Sarah McKetta, MD, PhD

  • Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
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Overview

Dr. McKetta is a social epidemiologist whose work is centrally focused around the use of novel measurement to expose hidden disparities in order to ultimately inform policy and interventions that advance population health. Her work addresses social exposures at multiple levels – from the individual to the structural – and her particular topics of interest include behavioral health (including alcohol, sexual health, and mental health), women’s health, and LGBT health. She has extensive expertise in development of new measures of structural stigma, ranging from structural racism to homophobia to sexism.

Ongoing projects include examining shifting population trends in women’s alcohol use, identifying lifecourse structural determinants of women’s drinking, and examining the mental health impact of restrictive reproductive policies.

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor of Epidemiology

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • AB, 2008 Harvard University
  • ScM, 2012 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • MD/ PhD, 2022 Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons and Mailman School of Public Health

Research

Research Interests

  • Alcohol Use Disorder
  • Health Policy
  • LGBT health
  • Structural Racism
  • Women's Health

Selected Publications

McKetta, S., Berzansky, I., Reynolds, C.A., Grodstein, F., Blacker, D., Charlton, B.M. Sexual orientation disparities in subjective cognitive decline in a large cohort of female nurses (2025). LGBT Health. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2024.0183

Lattanner, M., McKetta, S., Pachankis, J.E., Hatzenbuehler, M.L. State of the science of structural stigma and LGBTQ+ health: Meta-analytic evidence, research gaps, and future directions (2025). Annual Review of Public Health, 46. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-013336

Chakraborty, P., McKetta, S., Reynolds, C.A., Smith, M.H., Moseson, H., Beccia, A., Soled, K.R.S., Hoatson, T., Huang, A.K., Eliassen, A.H., Haneuse, S., Charlton, B.M. Differences in abortion use by sexual orientation in three national cohorts (2025). JAMA Network Open, 8(5), e258644-e258644. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.8644

McKetta, S., Chakraborty, P., Gimbrone, C., Soled, K., Beccia, A., Hoatson, T., Huang, A., Reynolds, C., Charlton, B.M (2024). Restrictive abortion laws and mental health during pregnancy and postpartum. Annals of Epidemiology, 92, pp. 47-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2024.02.009

McKetta, S., Jager, J., Keyes, K.M. Trends in binge drinking in the United States by LGBTQ+ identity, gender, and age, 2014-2022 (2024). Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.15333

McKetta, S., Hoatson, T., Hughes, L.D., Everett, B., Haneuse, S., Austin, S.B., Hughes, T.L., Charlton, B.M. Disparities in mortality by sexual orientation in a large, prospective cohort of female nurses (2024). JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.4459

McKetta, S., Prins, S. J., Hasin, D., Patrick, M. E., & Keyes, K. M. (2022). Structural sexism and Women's alcohol use in the United States, 1988–2016. Social Science & Medicine, 301, 114976. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114976

Hatzenbuehler, M. L., McKetta, S., Kim, R., Leung, S., Prins, S. J., & Russell, S. T. (2022). Evaluating litigation as a structural strategy for addressing bias-based bullying among youth. JAMA Pediatrics, 176(1), 52–58. PMCID: PMC8506293

McKetta, S., Prins, S. J., Bates, L. M., Platt, J. M., & Keyes, K. M. (2021). US trends in binge drinking by gender, occupation, prestige, and work structure among adults in the midlife, 2006–2018. Annals of epidemiology, 62, 22–29. PMCID: PMC8463484

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov