Chronic Diseases in CanadaThis is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader, such as GoogleReader, or to display this data on your own website or blog. Subscribe to this data using MyMedWorm.Subscribe to this data using GoogleReader.Subscribe to this data using Bloglines.Subscribe to this data using MyYahoo.

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Explaining Alberta's rising mesothelioma rates.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Although mesothelioma rates have been rising worldwide, little is known about mesothelioma trends in Alberta. This population-based descriptive study used Alberta Cancer Board Registry data from 1980 to 2004 to develop an age-period-cohort model of male pleural mesothelioma incidence rates over time. Both age and cohort effects are associated with incidence rates. The highest-risk cohort comprised men born between 1930 and 1939, reflecting widespread asbestos use and exposure beginning in the 1940s in Canada. We predict that 1393 Albertan men 40 years and older will die of pleural mesothelioma between 1980 and 2024; 78...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - October 8, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Cree M, Lalji M, Jiang B, Carriere KC, Beach J, Kamruzzaman A Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

An intersectoral network for chronic disease prevention: the case of the Alberta healthy living network.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Chronic Diseases (CDs) are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. CD experts have long promoted the use of integrated and intersectoral approaches to strengthen CD prevention efforts. This qualitative case study examined the perceived benefits and challenges associated with implementing an intersectoral network dedicated to CD prevention. Through interviewing key members of the Alberta Healthy Living Network (AHLN, or the Network), two overarching themes emerged from the data. The first relates to contrasting views on the role of the AHLN in relation to its actions and outcomes, especially concerning pol...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - October 8, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Geneau R, Legowski B, Stachenko S Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Navigating the health care system: perceptions of patients with chronic pain.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study describes the experience of 19 chronic-pain sufferers who seek relief via the health care system. Their experiences were recorded through in-depth semistructured interviews and analyzed through qualitative methods. The participants reported early optimism, then disillusionment, and finally acceptance of living with chronic pain. Both individuals with chronic pain and their health care professionals need evidence-informed resources and information on best practices to assist them to manage pain. Empathetic communication between health care professionals and individuals with chronic pain is crucial because insensi...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - October 8, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Dewar AL, Gregg K, White MI, Lander J Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

School-based tobacco-control programming and student smoking behaviour.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The study examined the association of a school-based tobacco-control program with students' smoking behaviour over time using three cross-sectional, provincial census datasets (grade 10 students in 1999, grade 11 students in 2000, grade 12 students in 2001). Data were collected from all secondary schools in Prince Edward Island (Canada) using the Tobacco module of the School Health Action, Planning and Evaluation System (SHAPES). The proportion of regular smokers increased from grade 10 (22.3%) to grade 12 (27.8%, chi(2) = 10.35, df = 1, p < 0.001). Being exposed to different school-based tobacco programs and polici...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - October 8, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Murnaghan DA, Leatherdale ST, Sihvonen M, Kekki P Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

A deprivation index for health planning in Canada.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Administrative databases in the Canadian health sector do not contain socio-economic information. To facilitate the monitoring of social inequalities for health planning, this study proposes a material and social deprivation index for Canada. After explaining the concept of deprivation, we describe the methodological aspects of the index and apply it to the example of premature mortality (i.e. death before the age of 75). We illustrate variations in deprivation and the links between deprivation and mortality nationwide and in different geographic areas including the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto, Montr&#x...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - October 8, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Pampalon R, Hamel D, Gamache P, Raymond G Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) program and interdisciplinary research symposium on disabling fatigue in chronic illness.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19697479 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada)
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - August 26, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Stein E, MacQuarrie M Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

The role of public health in the health of Canada's children.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19694099 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada)
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - August 23, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Butler-Jones D Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

