Publications by authors named "Margaret De Groh"

Background: Individuals with migraine are recognized to have a heightened risk of depression compared to the general population. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health restrictions exacerbated several known risk factors for depression, but limited longitudinal research has examined the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of people with migraine.

Aim: To examine the cumulative incidence of depression and recurrent depression among older adults with migraine, and to identify factors associated with depression among older adults with migraine during the pandemic.

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Objectives: The objectives of this study were 1) to examine and compare changes in functional limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults with and without diabetes; and 2): to identify key risk factors associated with developing functional limitations among older adults with and without diabetes during the pandemic.

Methods: We analyzed data collected from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. The analysis was restricted to those with no functional limitations in the follow-up 1 wave (2015 to 2018) (final sample N=6,045).

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Introduction: Research characterizing substance use disparities between gender minority youth (GMY) and non-GMY (i.e. girls and boys) is limited.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic affected depression rates among older adults with a history of stroke, revealing an increase in both new and recurrent depression cases during this time.
  • Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, it found that nearly half of participants with a history of depression relapsed, while about 15% of those without prior depression developed it for the first time.
  • Factors such as immigration status, loneliness, functional limitations, and COVID-related stressors were linked to higher depression risks, highlighting the need for targeted mental health interventions for stroke survivors.
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Background: The growth of urban dwelling populations globally has led to rapid increases of research and policy initiatives addressing associations between the built environment and physical activity (PA). Given this rapid proliferation, it is important to identify priority areas and research questions for moving the field forward. The objective of this study was to identify and compare research priorities on the built environment and PA among researchers and knowledge users (e.

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The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have exacerbated many known risk factors for depression that may be particularly concerning for individuals with chronic health conditions, such as peptic ulcer disease (PUD). In a large longitudinal sample of older adults with PUD, the current study examined the incidence of depression during the pandemic among those without a pre-pandemic history of depression (n = 689) and the recurrence of depression among those with a history of depression (n = 451). Data came from four waves of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

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Background And Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures intensified risk factors for depression and concurrently heightened numerous health-related stressors for individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Utilizing a comprehensive longitudinal sample of Canadian older adults, this study examined the incidence and recurrence of depression among older adults with COPD, and identified factors that were associated with depression during the pandemic among this population.

Methods: Data came from four phases of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) (n=875 with COPD).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to examine the prevalence and factors linked to new and recurring depression among older cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing data from a large Canadian aging cohort.
  • - Findings revealed that 12.5% of older cancer patients without prior depression developed new depressive symptoms, while 50% of those with a history of depression saw a recurrence, with increased risks associated with loneliness, functional limitations, and family conflict.
  • - The research highlights the need for healthcare providers to routinely assess and support mental health in cancer patients, paying special attention to those identified as vulnerable due to loneliness, financial strain, or health-related issues.
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Background: Oral health plays a role in overall health, indicating the need to identify barriers to accessing oral care. The objective of this study was to identify barriers to accessing oral health care and examine the association between socioeconomic, psychosocial, and physical measures with access to oral health care among older Canadians.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) follow-up 1 survey to analyze dental insurance and last oral health care visit.

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Oral health is a critical component of overall health. The objective of this study was to describe oral health problems among 47,581 adults aged 45 to 85 in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) among those who have at least one natural tooth (92%) and those without natural teeth across various demographic categories. Among the 47,581 participants in the study, 92% reported having at least one natural tooth (dentate).

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected access to health care services in Canada; however, limited research examines the influence of the social determinants of health on unmet health care needs during the first year of the pandemic. The objectives of this study were to describe unmet health care needs during the first year of the pandemic and to investigate the association of unmet needs with the social determinants of health.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 23 972 adults participating in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) COVID-19 Study (April-December 2020) to identify the social determinants of health associated with unmet health care needs during the pandemic.

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Background: People with obesity are at increased risk of chronic stress, and this may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are also associated with both obesity and stress, and may modify risk of stress among people with obesity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the associations between obesity, ACEs, and stress during the pandemic, and to determine if the association between obesity and stress was modified by ACEs.

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Objectives: (1) In a subsample of older adults with asthma without a history of depression, to determine the factors associated with developing depression during the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) in a subsample of older adults with asthma with a history of depression, to identify factors associated with recurrent depression during the pandemic.

