Diabetes prevalence and complication rates: In individual First Nations communities in the Sioux Lookout region of Ontario.

Objective: To test the feasibility of reporting diabetes indicators at a regional and community level in order to provide feedback to local leaders on health system performance.

Design: Analysis of administrative data from hospital discharges and physician billings.

Setting: Sioux Lookout region of Ontario.

Which Physicians Are Taking Care of People With COPD?

Background: There is limited knowledge on what proportions of patients with COPD receive ambulatory care from primary care physicians, pulmonologists, or other specialists. We evaluated the types and combinations of physicians who provide ambulatory care to patients with COPD.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using health administrative datasets from Ontario, Canada between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015.

Physician Characteristics Associated With Ordering 4 Low-Value Screening Tests in Primary Care.

Importance: Efforts to reduce low-value tests and treatments in primary care are often ineffective. These efforts typically target physicians broadly, most of whom order low-value care infrequently.

Objectives: To measure physician-level use rates of 4 low-value screening tests in primary care to investigate the presence and characteristics of primary care physicians who frequently order low-value care.

Frequency and Associations of Prescription Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Use Among Patients With a Musculoskeletal Disorder and Hypertension, Heart Failure, or Chronic Kidney Disease.

Importance: International nephrology societies advise against nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use in patients with hypertension, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, recent studies have not investigated the frequency or associations of use in these patients.

Objectives: To estimate the frequency of and variation in prescription NSAID use among high-risk patients, to identify characteristics associated with prescription NSAID use, and to investigate whether use is associated with short-term, safety-related outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this retrospective cohort study, administrative claims databases were linked to create a cohort of primary care visits for a musculoskeletal disorder involving patients 65 years and older with a history of hypertension, heart failure, or CKD between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2016, in Ontario, Canada.

Quantifying comorbidity in individuals with COPD: a population study.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been associated with many types of comorbidity. We aimed to quantify the real world impact of COPD on lower respiratory tract infection, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, psychiatric disease, musculoskeletal disease and cancer, and their impact on COPD through health services. A population study using health administrative data from Ontario, Canada, in 2008-2012 was conducted.

Tobacco retail outlets and vulnerable populations in Ontario, Canada.

Interest has been increasing in regulating the location and number of tobacco vendors as part of a comprehensive tobacco control program. The objective of this paper is to examine the distribution of tobacco outlets in a large jurisdiction, to assess: (1) whether tobacco outlets are more likely to be located in vulnerable areas; and (2) what proportion of tobacco outlets are located close to schools. Retail locations across the Province of Ontario from Ministry of Health Promotion data were linked to 2006 Census data at the neighbourhood level.

Association between use of contraband tobacco and smoking cessation outcomes: a population-based cohort study.

Background: High tobacco prices, typically achieved through taxation, are an evidence-based strategy to reduce tobacco use. However, the presence of inexpensive contraband tobacco could undermine this effective intervention by providing an accessible alternative to quitting. We assessed whether the use of contraband tobacco negatively affects smoking cessation outcomes.

Transitions in smoking status over time in a population-based panel study of smokers.

Introduction: Few studies have examined the transitions of smokers in the general population through multiple periods of daily, occasional smoking, or abstinence over time. Transitions from daily to occasional smoking are particularly of interest as these may be steps toward cessation.

Methods: The Ontario Tobacco Survey panel study followed 4,355 baseline smokers, semiannually for up to 3 years.