From rags to genes: mixing research paradigms.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19694100 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada)
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - August 23, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Infante-Rivard C Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Validation of perinatal data in the Discharge Abstract Database of the Canadian Institute for Health Information.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We compared perinatal information submitted to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) hospitalization database with information submitted to the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database (NSAPD) in order to assess the accuracy of the CIHI data. Procedures such as Caesarean delivery were coded accurately (i.e. sensitivity of 99.8%; specificity of 98.7%). Postpartum hemorrhage, induction of labour and severe intraventricular hemorrhage also had sensitivity and specificity rates above 85% and 95%, respectively. Some diagnoses, defined differently in the two databases, were less accurately coded, e.g. respiratory ...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - June 28, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Joseph KS, Fahey J Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Validity of autism diagnoses using administrative health data.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study was conducted to assess the accuracy of administrative health databases for autism diagnoses. Three administrative health databases from the province of Nova Scotia were used to identify diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders (ASD): the Hospital Discharge Abstract Database, the Medical Services Insurance Physician Billings Database and the Mental Health Outpatient Information System database. Seven algorithms were derived from combinations of requirements for single or multiple ASD claims from one or more of the three administrative databases. Diagnoses made by the Autism Team of the IWK Health Centre, using sta...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - June 28, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Dodds L, Spencer A, Shea S, Fell D, Armson BA, Allen AC, Bryson S Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Associations between chronic disease, age and physical and mental health status.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study provided additional evidence that, while physical function could be severely and negatively affected by both chronic disease and advanced age, mental health remained relatively high and stable. PMID: 19527569 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada)
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - June 28, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Hopman WM, Harrison MB, Coo H, Friedberg E, Buchanan M, Vandenkerkhof EG Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Statistical modelling of mental distress among rural and urban seniors.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The senior population is growing rapidly in Canada. Consequently, there will be an increased demand for health care services for seniors who have mental illness. Seniors are more likely to live in rural areas than younger people; therefore, it is important to identify the differences between rural and urban seniors in order to design and deliver mental health services. The main objective of this paper was to use the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) to examine the differences with regard to mental distress between rural and urban seniors (i.e. 55 years and older). The other objectives were to investigate the lon...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - June 28, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Karunanayake CP, Pahwa P Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Factors associated with the adoption of a smoking ban in Quebec households.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The home represents an important source of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke for non-smokers, including children, who live with smokers. Our goal is to identify the sociodemographic factors associated with the adoption of smoking bans in "smoker households" in Quebec. Selected associations are compared with three other Canadian provinces (Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia). This is a cross-sectional study involving 2648 respondents. Logistic regression analysis is employed. Few smoker households in Quebec (21%) have a ban on smoking; the presence of a non-smoker is strongly linked to the existence of such...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - June 28, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Ouedraogo E, Turcotte F, Ashley MJ, Brewster JM, Ferrence R Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Health outcomes in low-income children with current asthma in Canada.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Data collected from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) in 1994/95 and 1996/97 were used to measure longitudinal health outcomes among children with asthma. Over 10 000 children aged 1 to 11 years with complete data on asthma status in both years were included. Outcomes included hospitalizations and health services use (HSU). Current asthma was defined as children diagnosed with asthma by a physician and who took prescribed inhalants regularly, had wheezing or an attack in the previous year, or had their activities limited by asthma. Children having asthma significantly increased the...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - March 18, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: To T, Dell S, Tassoudji M, Wang C Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Deprivation and unintentional injury hospitalization in Quebec children.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study examines the links between the material and social dimensions of deprivation and injury hospitalizations in children aged 14 years or under from 2000 to 2004. Hospitalization data are from the Quebec hospital administrative data system, whereas socio-economic characteristics of individuals were estimated based on the smallest geographic areas for which Canadian census data were disseminated. The Poisson regression model was used to calculate the relative risks of hospitalization for seven categories of unintentional injury. A total of 24 540 injury hospitalizations were examined. Hospitalization in children is a...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - March 18, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Gagné M, Hamel D Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Injury data in British Columbia: policy maker perspectives on knowledge transfer.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Provincial and regional decision makers in the injury prevention field were interviewed in British Columbia (B.C.) to obtain their views about best processes for the transfer or dissemination of relevant data. These decision makers (n = 13) indicated that data should provide them with a holistic and comprehensive picture to support their decision processes. In addition, they felt information about injury types and rates should be linked backward to determinants or causes and forward to consequences or outcomes. This complete chain of data is needed for planning and evaluating health promotion interventions. It was also...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - March 18, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Mitton C, Macnab YC, Smith N, Foster L Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Complementary therapies for cancer patients: assessing information use and needs.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Many cancer patients seek complementary therapies (CTs) for cancer management; however, relatively little is known about patients' CT information seeking behaviour. Therefore, we assessed: 1) cancer patients' use of the types and sources of CT information; 2) their information preferences; and 3) their understanding of the phrase "scientific evidence or proof that a therapy works." We collected data from 404 patients attending the Tom Baker Cancer Centre (TBCC) in Calgary and 303 patients calling the Cancer Information Service (CIS) helpline. In most cases, patients wanted information on the safety of CTs, how CTs work...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - March 18, 2009 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Verhoef MJ, Trojan L, Armitage GD, Carlson L, Hilsden RJ Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Health literacy and numeracy: key factors in cancer risk comprehension.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this age of chronic disease and shared decision making, individuals are encouraged to contribute to decisions about health care. Health literacy, including numeracy, is requisite to meaningful participation and has been accepted as a determinant of health. The purpose of this study was to describe the influence of literacy, consisting of prose and numeracy skill, math anxiety, attained education and context of information on participant ability to comprehend Internet-based colorectal cancer prevention information. Prose, numeracy, and math-anxiety data, as well as demographic details, were collected for 140 Canadian...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - November 29, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Donelle L, Arocha JF, Hoffman-Goetz L Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Colorectal cancer screening in Canada: results of a national survey.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Canadian guidelines recommend colorectal-cancer (CRC) screening for individuals aged 50 to 74 years. The study objective was to estimate rates of CRC screening according to individual and geographical characteristics, and of adherence to current CRC screening guidelines. Respondents to the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 2.1 (aged >/= 50 years, without past or present CRC) participated. Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and endoscopy utilization and screening rates were calculated. The sample included 16 747 residents of Newfoundland, Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Overall, the FOBT screening r...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - November 29, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Sewitch MJ, Fournier C, Ciampi A, Dyachenko A Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Stroke surveillance in manitoba, Canada: estimates from administrative databases.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study investigated the use of population-based administrative databases for stroke surveillance. First, a meta-analysis was conducted of four studies, identified via a PubMed search, which estimated the sensitivity and specificity of hospital data for ascertaining cases of stroke when clinical registries or medical charts were the gold standard. Subsequently, case-ascertainment algorithms based on hospital, physician and prescription drug records were developed and applied to Manitoba's administrative data, and prevalence estimates were obtained for fiscal years 1995/96 to 2003/04 by age group, sex, region of residenc...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - November 29, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Moore DF, Lix LM, Yogendran MS, Martens P, Tamayo A Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Population-based data sources for chronic disease surveillance.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study estimated agreement between population-based administrative and survey data for ascertaining cases of arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and stroke. Chronic disease case definitions that varied by data source, number of years and number of diagnosis or prescription drug codes were constructed from Manitoba's administrative data. These data were linked to the Canadian Community Health Survey. Agreement between the two data sources, estimated by the kappa coefficient, was calculated for each case definition, and differences were tested. Socio-demographic and comorbidity variables associated w...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - November 29, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Lix LM, Yogendran MS, Shaw SY, Burchill C, Metge C, Bond R Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Effectiveness of letters to Cape Breton women who have not had a recent Pap smear.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Nova Scotia, and especially Cape Breton, has high cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates. Letters were sent to 15,691 unscreened and 6,995 under-screened women from Cape Breton Island encouraging them to obtain a Pap test. Controls were 61,510 unscreened women and 32,996 under- screened women in mainland Nova Scotia who were not sent letters. For this cohort study, the provincial Health Card Number database and Provincial Cytology Registry were linked. Having a Pap smear was associated with having received a letter (OR = 1.64), having been previously under-screened rather than unscreened (OR = 1.85), with youth ...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Johnston GM, Boyd CJ, MacIsaac MA, Rhodes JW, Grimshaw RN Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Deprivation and stroke mortality in Quebec.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) constitute an important cause of disability and death in Quebec. Among the primary CVA risk factors, certain socioeconomic characteristics of individuals and living environments appear to play a central role. The purpose of this article is to examine the links between material/social forms of deprivation and CVA mortality in a group of 4,339 individuals aged 25 to 74 years who died between 1994 and 1998. The socioeconomic profile of these persons was estimated on the basis of the enumeration area in which they resided. The Poisson regression technique was used to estimate the relative r...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Martinez J, Pampalon R, Hamel D Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Do healthy food baskets assess food security?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Developing indicators to measure the different facets of food security presents numerous conceptual and methodological challenges. This paper adopts an ecological framework to reflect on these issues through an examination of the Healthy Food Basket (HFB) tool. The HFB tool is used to measure food security conditions by determining the cost and availability of a group of foods in a shopping basket across a range of stores in different regions and neighbourhoods. The paper discusses the ability of the HFB tool to describe micro-, meso- and macro-level influences on food security and the use of the ecological model in de...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Nathoo T, Shoveller J Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

