Chronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada

INTRODUCTION: This study provides a comprehensive summary of the sociodemographic, psychosocial and health characteristics of a large population-based cohort of Ontario home care clients (aged 50 years and over) with dementia and examines the variation in these characteristics in those with co-existing neurological conditions. METHODS: Clients were assessed with the Resident Assessment Instrument-Home Care (RAI-HC) between January 2003 and December 2010. Descriptive analyses examined the distribution of these characteristics among clients with dementia relative to several comparison groups, as well as clients with other recorded neurological conditions...

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the characteristics of experimental smoking among youth is critical for designing prevention programs. This study examined which student- and school-level factors differentiated experimental smokers from never smokers in a nationally representative sample of Canadian students in grades 9 to 12. METHODS: School-level data from the 2006 Canadian Census and one built environment characteristic (tobacco retailer density) were linked with data from secondary school students from the 2008-2009 Canadian Youth Smoking Survey and examined using multilevel logistic regression analyses...

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this manuscript is to examine the prevalence of youth exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS) in homes and cars, changes in SHS exposure over time, and factors associated with beliefs youth hold regarding SHS exposure among a nationally representative sample of Canadian youth. METHODS: Descriptive analysis of SHS exposure in homes and cars was conducted using data from the Canadian Youth Smoking Survey (2004, 2006 and 2008). Logistic regression was conducted to examine factors associated with beliefs youth had about SHS exposure in 2008...

INTRODUCTION: This study describes the prevalence of smoking, obesity, sedentary behaviour/physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption and alcohol use as well as the uptake of breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening among First Nations and Métis adults in Ontario and compares these to that of the non-Aboriginal population. METHODS: We used the Canadian Community Health Survey (2007 to 2011 combined) to calculate prevalence estimates for the 3 ethnocultural populations...

INTRODUCTION: Most individual preventive therapies potentially narrow or widen health disparities depending on the difference in community effectiveness across socioeconomic position (SEP). The equity tipping point (defined as the point at which health disparities become larger) can be calculated by varying components of community effectiveness such as baseline risk of disease, intervention coverage and/or intervention efficacy across SEP. METHODS: We used a simple modelling approach to estimate the community effectiveness of diabetes prevention across SEP in Canada under different scenarios of intervention coverage...

INTRODUCTION: This study describes rates of self-inflicted and assault-related injury hospitalizations in areas with a relatively high percentage of residents identifying as First Nations, Métis and Inuit, by injury cause, age group and sex. METHODS: All separation records from acute in-patient hospitals for Canadian provinces and territories excluding Quebec were obtained from the Discharge Abstract Database. Dissemination areas with more than 33% of residents reporting an Aboriginal identity in the 2006 Census were categorized as high-percentage Aboriginal-identity areas...

INTRODUCTION: Patients presenting to emergency departments (ED) for injuries resulting from recreational activities represent a unique source of information on important directions for injury prevention efforts. We describe the epidemiology of non-motorized wheeled activity-related injury in pediatric patients presenting to Canadian EDs as well as patients' helmet use. METHODS: Data for the years 2004 to 2009 were abstracted from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), a national ED injury surveillance program in fifteen hospitals...

In 1989, long before this journal added injuries to its title, it published two papers on childhood injuries and I was asked to write an editorial for this occasion. I chose the title "Challenges for Injury Prevention: Two Neglected Aspects" because I thought the papers neglected to mention the inadequacy of injury statistics (at the time there were no emergency department data) and also failed to emphasize the public health importance of childhood injuries. It is instructive, therefore, to compare this issue's offerings with how matters stood nearly 25 years ago and see what progress we've made...

The incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing more rapidly than that of any other cancer in Canada, while mortality has remained low and stable. In the last 10 years the number of thyroid cancer cases has increased 144% from 1709 to 4172 cases per year. Thyroid cancer is three times more common in females than males. 40% of thyroid cancers are diagnosed in Canadians under 45 years of age. Some of the apparent increase in incidence is likely due to improved and more widely available diagnostic techniques.

INTRODUCTION: The evidence supporting chronic disease self-management warrants further attention. Our aim was to identify existing policies, strategies and frameworks that support self-management initiatives. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted as an environmental scan, consisting of an Internet search of government and other publicly available websites, and interviews with jurisdictional representatives identified through the Health Council of Canada and academic networking...