Methods: Data came from four waves (Baseline [2011-2015], Follow-up 1 [2015-2018]; COVID Spring 2020, COVID Autumn 2020) of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging's comprehensive cohort (n = 2,047 with asthma). The outcome of interest was a positive screen for depression based on the CES-D-10 during the autumn of 2020.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted access to healthcare services in Canada. Research prior to the pandemic has found that depression and anxiety symptoms were associated with increased unmet healthcare needs. The primary objective of this study was to examine if mental health was associated with perceived access to healthcare during the pandemic METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from 23,972 participants (aged 50-96) in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging COVID-19 Exit Survey (Sept-Dec 2020).

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The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying public health measures have exacerbated many risk factors for depression in older adulthood. The objectives of the current study are: (1) to determine the risk of incident and recurrent depression during the COVID-19 pandemic among those with, or without, a history of depression; and (2) to identify factors that were predictive of depression in these two groups. The study population included 22,622 participants of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging who provided data at baseline (2011-2015), follow-up (2015-2018), and twice during the pandemic (April-May 2020, September-December 2020).

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Background: Multiple characteristics of the urban environment have been shown to influence population health and health-related behaviours, though the distribution and combined effects of these characteristics on health is less understood. A composite measure of multiple environmental conditions would allow for comparisons among different urban areas; however, this measure is not available in Canada.

Objectives: To develop an index of environmental quality for Canada's largest urban areas and to assess the influence of population size on index values.

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Global industries and technological advancements have contributed to the proliferation of fast food (FF) establishments and ultraprocessed food, associated with poorer diet quality and health outcomes. To investigate FF as an indicator, we compared alternative methods to capture self-reported FF consumption and examined associated socio-demographic factors. We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2014-2015 Foodbook study, a cross-sectional survey on foods consumed by Canadians during the previous week.

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Introduction: Over the last decade, e-cigarette use has been on the rise but with growing health concerns. The objective of this systematic review was to update findings for chronic health outcomes associated with e-cigarette use from the 2018 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report.

Methods: Three bibliographic databases were searched to identify studies comparing the chronic health effects of e-cigarette users (ECU) to non-smokers (NS), smokers, and/or dual users indexed between 31 August 2017 and 29 January 2021.

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Background: Falls are a leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations among adults aged 65 years and older and may result in social isolation.

Objective: To summarise evidence on falls and subsequent social isolation and/or loneliness in older adults through a scoping review.

Eligibility Criteria: Studies were eligible for inclusion if the population had a mean age of 60 years or older, they examined falls and subsequent social isolation, loneliness, fear of falling or risk factors and were primary studies (eg, experimental, quasi-experimental, observational and qualitative).

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Introduction: As a largely social behaviour, substance use may have decreased for some youth overall in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, continued use may indicate nonadherence to pandemic-related restrictions and social distancing measures. In a sample of Canadian adolescents (aged 12-19 years), our objective was to examine how substance use (cannabis, binge drinking, cigarettes, vaping) is associated with perceptions of, and adherence to, early COVID-19-related public health measures, taking into consideration sociodemographic factors.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were retrieved from online data collected during Year 8 of the COMPASS school-based study, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (May-July 2020) in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

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Article Synopsis
  • Built environments are linked to chronic diseases due to their influence on physical activity (PA), prompting a surge in research seeking to clarify this relationship.
  • The study reviewed 116 systematic reviews focusing on the connections between built environments and various PA domains among adults in high-income OECD countries, finding most evidence to be of low quality.
  • Results indicated moderate to high certainty that supportive environments enhance active transportation among working-aged adults, but there was limited evidence regarding older adults and occupational PA, with many findings remaining inconclusive.
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Background: The indirect consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in older adults, such as stress, are unknown. We sought to describe the stressors and perceived consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults in Canada and to evaluate differences by socioeconomic factors.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging COVID-19 Exit Questionnaire (September-December 2020).

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Background: Built environments have shown to be associated with health, with physical activity (PA) considered one of the critical pathways for achieving benefits. Navigating available evidence on the built environment and PA is challenging given the number of reviews.

Objective: Examine the current state and quality of research looking at associations between built environments and total PA and domains of PA (i.

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Objectives: The objective of our systematic review was to identify the effective interventions to prevent or mitigate social isolation and/or loneliness in older adults who experienced a fall.

Design: Systematic review.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Ageline were searched (from inception to February 2020).

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Background: Using a nationally representative cohort of Canadian adults, we assessed associations between neighbourhood walkability and cause-specific mortality and investigated whether they differed by socioeconomic status.

Methods: The study population was drawn from the 2001 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort, which contains individual-level data from a random sample of 20% of Canadian households mandated to complete the long-form census. We included those aged ≥ 25 years at baseline who lived in urban and suburban areas.

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