The role of lay panelists on grant review panels.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of scientists and lay people participating in National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) grant review panels towards the inclusion of non-scientists in the review process. Questionnaires were sent to the 126 scientists and 24 lay panelists who participated in NCIC's grant reviews in 1998. Survey topics included lay member selection, the role of the lay panelist and suggestions for improving the process. Data were analyzed qualitatively, and quantitatively using SPSS. Sixty-one of the 126 scientists (48.4%) and 16 of the 24 lay panelists (66.7%) completed the su...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Monahan A, Stewart DE Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

The use of complementary and alternative therapies by people with multiple sclerosis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) refers to therapeutic approaches not considered part of conventional medicine. A survey was mailed to sample of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The response rate was 440/673 (65%). Mean sample age was 48 years; 75% were female. Respondents ranged from mildly to severely impaired. Seventy percent used CAM primarily to improve health and manage the symptoms of MS. Most consumers reported positive effects. Lack of knowledge was the most common reason given for not using CAM. Patient education, physician-patient dialogue, and continued research and regulation of CAM are i...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Page SA, Verhoef MJ, Stebbins RA, Metz LM, Levy JC Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Youth attitudes towards tobacco control: a preliminary assessment.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The attitudes of Ontario youth toward the sale and price of cigarettes, making smoking against the law, and tobacco company truthfulness were assessed in 2001 and compared to adult attitudes in 2000 and youth attitudes in 2003. Youth were more supportive of restricting cigarette sales and raising prices than adults, and more likely to agree that the government should make smoking against the law, but they were less distrustful of tobacco companies. In 2003, youth were more supportive of sales restrictions and making smoking illegal, and more distrustful of tobacco companies, than in 2001. More comprehensive assessments...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Waller BJ, Cohen JE, Ashley MJ Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Inequalities in health and health services delivery: a multilevel study of primary care and hypertension control.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Delivery of health services is an important determinant of health. Restricted availability and access may result in health inequalities. To determine the extent of geographic variation in the delivery of health services and its effect on the health of community residents in terms of under-diagnosis and under-treatment of hypertension, we carried out a multilevel study of participants in the 1995 Nova Scotia Heart Health Survey (n = 3,094). We used individual level survey data and health status measurements linked to geographical level information to examine the importance of adequate delivery of health services to the ...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Veugelers PJ, Yip AM, Burge F Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

The late effects study: design and subject representativeness of a Canadian, multi-centre study of late effects of childhood cancer.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objectives of this paper are to describe the design and methodology of the multi-centre, retrospective cohort study, present clinical characteristics of the survivor population, and evaluate the representativeness of study controls. Response rates were 63% for surivors (n = 2,152) and 49% for controls (n = 2,432). Survivors with germ cell turmours and carcinomas were slightly under-represented among participants as were those who received more intense or multiple series of therapy. Study controls were similar to Census individuals based on marital and work status but did have a slightly higher level of education and in...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Shaw AK, Morrison HI, Speechley KN, Maunsell E, Barrera M, Schanzer D, Pogany L, Desmeules M Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Methods for estimating the labour force insured by the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board: 1990-2000.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This paper presents a methodology for estimating the size and composition of the Ontario labour force eligible for coverage under the Ontario Workplace Safety & Insurance Act (WSIA). Using customized tabulations from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS), we made adjustments for self-employment, unemployment, part-time employment and employment in specific industrial sectors excluded from insurance coverage under the WSIA. Each adjustment to the LFS reduced the estimates of the insured labour force relative to the total Ontario labour force. These estimates were then developed for major occupational and ind...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Smith PM, Mustard CA, Payne JI Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

An epidemiologically-based needs assessment for stroke services.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study has shown that an epidemiologically-based needs assessment could be a useful basis for the planning of health services. PMID: 15841854 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] (Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada)
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Hunter DJ, Grant HJ, Purdue MP, Spasoff RA, Dorland JL, Bains N Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Do work-related breast cancer risks in pre-menopausal women depend on family history?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Our objective was to determine work-related pre-menopausal breast cancer risks that depend on a woman's family history of the disease. In a large case-control study, 318 women with breast cancer and 340 healthy women completed a mailed questionnaire. All of the women were pre-menopausal and controls were matched to cases by age. All risk estimates were adjusted for women's smoking history and whether they reported a prior breast biopsy. There was an odds ratio (OR) of 6.9 (95% confidence interval: 1.5-31.9) for breast cancer among pre-menopausal women with no family history if they ever worked in material processing oc...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Bajdik CD, Fang R, Band PR, Le N, Gallagher RP Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Research on Alzheimer's caregiving in Canada: current status and future directions.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In December 2002, a national workshop was held in Ottawa to guide research directions for the caregiving of people with Alzheimer's disease in Canada. Prior to the workshop, a search was conducted to identify Canadian-based investigators who have conducted research related to caregiving of individuals with cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, identify relevant Canadian research studies, and provide an overview of results and themes emerging from this research. This paper summarizes findings from our search for Canadian studies, research themes identified at the national workshop in Ottawa, and...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Chambers LW, Hendriks A, Hall HL, Raina P, McDowell I, Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Mediterranean dietary components and body mass index in adults: the peel nutrition and heart health survey.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objective of this study was to examine the hypothesis that a Mediterranean-type dietary pattern (M) is associated with healthy body weights in a large suburban municipality in Ontario. A random cross-sectional sample of 759 adults, 18 to 65 years of age, participated in a telephone survey, which included questions on the frequency of consumption of 60 food categories. Principal components analysis showed that food categories aggregated into six low-order dietary factors and two high-order dietary patterns. The M pattern reflected higher consumption of fruits and vegetables, olive oil and garlic, and fish and shellfish....
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Shubair MM, McColl RS, Hanning RM Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Screening mammography participation and invitational strategy: the Quebec Breast Cancer Screening Program, 1998-2000.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In the Quebec Breast Cancer Screening Program, a personalized letter signed by a regional program physician is sent to every woman in the province 50 to 69 years of age, inviting her to have a screening mammogram. A reminder letter is also frequently sent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of this screening invitational strategy on rates of participation. The population studied was comprised of 684,028 women in Quebec aged 50-69. The baseline (expected) monthly mammography screening rate was estimated from the rate of screening mammograms recorded between the date a woman became eligible for screening...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Jean S, Major D, Rochette L, Brisson J Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

An observational study of sun and heat protection during Canada Day outdoor celebration, 2003.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Attendance at summer outdoor mass gatherings may lead to heat- and sun-related illness. The purposes of this study were: (1) to estimate the proportion of people in attendance at the 2003 Canada Day celebration in the National Capital Region who used sun and heat protective items; (2) to identify factors associated with the utilization of these protective items; and (3) to provide research data to public outdoor event organizers when developing evidence-based plans for safer events. A naturalistic observational cross-sectional method was used to gather information at the 2003 Canada Day celebration in the National Capi...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: David ST, Chandran U, Paquette D, Scholten D, Wilson J, Galanis E, Becker M, Crane F, Lester R, Mersereau T, Wong E, Carr D Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Validity of a 12-item version of the CES-D used in the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This validation study assessed the degree of confidence that can be placed on inferences from depressive symptoms among adolescents, based on a 12-item version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D). This short version of the scale had been developed for application in the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth and we refer to it as the CES-D-12-NLSCY. The major data source for the present validation study was a 2002/2003 survey of 12,990 students in junior and senior high school in the Atlantic provinces of Canada. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses for two differen...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Poulin C, Hand D, Boudreau B Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

