Jacqueline Torres, PhD, MA, MPH

Associate Professor
Epidemiology & Biostatistics
+1 415 371-3261

Dr. Torres is a social epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. Torres’ current research focuses on the role of policies, families, and community social networks in shaping population health and health inequities, particularly in mid and late-life. Her ongoing research is examining the role of family social connections, caregiving, and household composition changes in shaping late-life health, including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. She approaches her research from a life-course perspective and a social determinants of health framework. Much of her ongoing research employs modern epidemiologic methods that are better equipped than conventional methods at estimating the impact of time-varying exposures in the presence of time-varying confounding. Dr. Torres is also supporting trainees at all levels who are leading research broadly on the social determinants of inequity in health and aging and specifically related to policy impacts on the health of immigrants and their family and community members across the life-course.

Publications: 

Risk of adverse perinatal outcomes among African-born Black women in California, 2011-2020.

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)

McKenzie-Sampson S, Baer RJ, Chambers Butcher BD, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL, Karasek D, Oltman SP, Riddell CA, Rogers EE, Torres JM, Blebu B

First-generation college graduates have similar depressive symptoms in midlife as multi-generational college graduates.

SSM - population health

Meza E, Hebert J, Garcia ME, Torres JM, Glymour MM, Vable AM

Differences in Smoking Behavior by Nativity, Race/Ethnicity, and Education Among Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology

Uong SP, Torres JM, Alexeeff SE, Morey BN, Caan BJ, Kushi LH, Kroenke CH

Structural racism, nativity and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes among Black women.

Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology

McKenzie-Sampson S, Baer RJ, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL, Karasek D, Riddell CA, Torres JM, Blebu BE

The Effects of Mid-life Acute and Chronic Stressors on Black-White Differences in Cognitive Decline.

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences

Mitchell UA, Shaw BA, Torres JM, Brown LL, Barnes LL

Spouses of individuals living with mild cognitive impairment or dementia in the United States: A descriptive, population-based study.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association

Torres JM, Flores Romero KR, Kotwal AA, Chen R, Hill-Jarrett T, Mitchell UA, Glymour MM

Definitions of successful aging among middle-aged Latinas residing in a rural agricultural community.

PloS one

Ambriz E, De Pierola C, Calderon NM, Calderon L, Kogut K, Deardorff J, Torres JM

Using an Online Panel to Crosswalk Alternative Measures of Alcohol Use As Fielded in Two National Samples.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

Pederson AM, Zimmerman SC, Torres JM, Schmidt LA, Kim YJ, Glymour MM

Perceptions of the Role of Living Alone in Providing Services to Patients With Cognitive Impairment.

JAMA network open

Portacolone E, Nguyen TT, Bowers BJ, Johnson JK, Kotwal AA, Stone RI, Keiser S, Tran T, Rivera E, Martinez P, Yang Y, Torres JM, Covinsky KE

Perceived Neighborhood Characteristics and Later-Life Pain Outcomes: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

Journal of aging and health

Yang Y, Sims KD, Lane NE, Duchowny KA, Torres JM

My parent, myself, or my child: whose education matters most for trajectories of cognitive aging in middle age?

American journal of epidemiology

Gutierrez S, Meza E, Glymour MM, Torres JM

Adult child socio-economic status and older parents' psychosocial outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research square

Romero KRF, Yang Y, Green SH, Gutierrez S, Meza E, Torres JM

Mammography prevalence in Mexico from 2001-2018: Results from the Mexican Health and Aging study.

Preventive Medicine Reports

McClellan SP, Unger-Salda?a K, Neuhaus JM, Potter MB, Garc?a-Pe?a C, Torres JM

Worker Perspectives on COVID-19 Risks: A Qualitative Study of Latino Construction Workers in Oakland, California.

International journal of environmental research and public health

Meza E, Giglio L, Franco AO, Rodriguez E, Stock L, Balmes J, Torres JM, Fernandez A

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and birth outcomes in California: a quasi-experimental study.

BMC public health

Torres JM, Alcala E, Shaver A, Collin DF, Franck LS, Gomez AM, Karasek D, Nidey N, Hotard M, Hamad R, Pacheco-Werner T

Social network change after new-onset pain among middle-aged and older European adults.

Social science & medicine (1982)

Yang Y, Huang R, Grol-Prokopczyk H, Torres JM

The Living Alone with Cognitive Impairment Project's Policy Advisory Group on Long-Term Services and Supports: Setting a Research Equity Agenda.

International journal of environmental research and public health

Portacolone E, Torres JM, Johnson JK, Benton D, Rapp T, Tran T, Martinez P, Graham C

Future Directions for the HRS Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol.

Forum for health economics & policy

Torres JM, Glymour MM

Estimating the impact of sustained social participation on depressive symptoms in older adults.