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated associations between ecological variables and the risk of very small for gestational age (VSGA) birth in Quebec in 2000-2008. METHODS: Ecological variables came from the Canadian Community Health Survey, the Canadian census and Quebec's birth registry; individual variables also came from Quebec's birth registry. Odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for mother's age, academic qualification, parity, marital status and country of birth were estimated using multilevel logistic regression (generalized estimating equations method)...

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a combination of risk markers that appear to promote the development of chronic disease. We examined the burden of MetS in Canada through its current and projected association with chronic disease. METHODS: We used measures from the Canadian Health Measures Survey 2007-2009 to identify the prevalence of MetS in Canadian adults and examine associations between sociodemographic factors and major chronic diseases. We estimated the projected cumulative incidence of diabetes and percent risk of a fatal cardiovascular event using the Diabetes Population Risk Tool (DPoRT) and Framingham algorithms...

BACKGROUND: Hysterectomy is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures among Canadian women. The consequence is a population that no longer requires cervical cancer screening. The objective of our analysis was to provide more accurate estimates of eligible participation in cervical screening by estimating the age-specific prevalence of hysterectomy among Canadian women aged 20 to 69 by province and territory between 2000/2001 and 2008. METHODS: Self-reported hysterectomy prevalence was obtained from the 2000/2001, 2003 and 2008 Canadian Community Health Survey...

INTRODUCTION: In Montréal, the characteristics of suicide cases may vary between different areas. The information collected by coroners during their investigations of suicides could be used to support local suicide-prevention planning actions. METHODS: This study analyzes all coroners' records on suicide in Montréal from 2007 to 2009 to (1) determine the usefulness of the data available; (2) develop a profile of cases; (3) examine local differences by comparing two areas, one with the highest suicide rate and the other with the lowest...

INTRODUCTION: Despite the widespread use of deprivation indices in public health, they are rarely explicitly or extensively validated, owing to the complex nature of the exercise. METHODS: Based on the proposals of British researchers, we sought to validate Quebec's material and social deprivation index using criteria of validity (content, criterion and construct validity), reliability and responsiveness, as well as other properties relevant to public health (comprehensibility, objectivity and practicality)...

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to survey Canadian parents on their attitudes and beliefs about bicycle helmet legislation and to compare responses from parents living in provinces with and without legislation. METHODS: A national survey of 1002 parents of children aged under 18 years was conducted. Chi-square tests were used to compare responses from the surveyed parents in the different jurisdictions. RESULTS: Responses from parents living in provinces with legislation (n = 640) and without legislation (n = 362) were as follows: concern for injury (63% vs...

INTRODUCTION: We examined the effect of bicycle helmet fit and position on head and facial injuries. METHODS: Cases were helmeted cyclists with a head (n=297) or facial (n=289) injury. Controls were helmeted cyclists with other injuries, excluding the neck. Participants were interviewed in seven Alberta emergency departments or by telephone; injury data were collected from charts. Missing values were imputed using chained equations and custom prediction imputation models...

INTRODUCTION: The Public Health Agency of Canada developed the Chronic Disease Indicator Framework (the Framework) with the goal of systematizing and enhancing chronic disease surveillance in Canada by providing the basis for consistent and reliable information on chronic diseases and their determinants. METHODS: Available national and international health indicators, frameworks and national health databases were reviewed to identify potential indicators. To make sure that a comprehensive and balanced set of indicators relevant to chronic disease prevention was included, a conceptual model with "core domains" for grouping eligible indicators was developed...

INTRODUCTION: We examined the concordance between the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) "identity" and "ancestry" questions used to estimate the size of the Aboriginal population in Canada and whether the different definitions affect the prevalence of selected chronic diseases. METHODS: Based on responses to the "identity" and "ancestry" questions in the CCHS combined 2009-2010 microdata file, Aboriginal participants were divided into 4 groups: (A) identity only; (B) ancestry only; (C) either ancestry or identity; and (D) both ancestry and identity...

INTRODUCTION: The Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada--hypertension component (SLCDC-H) is a 20-minute cross-sectional telephone survey on hypertension diagnosis and management. Sampled from the 2008 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), the SLCDC-H includes Canadians (aged ≥ 20 years) with self-reported hypertension from the ten provinces. METHODS: The questionnaire was developed by Delphi technique, externally reviewed and qualitatively tested...