Education
PhD Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2011
MPH Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2007
Contact
Box 351619
Department of Epidemiology
Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, 873
Seattle, WA 98195
Bio
Dr. Fretts is a cardiovascular and nutritional epidemiologist with a focus on observational and interventional research aimed at improving cardio-metabolic health in underserved and rural communities (with a focus on American Indian communities). Her work aims to work with community partners to integrate observational and interventional research to mitigate obesity-related health disparities and improve health behaviors and health outcomes. Dr. Fretts’ research primarily focuses on nutrition, food insecurity, the food environment, physical activity, obesity, fatty acids, and diabetes. She is the Principal Investigator of the Dakotas field site for the Strong Heart Study, a large cohort study of heart disease and its risk factors in 12 American Indian communities in Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota, that has been on-going since 1988. She is also Principal Investigator of a community-based diet and cooking skills intervention (randomized trial) designed to improve blood sugar control and other cardiovascular risk factors for American Indians with type 2 diabetes. In addition to her work with American Indian communities, she is involved in several on-going projects related to fatty acids, diet, diet*gene interactions, diabetes, and cardiovascular outcomes in the Cardiovascular Health Study and the Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCE) consortium.
Research Areas
Research Interests
- American Indian health
- Diabetes
- Interventions
- Nutrition
- Physical activity
- Lifestyle
- Social epidemiology
- Health disparities
- Obesity
- Fatty acids
- Cardio-metabolic disease prevention
Recent Publications (PubMed)
(2026 Jan 6)
J Clin Med 15(2):
Niznik T, Reese JA, Deen JF, Ali T, Fretts AM, Umans JG, Zhang Y, Graffeo CS
(2025 Dec 19)
J Am Soc Nephrol
Lidgard B, Hoofnagle AN, Zelnick LR, de Boer IH, Jensen P, Fretts AM, Siscovick DS, Umans JG, Bansal N, Lemaitre RN
(2026 Jan 10)
HGG Adv 7(2): 100566
Lee S, Miller CL, Bentley AR, Brown MR, Nagarajan P, Noordam R, Morrison JL, Schwander K, Westerman K, Kho M, Kraja AT, de Vries PS, Ammous F, Aschard H, Bartz TM, Do A, Dupont CT, Feitosa MF, Gudmundsdottir V, Guo X, Harris SE, Hikino K, Huang Z, Lefevre C, Lyytikäinen LP, Milaneschi Y, Nardone GG, Santin A, Schmidt H, Shen B, Sofer T, Sun Q, Tan YA, Tang J, Thériault S, van der Most PJ, Ware EB, Weiss S, Xing WY, Yu C, Zhao W, Ansari MAY, Anugu P, Attia JR, Bazzano LA, Bis JC, Breyer M, Cade B, Chen G, Collins S, Corley J, Davies G, Dörr M, Du J, Edwards TL, Faquih T, Faul JD, Fohner AE, Fretts AM, Gangireddy S, Gepner A, Graff M, Hofer E, Homuth G, Hood MM, Jie X, Kähönen M, Kardia SLR, Karvonen-Gutierrez CA, Launer LJ, Levy D, Maheshwari M, Martin LW, Matsuda K, McNeil JJ, Nolte IM, Okochi T, Raffield LM, Raitakari OT, Risch L, Risch M, Roux AD, Ruiz-Narvaez EA, Russ TC, Saito T, Schreiner PJ, Scott RJ, Shikany J, Smith JA, Snieder H, Spedicati B, Tai ES, Taylor AM, Taylor KD, Tesolin P, van Dam RM, Wang R, Wenbin W, Xie T, Yao J, Young KL, Zhang R, Zonderman AB, Biobank Japan Project, Lifelines Cohort Study,, Concas MP, Conen D, Cox SR, Evans MK, Fox ER, de Las Fuentes L, Giri A, Girotto G, Grabe HJ, Gu C, Gudnason V, Harlow SD, Holliday E, Jost JB, Lacaze P, Lee S, Lehtimäki T, Li C, Liu CT, Morrison AC, North KE, Penninx BWJH, Peyser PA, Province MM, Psaty BM, Redline S, Rosendaal FR, Rotimi CN, Rotter JI, Schmidt R, Sim X, Terao C, Weir DR, Zhu X, Franceschini N, O'Connell JR, Jaquish CE, Wang H, Manning A, Munroe PB, Rao DC, Chen H, Gauderman WJ, Bierut LJ, Winkler TW, Fornage M
(2025 Nov 24)
Sci Rep 15(1): 45228
Wen X, Miao G, Chen M, Zhang Y, Mohr M, Fretts AM, Fiehn O, Zhao J
(2025 Fall)
Diabetes Spectr 38(4): 455-460
Sawyer L, Suchy-Dicey AM, Nelson LA, Sarche M, Reese JA, Cole S, Sitlani CM, Umans JG, Fretts AM
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