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)

Shiba K, Torres JM, Daoud A, Inoue K, Kanamori S, Tsuji T, Kamada M, Kondo K, Kawachi I

Triangulating Evidence to Infer Pathways that Influence Ebola Virus Disease-Related Stigma and Clinical Findings among Survivors: An Observational Cohort Study.

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

Kelly JD, Badio M, Drew C, Wilson B, Cooper JB, Glayweon M, Johnson K, Moses SJ, Dennis D, Torres JM, Oldenburg C, Davidson M, Huang CY, Steward WT, Sneller MC, Rutherford GW, Reilly C, Fallah MP, Weiser SD

Estimating the effects of Mexico to U.S. migration on elevated depressive symptoms: evidence from pooled cross-national cohorts.

Annals of epidemiology

Murchland AR, Hazzouri AZA, Zhang L, Elfassy T, Grasset L, Riley A, Wong R, Haan M, Jones RN, Torres JM, Glymour MM

Individual- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status and risk of aggressive breast cancer subtypes in a pooled cohort of women from Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Cancer

Aoki RF, Uong SP, Gomez SL, Alexeeff SE, Caan BJ, Kushi LH, Torres JM, Guan A, Canchola AJ, Morey BN, Lin K, Kroenke CH

Maternal nativity and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes among Black women residing in California, 2011-2017.

Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association

McKenzie-Sampson S, Baer RJ, Blebu BE, Karasek D, Oltman SP, Pantell MS, Rand L, Rogers EE, Torres JM, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL, Scott KA, Chambers BD

Excess mortality among Latino people in California during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SSM - population health

Riley AR, Chen YH, Matthay EC, Glymour MM, Torres JM, Fernandez A, Bibbins-Domingo K

Hyper-localized measures of air pollution and risk of preterm birth in Oakland and San Jose, California.

International journal of epidemiology

Riddell CA, Goin DE, Morello-Frosch R, Apte JS, Glymour MM, Torres JM, Casey JA

Anti-immigrant Rhetoric and the Experiences of Latino Immigrants in the Emergency Department.

The western journal of emergency medicine

Ornelas C, Torres JM, Torres JR, Alter H, Taira BR, Rodriguez RM

Adult child socio-economic status disadvantage and cognitive decline among older parents in Mexico.

Social science & medicine (1982)

Torres JM, Yahirun JJ, Sheehan C, Ma M, Sáenz J

Excess death among Latino people in California during the COVID-19 pandemic.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

Riley AR, Chen YH, Matthay EC, Glymour MM, Torres JM, Fernandez A, Bibbins-Domingo K

Association of US state policy orientation with adverse birth outcomes: a longitudinal analysis.

Journal of epidemiology and community health

Riley AR, Collin D, Grumbach JM, Torres JM, Hamad R

Quantifying lifecourse drivers of international migration: A cross-national analysis of Mexico and the US.

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)

Zeki Al Hazzouri A, Zhang L, Murchland AR, Grasset L, Torres JM, Jones RN, Wong R, Glymour MM

Associations between spousal caregiving and health among older adults in Mexico: A targeted estimation approach.

International journal of geriatric psychiatry

Torres JM, Mitchell UA, Sofrygin O, Rudolph KE, López-Ortega M, Sharif MZ, Wong R, Glymour MM

Association Between Health Care Utilization and Immigration Enforcement Events in San Francisco.

JAMA network open

Yasenov VI, Hainmueller J, Hotard M, Lawrence D, Gottlieb LM, Torres JM

Socioeconomic status and colorectal cancer screening behaviors in a vulnerable multiethnic population.

Ethnicity & health

Santiago-Rodríguez EJ, Rivadeneira NA, Torres JM, Sarkar U, Hiatt RA

Elevated Depressive Symptoms and the Risk of Stroke among the Mexican Older Population.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Meza E, Eng CW, Sáenz JL, Gilsanz P, Glymour MM, Torres JM

Adult Child US Migration Status and Cognitive Decline Among Older Parents Who Remain in Mexico.

American journal of epidemiology

Torres JM, Sofrygin O, Rudolph KE, Haan MN, Wong R, Glymour MM

When Is Hope Enough? Hopefulness, Discrimination and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Allostatic Load.

Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.)

Mitchell UA, Dellor ED, Sharif MZ, Brown LL, Torres JM, Nguyen AW

Difficulty and help with activities of daily living among older adults living alone with cognitive impairment.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association

Edwards RD, Brenowitz WD, Portacolone E, Covinsky KE, Bindman A, Glymour MM, Torres JM

Nativity, Neighborhoods, and Body Composition in the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging.

The Gerontologist

Durazo EM, Haan MN, Dang K, Aiello AE, Torres JM

Associations Between Social Factor Documentation and Hospital Length of Stay and Readmission Among Children.

