Acute Post-Prandial Cognitive Effects of Brown Seaweed Extract in Humans.

(Poly)phenols and, specifically, phlorotannins present in brown seaweeds have previously been shown to inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase, key enzymes involved in the breakdown and intestinal absorption of carbohydrates. Related to this are observations of modulation of post-prandial glycemic response in mice and increased insulin sensitivity in humans when supplemented with seaweed extract. However, no studies to date have explored the effect of seaweed extract on cognition.

Using decision trees for measuring gender equity in the timing of angiography in patients with acute coronary syndrome: a novel approach to equity analysis.

Background: Methods to measure or quantify equity in health care remain scarce, if not difficult to interpret. A novel method to measure health equity is presented, applied to gender health equity, and illustrated with an example of timing of angiography in patients following a hospital admission for an acute coronary syndrome.

Methods: Linked administrative hospital discharge and survey data was used to identify a retrospective cohort of patients hospitalized with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) between 2002 and 2008 who also responded to the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), was analyzed using decision trees to determine whether gender impacted the delay to angiography following an ACS.

The importance of place of residence in patient satisfaction.

Objective: To determine the effect of patients' place of residence on their evaluations of care, and to explore related policy implications.

Study Design: We used a conditional regression analysis of stratum matched case controls to examine whether place of residence of patients living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or in Ontario outside of the GTA affects patient satisfaction with their experiences during hospitalization.

Setting: One hundred and six acute care hospitals located in the province of Ontario, Canada.

The Value of Performance Measurement in Promoting Improvements in Women's Health.

Objectives: To determine the factors associated with the use and impact of performance data relevant to women's health.

Methods: We developed a survey on six levels of information use based on Knott and Wildavsky's (1980) policy utilization framework and used this survey to determine Ontario hospital administrators' use of women's health report indicators. We related responses to this survey to six potentially relevant organizational factors, such as women's health as a written hospital priority, a women's health program and hospital budget size, using correlation and multiple-regression analysis.

A one-year economic evaluation of six alternative strategies in the management of uninvestigated upper gastrointestinal symptoms in Canadian primary care.

Background: The cost-effectiveness of initial strategies in managing Canadian patients with uninvestigated upper gastrointestinalsymptoms remains controversial.

Objective: To assess the cost-effectiveness of six management approaches to uninvestigated upper gastrointestinal symptoms in the Canadian setting.

Methods: The present study analyzed data from four randomized trials assessing homogeneous and complementary populations of Canadian patients with uninvestigated upper gastrointestinal symptoms with comparable outcomes.