Dr Milagros Ruiz
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Email
m.a.ruiz@essex.ac.uk -
Location
4N.6.5, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
By appointment
Profile
Biography
I am a Lecturer (Research and Teaching) in Global Public Health at the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Essex. I am also Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Epidemiology at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London (UCL). I am currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. I have held research posts at UCL and Imperial College London (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics). I entered global public health as an analyst at the Fogarty International Center (Division of International Science Policy, Planning and Evaluation). As a social and life course epidemiologist (PhD, MSc), I am interested in how socioeconomic position and social relationships, respectively, influence health across the life span. While my pre-doctoral research initially focused on early childhood health, my subsequent research has concentrated on health from mid to later life. My research aims to understand the socio-biological processes of healthy ageing, with a particular interest in mental wellbeing, cognitive health and coronary heart disease. Much of my work is comparative in nature either between countries or between cohorts in a single population. I primarily use data from international cohort studies (such as those in England, Central and Eastern Europe and China), and utilise life course research methodologies, retrospective data harmonization and comparative analytical techniques. Having been an active member of several cross-national research initiatives, I am committed to leading and designing national and cross-national research on social epidemiology. I currently co-supervise two PhD students and so far co-supervised one to successful award. I contribute to two core modules for the MSc Global Public Health programme (FHEA). I am the module convener for Global Health Epidemiology and teach on Social Determinants of Health. I also act as dissertation supervisor and personal tutor. I became involved in teaching epidemiology, biostatistics, and the social determinants of health for the MSc programmes in Population Health and Social Epidemiology at University College London. For these programmes, I supervised multiple Masters dissertations and tutored many students. I also led the MSc module on Ethnicity, Migration and Health at University College London for four years.
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Health Inequalities and Intersectionality 101 (HS856)
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Social Determinants of Health (HS869)
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Global Health Epidemiology (HS885)
Publications
Journal articles (35)
GBD 2021 Nervous System Disorders Collaborators and Ruiz, M., (2024). Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Neurology. 23 (4), 344-381
Page, AE., Ruiz, M., Dyble, M., Major-Smith, D., Migliano, AB. and Myers, S., (2023). Wealth, health and inequality in Agta foragers.. Evol Med Public Health. 11 (1), 149-162
Carballo-Casla, A., Stefler, D., Ortolá, R., Chen, Y., Knuppel, A., Ruiz, M., Kozela, M., Kubinova, R., Pajak, A., Rodríguez-Artalejo, F., Brunner, EJ. and Bobak, M., (2023). The Southern European Atlantic diet and depression risk: a European multicohort study. Molecular Psychiatry. 28 (8), 3475-3483
Ruiz, M., Hu, Y., Martikainen, P. and Bobak, M., (2023). Life course socioeconomic position and cognitive ageing trajectories: A cross-national cohort study in China and England. Innovation in Aging. 7 (6), igad064-
Constante, HM., Bastos, JL. and Ruiz, MA., (2023). The more you need, the less you get: Intersectionality and the inverse care law in the Brazilian depression care cascade.. Ethn Health. 28 (4), 488-502
Stefler, D., Brett, D., Sarkadi-Nagy, E., Kopczynska, E., Detchev, S., Bati, A., Scrob, M., Koenker, D., Aleksov, B., Douarin, E., Simonova, G., Malyutina, S., Kubinova, R., Pajak, A., Ruiz, M., Peasey, A., Pikhart, H. and Bobak, M., (2021). Traditional Eastern European diet and mortality: prospective evidence from the HAPIEE study. European Journal of Nutrition. 60 (2), 1091-1100
