Chronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada最新文献

Introduction: Mortality data by occupation are not routinely available in Canada, so we analyzed census-linked data to examine cause-specific mortality rates across groups of occupations ranked by skill level.

Methods: A 15% sample of 1991 Canadian Census respondents aged 25 years or older was previously linked to 16 years of mortality data (1991-2006). The current analysis is based on 2.3 million people aged 25 to 64 years at cohort inception, among whom there were 164 332 deaths during the follow-up period. Occupations coded according to the National Occupation Classification were grouped into five skill levels. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs), rate ratios (RRs), rate differences (RDs) and excess mortality were calculated by occupational skill level for various causes of death.

Results: ASMRs were clearly graded by skill level: they were highest among those employed in unskilled jobs (and those without an occupation) and lowest for those in professional occupations. All-cause RRs for men were 1.16, 1.40, 1.63 and 1.83 with decreasing occupational skill level compared with professionals. For women the gradient was less steep: 1.23, 1.24, 1.32 and 1.53. This gradient was present for most causes of death. Rate ratios comparing lowest to highest skill levels were greater than 2 for HIV/AIDS, diabetes mellitus, suicide and cancer of the cervix as well as for causes of death associated with tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption.

Conclusion: Mortality gradients by occupational skill level were evident for most causes of death. These results provide detailed cause-specific baseline indicators not previously available for Canada.

Introduction: Our purpose was to evaluate changes in fall-related mortality in adults aged 65 years and over in Quebec and to propose a case definition based on all the causes entered on Return of Death forms.

Methods: The analysis covers deaths between 1981 and 2009 recorded in the Quebec vital statistics data.

Results: While the number of fall-related deaths increased between 1981 and 2009, the adjusted falls-related mortality rate remained relatively stable. Since the early 2000s, this stability has masked opposing trends. The mortality rate associated with certified falls (W00-W19) has increased while the rate for presumed falls (exposure to an unspecified factor causing a fracture) has decreased.

Conclusion: For fall surveillance, analyses using indicators from the vital statistics data should include both certified falls and presumed falls. In addition, a possible shift in the coding of fall-related deaths toward secondary causes should be taken into account.

Introduction: There are analytic challenges involved with estimating the aggregate burden of multiple risk factors (RFs) in a population. We describe a methodology to account for overlapping RFs in some sub-populations, a phenomenon that leads to "double-counting" the diseases and economic burden generated by those factors.

Methods: Our method uses an efficient approach to accurately analyze the aggregate economic burden of chronic disease across a multifactorial system. In addition, it involves considering the effect of body weight as a continuous or polytomous exposure that ranges from no excess weight through overweight to obesity. We then apply this method to smoking, physical inactivity and overweight/obesity in Manitoba, a province of Canada.

Results: The annual aggregate economic burden of the RFs in Manitoba in 2008 is about $1.6 billion ($557 million for smoking, $299 million for physical inactivity and $747 million for overweight/obesity). The total burden represents a 12.6% downward adjustment to account for the effect of multiple RFs in some individuals in the population.

Conclusion: An improved estimate of the aggregate economic burden of multiple RFs in a given population can assist in prioritizing and gaining support for primary prevention initiatives.

Introduction: Evidence suggests that current levels of tritium emissions from CANDU reactors in Canada are not related to adverse health effects. However, these studies lack tritium-specific dose data and have small numbers of cases. The purpose of our study was to determine whether tritium emitted from a nuclear-generating station during routine operation is associated with risk of cancer in Pickering, Ontario.

Methods: A retrospective cohort was formed through linkage of Pickering and north Oshawa residents (1985) to incident cancer cases (1985-2005). We examined all sites combined, leukemia, lung, thyroid and childhood cancers (6-19 years) for males and females as well as female breast cancer. Tritium estimates were based on an atmospheric dispersion model, incorporating characteristics of annual tritium emissions and meteorology. Tritium concentration estimates were assigned to each cohort member based on exact location of residence. Person-years analysis was used to determine whether observed cancer cases were higher than expected. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine whether tritium was associated with radiation-sensitive cancers in Pickering.

