Publications by authors named "Charlie Ashbaugh"

Article Synopsis
  • Previous research indicates negative health effects from processed foods, particularly processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and trans fatty acids (TFAs).
  • Using meta-regression methods, this study explored the connections between these foods and three chronic diseases: type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease (IHD), and colorectal cancer.
  • Findings suggest that processed meat, SSBs, and TFAs are linked to increased risks of these chronic diseases, but the strength of these associations is weak, underscoring the need for more research and the continued recommendation to limit these foods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Previous studies have indicated increased dementia risk associated with fine particulate matter (PM) exposure; however, the findings are inconsistent. In this systematic review, we assessed the association between long-term PM exposure and dementia outcomes using the Burden of Proof meta-analytic framework, which relaxes log-linear assumptions to better characterize relative risk functions and quantify unexplained between-study heterogeneity (PROSPERO, ID CRD42023421869). Here we report a meta-analysis of 28 longitudinal cohort studies published up to June 2023 that investigated long-term PM exposure and dementia outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: It is estimated that environmental risk factors (ERF) were responsible for nine million deaths worldwide in 2019.

Objective: Using data from the Global Burden of Disease study, indicators of health loss associated with exposure to ERF in Mexico were analyzed.

Material And Methods: Absolute numbers and population percentages of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) lost attributed to selected ERFs were analyzed at the national and state level and by sex, as well as age-standardized trends from 1990 to 2021.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Characterizing the potential health effects of exposure to risk factors such as red meat consumption is essential to inform health policy and practice. Previous meta-analyses evaluating the effects of red meat intake have generated mixed findings and do not formally assess evidence strength. Here, we conducted a systematic review and implemented a meta-regression-relaxing conventional log-linearity assumptions and incorporating between-study heterogeneity-to evaluate the relationships between unprocessed red meat consumption and six potential health outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Previous research suggests a protective effect of vegetable consumption against chronic disease, but the quality of evidence underlying those findings remains uncertain. We applied a Bayesian meta-regression tool to estimate the mean risk function and quantify the quality of evidence for associations between vegetable consumption and ischemic heart disease (IHD), ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, type 2 diabetes and esophageal cancer. Increasing from no vegetable consumption to the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (306-372 g daily) was associated with a 23.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Some individuals experience persistent symptoms after initial symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (often referred to as Long COVID).

Objective: To estimate the proportion of males and females with COVID-19, younger or older than 20 years of age, who had Long COVID symptoms in 2020 and 2021 and their Long COVID symptom duration.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Bayesian meta-regression and pooling of 54 studies and 2 medical record databases with data for 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: While much of the attention on the COVID-19 pandemic was directed at the daily counts of cases and those with serious disease overwhelming health services, increasingly, reports have appeared of people who experience debilitating symptoms after the initial infection. This is popularly known as long COVID.

Objective: To estimate by country and territory of the number of patients affected by long COVID in 2020 and 2021, the severity of their symptoms and expected pattern of recovery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Vision loss is an important public health issue in China, but a detailed understanding of national and regional trends in its prevalence and causes, which could inform health policy, has not been available. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, causes, and regional distribution of vision impairment and blindness in China in 1990 and 2019.

Methods: Data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 were used to estimate the prevalence of moderate and severe vision impairment and blindness in China and compare with other Group of 20 (G20) countries.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF