Biography
Maegan Ashworth Dirac, MD, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Health Metrics Sciences and of Family Medicine. As the Global Burden of Disease Lead on Reproductive, Genitourinary and Digestive Disease estimation, she leads a talented and diligent team of trainees and professional staff in estimating the burden of health loss due to diverse conditions such as: maternal disorders, sexually transmitted infections, infertility, urinary tract infection, viral hepatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Her clinical areas of interest include evidence-based medicine, migrant health, outpatient gynecological procedures, the transition to parenthood, health-promoting behaviors for families with children, and complex care of patients living with more than one chronic condition. She obtained her MD and her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Washington and completed her residency at Swedish Family Medicine – First Hill. Her research prior to coming to IHME focused on respiratory infections: a case-control study of environmental risk-factors for Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease, investigation of a respiratory outbreak of Mycobacterium abscessus in cystic fibrosis patients, and an exploration of patient and provider attitudes toward point-of-care testing for acute respiratory tract infections in primary care.
IHME was established at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2007. Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice.
Selected publications on the following tab. Complete publication list here.
GBD 2019 Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Collaborators. The global, regional, and national burden of benign prostatic hyperplasia in 204 countries and territories from 2000 to 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet Healthy Longevity. 20 October 2022. doi: 10.1016/S2666-7568(22)00213-6.
GBD 2019 Indonesia Subnational Collaborators. The state of health in Indonesia’s provinces, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet Global Health. 11 October 2022. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00371-0.
Zheng P, Afshin A, Biryukov S, et al. The Burden of Proof studies: assessing the evidence of risk. Nature Medicine. 10 October 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-01973-2.
Haakenstad A, Angelino O, Irvine CMS, et al. Measuring contraceptive method mix, prevalence, and demand satisfied by age and marital status in 204 countries and territories, 1970–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet. 21 July 2022. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00936-9.
GBD 2019 Hepatitis B Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of hepatitis B, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 20 June 2022. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(22)00124-8.
India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative Neurological Disorders Collaborators. The burden of neurological disorders across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2019. The Lancet Global Health. 13 July 2021. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00164-9.
GBD 2017 Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease Collaborators. The global, regional, and national burden of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 13 March 2020. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(19)30408-X.
Orji A, Kamenov K, Dirac M, Davis A, Chadha S, Vos T. Global and regional needs, unmet needs and access to hearing aids. International Journal of Audiology. 3 February 2020. doi:10.1080/14992027.2020.1721577.
GBD 2017 Inflammatory Bowel Disease Collaborators. The global, regional, and national burden of inflammatory bowel disease in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 21 October 2019. doi:10.1016/S2468-1253(19)30333-4.
GBD 2017 Causes of Death Collaborators. Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality for 282 causes of death in 195 countries and territories, 1980–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. 8 Nov 2018;392:1736-88. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32203-7.
GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. 8 Nov 2018;392:1789–858. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32279-7.
GBD 2017 DALYs and HALE Collaborators. Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 359 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. 8 Nov 2018;392:1859–922. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32335-3.