Hospital pediatrics

Pantell MS, Kaiser SV, Torres JM, Gottlieb LM, Adler NE

Deportation Worry, Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Trajectories, and Incident Hypertension: A Community-Based Cohort Study.

Journal of the American Heart Association

Torres JM, Deardorff J, Holland N, Harley KG, Kogut K, Long K, Eskenazi B

Using change in a seat belt law to study racially-biased policing in South Carolina.

Preventive medicine

Riddell CA, Kaufman JS, Torres JM, Harper S

Do Deviations from Historical Precipitation Trends Influence Child Nutrition? An Analysis from Uganda.

American journal of epidemiology

Epstein A, Torres JM, Glymour MM, López-Carr D, Weiser SD

Associations between unstable housing, obstetric outcomes, and perinatal health care utilization.

American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM

Pantell MS, Baer RJ, Torres JM, Felder JN, Gomez AM, Chambers BD, Dunn J, Parikh NI, Pacheco-Werner T, Rogers EE, Feuer SK, Ryckman KK, Novak NL, Tabb KM, Fuchs J, Rand L, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL

Interventions Addressing Food Insecurity in Health Care Settings: A Systematic Review.

Annals of family medicine

De Marchis EH, Torres JM, Benesch T, Fichtenberg C, Allen IE, Whitaker EM, Gottlieb LM

Inequalities in Elevated Depressive Symptoms in Middle-Aged and Older Adults by Rural Childhood Residence: the Important Role of Education.

International journal of geriatric psychiatry

Murchland AR, Eng CW, Casey JA, Torres JM, Mayeda ER

Association of Perceived Immigration Policy Vulnerability With Mental and Physical Health Among US-Born Latino Adolescents in California.

JAMA pediatrics

Eskenazi B, Fahey CA, Kogut K, Gunier R, Torres J, Gonzales NA, Holland N, Deardorff J

Association of Preterm Births Among US Latina Women With the 2016 Presidential Election.

JAMA network open

Gemmill A, Catalano R, Casey JA, Karasek D, Alcalá HE, Elser H, Torres JM

Having an adult child in the US, physical functioning, and unmet needs for care among older Mexican adults.

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)

Torres JM, Rudolph KE, Sofrygin O, Wong R, Walter LC, Glymour MM

An online experiment to assess bias in professional medical coding.

BMC medical informatics and decision making

Torres JM, Hessler-Jones D, Yarbrough C, Tapley A, Jimenez R, Gottlieb LM

Identifying Food Insecurity in Health Care Settings: A Systematic Scoping Review of the Evidence.

Family & community health

De Marchis EH, Torres JM, Fichtenberg C, Gottlieb LM

Cross-border ties, nativity, and inflammatory markers in a population-based prospective study of Latino adults.

Social science & medicine (1982)

Torres JM, Epel ES, To TM, Lee A, Aiello AE, Haan MN

Worry About Deportation and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Adult Women: The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas Study.

Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine

Torres JM, Deardorff J, Gunier RB, Harley KG, Alkon A, Kogut K, Eskenazi B

Lifetime Socioeconomic Status and Late-life Health Trajectories: Longitudinal Results From the Mexican Health and Aging Study.

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences

Torres JM, Rizzo S, Wong R

ICD Social Codes: An Underutilized Resource for Tracking Social Needs.

Medical care

Torres JM, Lawlor J, Colvin JD, Sills MR, Bettenhausen JL, Davidson A, Cutler GJ, Hall M, Gottlieb LM

Transnational ties and the health of sub-Saharan African migrants: The moderating role of gender and family separation.

Social science & medicine (1982)

Afulani PA, Torres JM, Sudhinaraset M, Asunka J

A longitudinal analysis of cross-border ties and depression for Latino adults.

Social science & medicine (1982)

Torres JM, Lee A, González HM, Garcia L, Haan MN

A portrait of older californians with disabilities who rely on public services to remain independent.

Home health care services quarterly

Kietzman KG, Wallace SP, Durazo EM, Torres JM, Choi AS, Benjamin AE, Mendez-Luck C

Independence at risk: older Californians with disabilities struggle to remain at home as public supports shrink.

Policy brief (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research)

Kietzman KG, Durazo EM, Torres JM, Choi AS, Wallace SP

"I want to be taking my own last breath": patients' reflections on illness when presenting to the emergency department at the end of life.

Journal of palliative medicine

Grudzen CR, Stone SC, Mohanty SA, Asch SM, Lorenz KA, Torres JM, Morrison M, Ortiz JM, Timmermans S

Paramedic and emergency medical technicians views on opportunities and challenges when forgoing and halting resuscitation in the field.

Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Grudzen CR, Timmermans S, Koenig WJ, Torres JM, Hoffman JR, Lorenz KA, Asch SM