An analysis of the effect of selection bias on the association of hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer risk.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the impact on measures of effect of a suspected differential participation response rate between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) users and nonusers, among controls recruited to a population-based case-control study of breast cancer. The age-specific prevalence of current HRT use among controls was compared to data from the 1996 Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS). Control women identified as current HRT users were randomly re-sampled to replicate the prevalence of HRT use reported by the NPHS. Unconditional logistic regression was conducted to estimate o...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Csizmadi I, Friedenreich CM, Bryant HE, Courneya KS Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

A comparison of measures of socioeconomic status for adolescents in a Canadian national health survey.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The purpose of this study was to explore and compare measures of socioeconomic status (SES) in a national sample of Canadian adolescents. Issues of missing data and interrelationships among the measures were addressed. Measures of SES included household income, parental education, two parental occupation-based measures, and four neighbourhood proxy indicators. The proportion of adolescents with missing data was largest for household income (21.1 percent). Data were not missing at random, as adolescents missing household income information were less likely to reside in a high income neighbourhood. Pair-wise Spearman cor...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Potter BK, Speechley KN, Gutmanis IA, Campbell MK, Koval JJ, Manuel D Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

The effect of bipolar I disorder and major depressive disorder on workforce function.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This investigation was undertaken to explore and compare the effect of bipolar I disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) on workforce function. The data for this analysis were procured from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS 1.2). The sample consisted of 20 747 individuals (18 years or older and currently working); the proportions screening positive for lifetime BD and MDD were 2.4% and 11.2%, respectively. Individuals with BD or MDD had a significantly lower mean annual income, compared to people without these disorders. Individuals with BD had a signifi cantly lower annual income when compared to MD...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: McIntyre RS, Wilkins K, Gilmour H, Soczynska JK, Konarksi JZ, Miranda A, Woldeyohannes HO, Vagic D, Alsuwaidan M, Kennedy SH Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

A new population-based measure of the economic burden of mental illness in Canada.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This paper presents a comprehensive measure of the incremental economic burden of mental illness in Canada which incorporates the use of medical resources and productivity losses due to long-term and short-term disability, as well as reductions in health-related quality of life (HRQOL), for the diagnosed and undiagnosed population with mental illness. The analysis was based on the population-based Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 2.1 (2003). For all persons, we measured all health services utilization, longterm and short-term work loss, and health-related quality of life and their dollar valuations, with the econ...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Lim KL, Jacobs P, Ohinmaa A, Schopflocher D, Dewa CS Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

The evolution of HPV-related anogenital cancers reported in Quebec - Incidence rates and survival probabilities.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Non-cervical anogenital cancers (i.e. anal, vulvar, vaginal and penile cancers) associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), for which HPV is known to be the necessary cause of carcinogenesis, are poorly documented due to their relatively low incidence rate. The aim of this study is to describe the incidence rates of these cancers between 1984 and 2001, and their relative survival probabilities, in Quebec (Canada) between 1984 and 1998. The incidence of these cancers is on the rise, particularly anal cancer in women and, more recently (since 1993-95), vulvar cancer. Between 1984-86 and 1993-95, the 5-year relative s...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Louchini R, Goggin P, Steben M Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Risk factors for falling among community-dwelling seniors using home-care services: An extended hazards model with time-dependent covariates and multiple events.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The identification of risk factors for falls in longitudinal studies becomes difficult because of exposures that change during the follow-up and also because individual subjects may experience an event more than once. These issues have been neglected and improper statistical techniques have been used. The typical approaches have been to report the proportion of fallers or the time to first fall. Both avoid the underlying assumption of independence between events and discard pertinent data. We review the existing methods and propose a Cox hazards extension. We exemplify it in the study of potential risk factors associat...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Leclerc BS, Bégin C, Cadieux E, Goulet L, Leduc N, Kergoat MJ, Lebel P Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Gender and the smoking behaviour of Ethiopian immigrants in Toronto.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objective of this paper is to present descriptive data on gender and smoking among Ethiopian immigrants in Toronto, Canada. The study used a cross-sectional epidemiological survey design (N = 342). The main outcome measures identified subjects as current (regular or occasional) smokers, daily smokers and former smokers. Overall, 20.8% of the individuals in the sample were current smokers and 15.7% were daily smokers. Although smoking rates (current and daily) were significantly higher among males compared to females, nearly twice as many female as male daily smokers reported that they began smoking post-migration (60.0...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Hyman I, Fenta H, Noh S Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Ethnicity and mental health: Conceptualization, definition and operationalization of ethnicity from a Canadian context.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The current study provides a critical review of Canadian studies on ethnicity and mental health with respect to the definition, conceptualization and operationalization of ethnicity. It provides a discussion on the methodological issues related to these factors and their implications to guide future research and enable comparability of results across studies. Sociological Abstracts, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and CINAHL were used to identify relevant Canadian articles published between January 1980 and December 2004. The review highlights a number of key issues for future researchers to consider such as the need for: 1) clear r...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Clarke DE, Colantonio A, Rhodes AE, Escobar M Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Association of comorbid mood disorders and chronic illness with disability and quality of life in Ontario, Canada.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study used data collected in the Canadian Community Health Survey, cycle 3.1 (2005) to examine factors associated with comorbid mood disorders and to assess their association with the quality of life of individuals living in Ontario. Results indicate that individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, bowel disorder or stomach or intestinal ulcers had the highest rates of mood disorders. The odds of having a comorbid mood disorder were higher among women, the single, those living in poverty, the Canadian born and those between 30 and 69 years of age. The presence of comorbid mood disorders was significantly ...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Gadalla T Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Costs associated with mood and anxiety disorders, as evaluated by telephone survey.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, we estimated a set of direct health care costs using data collected in a provincial telephone survey of mood and anxiety disorders in Alberta. The survey used random digit dialing to reach a sample of 3394 household residents aged 18 to 64. A telephone interview included items assessing costs without reference to whether these were incurred by the respondent, government or a health plan. The survey interview also included the Mini Neuropsychiatric Diagnostic Interview (MINI). Costs for antidepressant medications appear to have increased since the last available estimates were published. Surprisingly, most me...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - September 17, 2008 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Patten SB, Williams JV, Mitton C Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

