Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD, is a general internist and epidemiologist who studies the health effects of prescription medications and other interventions using real-world health care data. Through her work, she aims to provide better information about the risks and benefits of different treatments so patients and doctors can make well-informed decisions.
Much of Dr. Dublin’s research focuses on the outcomes of medication use or other interventions during pregnancy. These studies take advantage of the rich clinical data available through electronic health records (EHRs). Some of her current work in this area includes:
Dr. Dublin recently led an impactful study with Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute colleagues exploring different methods to screen for diabetes in pregnancy. This work examined how outcomes changed for mothers and babies after Kaiser Permanente Washington made a big shift in their approach to gestational diabetes screening. This project found that a new, more intensive approach to screening did not improve health outcomes, and may have even worsened some. As a result, Kaiser Permanente Washington changed back to the previous, more widely used screening approach.
Beyond pregnancy, Dr. Dublin’s work includes studies of medication use and dementia risk in older adults. For example, her team found that heavy use of some commonly used medications including antihistamines increases dementia risk. They also found that one widely used medication class, proton pump inhibitors, does not increase the risk of dementia—in contrast to some earlier reports—or fractures.
Dr. Dublin has a strong interest in epidemiologic methods, particularly finding ways to better measure important variables. She has led methods workgroups for the FDA’s Sentinel Initiative and has experience using natural language processing and collecting data from patients through mobile phone apps. Dr. Dublin also has interest and expertise in improving the rigor and validity of observational studies by improving how they account for patients’ other illnesses and overall health status.
Dr. Dublin previously held a Paul B. Beeson Career Development Award (K23) from the National Institute on Aging. She sees patients one day a week in primary care at Kaiser Permanente Washington.
Lawrence JM, Amini T, Andrade SE, Avalos LA, Beaton SJ, Chiu VY, Davis RL, Dublin S, Hammad TA, Hampp C, Pawloski PA, Raebel MA, Scott PE, Smith DH, Toh S, Wang JQ, Cheetham TC. Prevalence, trends, and patterns of use of antidiabetic medications among pregnant women in the United States, 2001-2007. Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Jan;121(1):106-14. PubMed
Bobo WV, Davis RL, Toh SD, Li D-K, Andrade SE, Cheetham TC, Pawloski PA, Dublin S, Pinheiro S, Hammad T, Scott PE, Epstein RA, Arbogast PG, Morrow JA, Dudley JA, Lawrence JM, Avalos LA, Cooper WO. Trends in the use of antiepileptic drugs among pregnant women in the US, 2001-2007: a Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program study. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2012 Nov;26(6):578-88. doi: 10.1111/ppe.12004. PubMed
Dublin S, Walker RL, Jackson ML, Nelson JC, Weiss NS, Jackson LA. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use and pneumonia risk in community-dwelling older adults: results from a population-based case-control study. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2012 Nov;21(11):1173-82. doi: 10.1002/pds.3340. Epub 2012 Sep 5. PubMed
Jensen PN, Johnson K, Floyd J, Heckbert SR, Carnahan R, Dublin S. A systematic review of validated methods for identifying atrial fibrillation using administrative data. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2012 Jan;21 Suppl 1:141-7. doi: 10.1002/pds.2317. PubMed
Oral contraceptives, hormone therapy not linked to more severe COVID outcomes.
Trial is the first to test an individualized approach to improve dementia risk factors.
In a new study, a tool to help discover undiagnosed dementia performed well in 2 separate health systems.
A study led by Dr. Sascha Dublin finds similar outcomes for 3 hypertension medications, filling an evidence gap.