Koyanagi, Ai – ICREA Memoir 2021

Ai Koyanagi

Fundació per la Recerca i la Docència Sant Joan de Déu

Life & Medical Sciences

I am a medical doctor with training in psychiatry, general medicine, gastroenterology, and tropical medicine. I obtained my Master’s degree in Tropical Medicine from the University of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK (2003) and my PhD in International Health (Global Disease Epidemiology and Control) from Johns Hopkins University, USA (2008). My interest in multi-country research stems from my international background that has included living in the USA, Niger, Zimbabwe, Peru, Ecuador, and several countries in Europe, as well as visiting nearly 130 countries worldwide. I have authored or co-authored about 520 peer-reviewed articles indexed in PubMed, and have also been the first author of papers in high impact factor journals such as the Lancet.

Research interests

I am interested in learning about health determinants and how they vary by geography. In particular, mental disorders and their comorbidity with physical disorders are my primary interest given my clinical experience as a physician and psychiatrist. Most of my research has focused on multi-country epidemiological studies examining the modifiable risk factors of a range of mental and physical disorders with high burden at the population level using large nationally representative datasets predominantly from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). More recently, I have been involved in research on the physical and mental health impacts of COVID infection or the COVID pandemic.

Selected publications

– Koyanagi, Ai; Smith, Lee; Shin, Jae Il; Oh, Hans; Kostev, Karel; Jacob, Louis; Abduljabbar, Adel S.; Maria Haro, Josep 2021, ‘Multimorbidity and Subjective Cognitive Complaints: Findings from 48 Low- and Middle-Income Countries of the World Health Survey 2002-2004’, Journal Of Alzheimers Disease, 81, 4, 1737 – 1747.

– Smith, Lee; Shin, Jae Il; McDermott, Daragh; Jacob, Louis; Barnett, Yvonne; Lopez-Sanchez, Guillermo F.; Veronese, Nicola; Yang, Lin; Soysal, Pinar; Oh, Hans; Grabovac, Igor; Koyanagi, Ai 2021, ‘Association between food insecurity and depression among older adults from low- and middle-income countries’, Depression And Anxiety. 38; 439-46.

– Smith, Lee; Shin, Jae Il; Carmichael, Christina; Oh, Hans; Jacob, Louis; Sanchez, Guillermo F. Lopez; Tully, Mark A.; Barnett, Yvonne; Butler, Laurie; McDermott, Daragh T.; Koyanagi, Ai 2021, ‘Prevalence and correlates of multiple suicide attempts among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 61 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas’, Journal Of Psychiatric Research, 144, 45 – 53.

– Jacob L, Smith L, Haro JM, Stickley A, Koyanagi A. 2021, ‘Relationship between sexual orientation and psychotic experiences in the general population in England’. Psychological Medicine, 51, 1, 138 – 146, PII S003329171900309X.

– Felez-Nobrega, Mireia; Maria Haro, Josep; Stubbs, Brendon; Smith, Lee; Koyanagi, Ai 2021, ‘Moving more, ageing happy: findings from six low- and middle-income countries’, Age And Ageing, 50, 2, 488 – 497.

– Felez-Nobrega, Mireia; Bort-Roig, Judit; Ma, Ruimin; Romano, Eugenia; Faires, Matthew; Stubbs, Brendon; Stamatakis, Emmanuel; Olaya, Beatriz; Haro, Josep Maria; Smith, Lee; Shin, Jae Il; Kim, Min Seo; Koyanagi, Ai 2021, ‘Light-intensity physical activity and mental ill health: a systematic review of observational studies in the general population’, International Journal Of Behavioral Nutrition And Physical Activity, 18, 1, 123.

Selected research activities

Supervision of PhD student at University of Barcelona (Aina Gabarrell).