The burden of adult obesity in Canada.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study estimates the prevalence of obesity, calculates the proportion (or population-attributable fraction [PAF]) of major chronic diseases which is attributable to obesity, estimates the deaths attributable to it and projects its future prevalence trends. In Canada, the overall age-standardized prevalence proportion of obesity has increased from 10 percent in 1970 to 23% in 2004 (8 percent to 23 percent in men and 13 percent to 22 percent in women). The increasing prevalence of obesity was observed for all five age groups examined: 20-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64 and 65+. On average, the PAF of prevalence of selected major...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - January 1, 2007 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Luo W, Morrison H, de Groh M, Waters C, DesMeules M, Jones-McLean E, Ugnat AM, Desjardins S, Lim M, Mao Y Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Prostate cancer risk and diet, recreational physical activity and cigarette smoking.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Associations between prostate cancer and dietary factors, physical activity and smoking were assessed based on data from a population-based case-control study. The study was conducted among residents of northeastern Ontario. Cases were identified from the Ontario Cancer Registry and diagnosed between 1995 and 1998 at ages 50 to 84 years (N=752). Male controls were identified from telephone listings and were frequency matched to cases on age (N=1,613). Logistic regression analyses investigated history of diet, physical activity and smoking as potential risk factors. Tomato intake had a significant positive association w...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - January 1, 2007 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Darlington GA, Kreiger N, Lightfoot N, Purdham J, Sass-Kortsak A Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals

Smoking-attributable mortality and expected years of life lost in Canada 2002: conclusions for prevention and policy.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Cigarette smoking is one of the most important risk factors for burden of disease. Our objective was to estimate the smoking-attributable deaths and the years of life lost for Canada 2002. For Canada in 2002, 37,209 of all deaths aged 0 to 80+ years were attributable to smoking, 23,766 in men and 13,443 in women. This constituted 16.6 percent of all deaths in Canada, 21 percent for men and 12.2 percent for women. Main causes of smoking-attributable death were malignant neoplasms (17,427), cardiovascular diseases (CVD) (10,275) and respiratory diseases (8,282). Lung cancer (13,401) and chronic obstructive pulmonary dise...
Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada - January 1, 2007 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Baliunas D, Patra J, Rehm J, Popova S, Kaiserman M, Taylor B Tags: Chronic Dis Can Source Type: journals