Results: Person-years analysis showed female childhood cancer cases to be significantly higher than expected (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] = 1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-3.38). The issue of multiple comparisons is the most likely explanation for this finding. Cox models revealed that female lung cancer was significantly higher in Pickering versus north Oshawa (HR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.23-4.46) and that tritium was not associated with increased risk. The improved methodology used in this study adds to our understanding of cancer risks associated with low-dose tritium exposure.

Conclusion: Tritium estimates were not associated with increased risk of radiationsensitive cancers in Pickering.

Introduction: Venous leg ulceration is associated with pain and poor health-related quality of life (HRQL). The purpose of this study was to identify demographic and clinical characteristics associated with pain and decreased HRQL in patients with active venous ulcers.

Methods: Baseline data were combined from two trials that took place between 2001 and 2007 (n = 564). Pain was measured using the Numeric Pain Scale (NPS), and HRQL was measured using the Medical Outcomes Survey 12-item Short Form (SF-12), which generates a Physical (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS). Analyses included logistic and linear regression (for pain and HRQL, respectively).

Results: Mean age was 66.5 years; 47% were male. Median NPS score was 2.2 (out of 10) and mean PCS and MCS scores were 38.0 and 50.5, respectively (scores are standardized to a mean of 50 representing average HRQL). Younger age, living with others, and arthritis were associated with pain. Poorer PCS was associated with being female, venous/mixed ulcer etiology, larger ulcers, longer ulcer duration, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and higher pain intensity. Poorer MCS was associated with younger age, longer ulcer duration, comorbidity and higher pain intensity.

Conclusion: Research is needed to test strategies to reduce pain and possibly improve HRQL in high risk groups.

Introduction: Chronic liver diseases (CLDs) are a worldwide problem. Morbidity and mortality due to CLDs could be avoided or reduced by targeting the main risk factors, including obesity and alcohol use.

Methods: To describe the evolution of the key determinants of CLDs in Quebec, we studied the trends in obesity, alcohol use, viral hepatitis B and C, CLD mortality and hospitalization rates, and the liver cancer incidence rate between January 1, 1981, and December 31, 2009.

Results: We observed an increase in the obesity indicators among young men and in alcohol use among adolescent girls and middle-aged women. The overall hepatitis B and C incidence and CLD mortality rates are falling. However, liver cancer and mortality rates, especially among men and the elderly, are on the rise.

Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of targeted public health interventions and of maintaining or improving access to care for CLDs.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic literature review of injury related to certain consumer products.

Methods: Forty-six empirical research reports along with 32 surveillance reports from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) were examined to determine the approximate number of injuries associated with a given product per year and any trends in frequency. Percentages of injuries that: (1) resulted in hospitalization, (2) appeared to result from the product itself and (3) were associated with risky or inappropriate use and/or non-use of a helmet were also extracted from the reports.

Results: Outdoor play and sports equipment appear to be associated with the greatest numbers of injuries. A relatively high proportion of injuries appear to result from inappropriate or risky use of a product and/or inadequate safety precautions.

Conclusion: This review identified the following areas of concern regarding consumer products and injuries: lack of helmet use by people using in-line skates, sleds, snowboards, downhill skis and personal-powered watercraft; operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles by alcohol-impaired people; operation of snowmobiles at excessive speeds; poor design of playground equipment; and unsafe storage and use of matches.

Introduction: To determine if using a combination of hospital administrative data and ambulatory care physician billings can accurately identify patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), we tested 9 algorithms for identifying individuals with CHF from administrative data.

Methods: The validation cohort against which the 9 algorithms were tested combined data from a random sample of adult patients from EMRALD, an electronic medical record database of primary care physicians in Ontario, Canada, and data collected in 2004/05 from a random sample of primary care patients for a study of hypertension. Algorithms were evaluated on sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, area under the curve on the ROC graph and the combination of likelihood ratio positive and negative.

Results: We found that that one hospital record or one physician billing followed by a second record from either source within one year had the best result, with a sensitivity of 84.8% and a specificity of 97.0%.

Conclusion: Population prevalence of CHF can be accurately measured using combined administrative data from hospitalization and ambulatory care.