Faculty

Mandy Fretts

Associate Professor, Epidemiology

206-543-9236

Education

PhD Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2011
MPH Epidemiology, University of Washington, 2007

Contact

206-543-9236

University of Washington
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 Interests

  • American Indian health
  • Diabetes
  • Interventions
  • Nutrition
  • Physical activity
  • Lifestyle
  • Social epidemiology
  • Health disparities
  • Obesity
  • Fatty acids
  • Cardio-metabolic disease prevention

Recent Publications (PubMed)

High-Density Lipoprotein Lipidomics and Mortality in CKD.
(2023 Oct)
Kidney Med 5(10): 100708
Lidgard B, Hoofnagle AN, Zelnick LR, de Boer IH, Fretts AM, Kestenbaum BR, Lemaitre RN, Robinson-Cohen C, Bansal N

Evaluation of plasma sphingolipids as mediators of the relationship between kidney disease and cardiovascular events.
(2023 Sep)
EBioMedicine 95(): 104765
Lidgard B, Bansal N, Zelnick LR, Hoofnagle AN, Fretts AM, Longstreth WT Jr, Shlipak MG, Siscovick DS, Umans JG, Lemaitre RN

Plasma Trimethylamine-N-Oxide and Incident Ischemic Stroke: The Cardiovascular Health Study and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
(2023 Aug 15)
J Am Heart Assoc 12(16): e8711
Lemaitre RN, Jensen PN, Wang Z, Fretts AM, Sitlani CM, Nemet I, Sotoodehnia N, de Oliveira Otto MC, Zhu W, Budoff M, Longstreth WT, Psaty BM, Siscovick DS, Hazen SL, Mozaffarian D

Diet Quality and Kidney Outcomes in Adolescent and Adult American Indians: the Strong Heart Family Study.
(2023 Aug 1)
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities
Mokiao RH, Fretts AM, Deen JF, Umans JG

Depression, physical activity, and incident cardiovascular disease among American Indians: The strong heart family study.
(2023 Jun)
Psychiatry Res Commun 3(2):
Staff TE, O'Leary M, Fretts AM

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