Timmermans, E., Motoc, I., Noordzij, JM., Beenackers, MA., Wissa, R., Sarr, A., Gurer, A., Fabre, G., Ruiz, M., Doiron, D., Oude Groeniger, J., Deeg, D., Van Lenthe, FJ. and Huisman, M., (2021). Social and physical neighbourhood characteristics and loneliness among older adults: results from the MINDMAP project. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 75 (5), 464-469
Wey, TW., Doiron, D., Wissa, R., Fabre, G., Motoc, I., Noordzij, JM., Ruiz, M., Timmermans, E., van Lenthe, FJ., Bobak, M., Chaix, B., Krokstad, S., Raina, P., Sund, ER., Beenackers, MA. and Fortier, I., (2021). Overview of retrospective data harmonisation in the MINDMAP project: process and results. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 75 (5), 433-441
Hu, Y., Ruiz, M., Bobak, M. and Martikainen, P., (2021). Four-year trajectories of episodic memory decline in mid-late life by living arrangements: a cross-national comparison between China and England.. J Epidemiol Community Health. 75 (9), 881-889
Ruiz, MA., Beenackers, MA., Doiron, D., Gurer, A., Sarr, A., Sohel, N., Timmermans, EJ., Wissa, R., Chaix, B., Huisman, M., Krokstad, S., Kubinova, R., Malyutina, S., Raina, P., Tamosiunas, A., van Lenthe, FJ. and Bobak, M., (2021). Gender, marital and educational inequalities in mid- to late-life depressive symptoms: cross-cohort variation and moderation by urbanicity degree.. J Epidemiol Community Health. 75 (5), 442-449
Noordzij, JM., Beenackers, MA., Oude Groeniger, J., Timmermans, E., Chaix, B., Doiron, D., Huisman, M., Motoc, I., Ruiz, M., Wissa, R., Avendano, M. and van Lenthe, FJ., (2021). Green spaces, subjective health and depressed affect in middle-aged and older adults: a cross-country comparison of four European cohorts. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 75 (5), 470-476
Nie, Y., Richards, M., Kubinova, R., Titarenko, A., Malyutina, S., Kozela, M., Pajak, A., Bobak, M. and Ruiz, M., (2021). Social networks and cognitive function in older adults: findings from the HAPIEE study. BMC Geriatrics. 21 (1), 570-
Ruiz, M., (2021). Going beyond lifestyle factors. eLife. 10, e70548-
Hu, Y., Ruiz, M., Bobak, M. and Martikainen, P., (2020). Do multigenerational living arrangements influence depressive symptoms in mid-late life? Cross-national findings from China and England. Journal of Affective Disorders. 277, 584-591
Cermakova, P., Pikhart, H., Ruiz, M., Kubinova, R. and Bobak, M., (2020). Socioeconomic position in childhood and depressive symptoms in later adulthood in the Czech Republic. Journal of Affective Disorders. 272, 17-23
Luna, E., Ruiz, M., Malyutina, S., Titarenko, A., Kozela, M., Pająk, A., Kubinova, R. and Bobak, M., (2020). The prospective association between frequency of contact with friends and relatives and quality of life in older adults from Central and Eastern Europe. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 55 (8), 1001-1010
Ruiz, M., (2020). Neighbourhood deprivation and perinatal health in the Netherlands. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 74 (3), 209-210
Passi-Solar, Á., Margozzini, P., Mindell, JS., Ruiz, M., Valencia-Hernandez, CA. and Scholes, S., (2020). Hypertension care cascade in Chile: a serial cross-sectional study of national health surveys 2003-2010-2017. BMC Public Health. 20 (1), 1397-
Ruiz, M., Malyutina, S., Pajak, A., Kozela, M., Kubinova, R. and Bobak, M., (2019). Congruent relations between perceived neighbourhood social cohesion and depressive symptoms among older European adults: An East-West analysis. Social Science & Medicine. 237, 112454-112454
Ruiz, M., Hu, Y., Martikainen, P. and Bobak, M., (2019). Life course socioeconomic position and incidence of mid–late life depression in China and England: a comparative analysis of CHARLS and ELSA. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 73 (9), 817-824
Ruiz, M. and Chaix, B., (2019). Emerging opportunities for life course research on neighbourhoods and mental health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 73 (8), 689-690
Ruiz, MA., (2019). Trust and mortality in the contemporary United States. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 73 (4), 285-286
Bertossi Urzua, C., Ruiz, MA., Pajak, A., Kozela, M., Kubinova, R., Malyutina, S., Peasey, A., Pikhart, H., Marmot, M. and Bobak, M., (2019). The prospective relationship between social cohesion and depressive symptoms among older adults from Central and Eastern Europe. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 73 (2), 117-122
