, active transportation has been assessed in multiple local and regional studies, but national data on active transportation are scarce. This study aims to describe the prevalence and factors associated with active transportation to/from school among Colombian children and adolescents. Methods: The authors analyzed nationa...

Massive molecular testing for COVID-19 has been pointed out as fundamental to moderate the spread of the pandemic. Pooling methods can enhance testing efficiency, but they are viable only at low incidences of the disease. We propose Smart Pooling, a machine learning method that uses clinical and sociodemographic data from patients to increase the e...

Cross-impact balance (CIB) analysis leverages expert knowledge pertaining to the nature and strength of relationships between components of a system to identify the most plausible future ‘scenarios’ of the system. These scenarios, also referred to as ‘storylines’, provide qualitative insights into how the state of one factor can either promote or r...

This analysis presents data collected through an online survey about the quality of life, health, subjective wellbeing, and government perception in four cities in Colombia during the COVID-19 crisis. Four universities and a local newspaper promoted the survey to assess how the pandemic affected the population's quality of life in a broad range of...

There is limited evidence on the gender differences and location-specific built-environment factors associated with bicycling in Latin American cities. This study aimed to assess commuting in Bogotá by (1) analyzing the gender-specific trend of the standardized number of bicycle commuters during 2005–2017; and (2) assessing the socio-demographic, c...

Smoking prevention among adolescents is a public health challenge that is even more significant in low- and middle-income countries where local evidence is limited and smoking rates remain high. Evidence-based interventions could be transferred to low- and middle-income country settings but only after appropriate cultural adaptation. This paper aim...

Background: Little is known about the impact of changes in mobility at the sub-city level on subsequent COVID-19 incidence or the contribution of mobility to socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19 incidence. Methods: We compiled aggregated mobile phone location data, COVID-19 confirmed cases, and features of the urban and social environments to anal...

To prevent obesity among Latino youth in the United States and Latin America, it is necessary to understand the specific context and interplay of physical activity (PA) and the built environment (BE). This paper aims to advance the research agenda of BE and PA for obesity prevention in Latin America and among Latino youth in the United States by (1...

Background Urban design features are often studied in relation to health and behavioural outcomes. They can also have major implications for environmental outcomes. However, the impact of these features on both health and environmental outcomes (co-benefits) is rarely examined. We investigated how urban landscape and street design profiles are rela...

Background: Global estimates have shown that a small proportion of children and adolescents are physically active. However, the evidence on physical activity (PA) among Colombian children and adolescents is limited. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence and correlates of meeting PA guidelines among Colombian children and adole...

Ciclovía Recreativa is a program in which streets are closed off to automobiles so that people have a safe and inclusive space for recreation and for being physically active. The study aims were: (1) to compare participant’s spatial trajectories in four Ciclovía Recreativa programs in Latin America (Bogotá, Mexico City, Santiago de Cali, and Santia...

The physical and social environment of school settings are important for health promotion among children and adolescents. Efforts to create supportive environments at the school level can benefit from including community engagement and empowerment processes to advocate for health promotion. The Our Voice model presents a unique opportunity for Lati...

BACKGROUND Air pollution in most countries exceeds the levels recommended by the World Health Organization, causing up to one-third of deaths due to non-communicable diseases. Particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) from mobile sources are the main contaminants. OBJECTIVE This research will aim to assess the relationship of exposure to air p...

Background: Urban design features are often studied in relation to health and behavioral outcomes. They can also have major implications for environmental outcomes. Yet the impact of these features on both health and environmental outcomes (co-benefits) are rarely examined. We investigated how urban landscape and street design profiles are related...

The objective of this study was to investigate associations between education in early life and cognitive impairment in later life in Colombia. Participants were community-dwelling adults aged 60 years or older from the National Study of Health, Wellbeing and Ageing. Trained interviewers administered a shorter version of the mini-mental state exami...

Introducción: La promoción de hábitos saludables y la reducción de la inseguridad alimentaria y nutricional (INSAN) son metas de políticas públicas nacionales en Colombia. Sin embargo, estudios que evalúen los niveles de actividad física e indicadores de adiposidad en hogares con INSAN son limitados. Objetivo: Evaluar el cumplimiento de las recomen...

Many adolescent smoking prevention programmes target social norms, typically evaluated with self-report, susceptible to social desirability bias. An alternative approach with little application in public health are experimental norms elicitation methods. Using the Mechanisms of Networks and Norms Influence on Smoking in Schools (MECHANISMS) study b...

Road safety research in low- and middle-income countries is limited, even though ninety percent of global road traffic fatalities are concentrated in these locations. In Colombia, road traffic injuries are the second leading source of mortality by external causes and constitute a significant public health concern in the city of Bogotá. Bogotá is am...

This paper assesses the potential cohesion effect of a physical activity (PA) school-based intervention potentiated using text messages (SMS) through analyzing longitudinally the friendship network structure and the mechanisms of the formation and dissolution of friendships. Three schools (n = 125 participants) in Bogotá, Colombia, were randomly as...

Community-based physical activity programs, such as the Recreovía, are effective in promoting healthy behaviors in Latin America. To understand Recreovías’ challenges and scalability, we characterized its social network longitudinally while studying its participants’ social cohesion and interactions. First, we constructed the Main network of the pr...

This proof of concept study harnesses novel transdisciplinary insights to contrast two school-based smoking prevention interventions among adolescents in the UK and Colombia. We compare schools in these locations because smoking rates and norms are different, in order to better understand social norms based mechanisms of action related to smoking....

This blog piece is about the novel physical activity intervention in Colombia, La Ruta del Movimiento. Published online: https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2020/08/03/community-physical-activity-interventions-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-where-theres-a-will-theres-a-way/

The Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) is an indicator that quantifies the stress experienced by a cyclist on the segments of a road network. We propose an LTS-based classification with two components: a clustering component and an interpretative component. Our methodology is comprised of four steps: (i) compilation of a set of variables for road segmen...

Background COVID-19 is an acute respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The disease has rapidly spread to most countries and territories and has caused 14·2 million confirmed infections and 602,037 deaths as of July 19 th 2020. Massive molecular testing for COVID-19 has been pointed as fundamental to moderate the spread of t...

The study's main aim was to examine whether adults' accelerometer-based physical activity and sedentary time mediated the associations of neighbourhood physical environmental perceptions with body mass index (BMI) and weight status across 10 high- and middle-income countries. Data from the IPEN Adult study, an observational multi-country study (n =...