Passi, A., Margozzini, P., Mindell, J., Ruiz, M. and Scholes, S., (2019). P1948Socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence and management of hypertension: analyses of the Chilean National Health Surveys 2003, 2010 and 2017. European Heart Journal. 40 (Supplement_1)
Ruiz, M., Scholes, S. and Bobak, M., (2018). Perceived neighbourhood social cohesion and depressive symptom trajectories in older adults: a 12-year prospective cohort study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 53 (10), 1081-1090
Lewis, KM., Ruiz, M., Goldblatt, P., Morrison, J., Porta, D., Forastiere, F., Hryhorczuk, D., Zvinchuk, O., Saurel-Cubizolles, M-J., Lioret, S., Annesi-Maesano, I., Vrijheid, M., Torrent, M., Iniguez, C., Larranaga, I., Harskamp-van Ginkel, MW., Vrijkotte, TGM., Klanova, J., Svancara, J., Barross, H., Correia, S., Jarvelin, M-R., Taanila, A., Ludvigsson, J., Faresjo, T., Marmot, M. and Pikhart, H., (2017). Mother’s education and offspring asthma risk in 10 European cohort studies. European Journal of Epidemiology. 32 (9), 797-805
Ruiz, M., Goldblatt, P., Morrison, J., Porta, D., Forastiere, F., Hryhorczuk, D., Antipkin, Y., Saurel‐Cubizolles, M., Lioret, S., Vrijheid, M., Torrent, M., Iñiguez, C., Larrañaga, I., Bakoula, C., Veltsista, A., van Eijsden, M., Vrijkotte, TGM., Andrýsková, L., Dušek, L., Barros, H., Correia, S., Järvelin, M., Taanila, A., Ludvigsson, J., Faresjö, T., Marmot, M. and Pikhart, H., (2016). Impact of Low Maternal Education on Early Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Europe. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. 30 (3), 274-284
Ruiz, M., Goldblatt, P., Morrison, J., Kukla, L., Švancara, J., Riitta-Järvelin, M., Taanila, A., Saurel-Cubizolles, M-J., Lioret, S., Bakoula, C., Veltsista, A., Porta, D., Forastiere, F., van Eijsden, M., Vrijkotte, TGM., Eggesbø, M., White, RA., Barros, H., Correia, S., Vrijheid, M., Torrent, M., Rebagliato, M., Larrañaga, I., Ludvigsson, J., Olsen Faresjö, Å., Hryhorczuk, D., Antipkin, Y., Marmot, M. and Pikhart, H., (2015). Mother's education and the risk of preterm and small for gestational age birth: a DRIVERS meta-analysis of 12 European cohorts. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 69 (9), 826-833
Tombor, I., Neale, J., Shahab, L., Ruiz, M. and West, R., (2015). Healthcare Providers’ Views on Digital Smoking Cessation Interventions for Pregnant Women. Journal of Smoking Cessation. 10 (2), 116-123
Ruiz, M., Marmot, MG., Goldblatt, P., Morrison, J. and Pikhart, H., (2015). European Comparative Cohort Study of Social Inequalities in Child Health and Development: Findings from the DRIVERS Birth Cohorts.. International Journal of Epidemiology. 44 (suppl_1), i229-i230
Pikhart, H., Morrison, J., Ruiz, M. and Goldblatt, P., (2015). Childhood Social Disadvantage and Health and Development Later in Life: the DRIVERS Project.. International Journal of Epidemiology. 44 (suppl_1), i286-i287
Morrison, J., Pikhart, H., Ruiz, M. and Goldblatt, P., (2014). Systematic review of parenting interventions in European countries aiming to reduce social inequalities in children’s health and development. BMC Public Health. 14 (1), 1040-
Morrison, J., Pons-Vigués, M., Bécares, L., Burström, B., Gandarillas, A., Domínguez-Berjón, F., Diez, È., Costa, G., Ruiz, M., Pikhart, H., Marinacci, C., Hoffmann, R., Santana, P. and Borrell, C., (2014). Health inequalities in European cities: perceptions and beliefs among local policymakers. BMJ Open. 4 (5), e004454-e004454
Ruiz, MR., Hardy, RH., Blane, DB. and McMunn, AM., (2014). PP08 Education attainment and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality risk in later life: a comparison of synthetic cohorts in England. Oral Presentations. 68, A50.1-A50
Morrison, J., Pikhart, H., Ruiz, M. and Goldblatt, P., (2014). Systematic review of early childhood interventions in European countries (1990-2013) that aimed to address health and development. European Journal of Public Health. 24 (suppl_2)
Conferences (1)
Passi, A., Margozzini, P., Mindell, J., Ruiz, M. and Scholes, S., (2019). Socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence and management of hypertension: analyses of the Chilean National Health Surveys 2003, 2010 and 2017