Canadian Refugee Women Are at Increased Risk of Postpartum Depression: How Can We Help?

Refugee women in Canada are at increased risk of postpartum depression (PPD) compared with Canadian-born women. Physicians specializing in women's health are in a unique position to intervene with refugee women experiencing PPD. Although there are common contributors to the development of PPD in both Canadian-born and refugee women, refugee women face a number of additional barriers to treatment.

Descriptive Epidemiology of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Canada.

Objective: The first national survey to assess the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in Canada was the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being (CCHS-MH). The World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI), used within the representative sample of the CCHS-MH, provides the best available description of the epidemiology of this condition in Canada. This study uses the CCHS-MH data to describe the epidemiology of GAD.

Building a framework for global health learning: an analysis of global health concentrations in Canadian medical schools.

Purpose: This study set out to explore the current state of global health concentrations in Canadian medical schools and to solicit feedback on the barriers and challenges to implementing rigorous global health concentration programs.

Method: A set of consensus guidelines for global health concentrations was drafted through consultation with student and faculty leaders across Canada between May 2011 and May 2012. Drawing on these guidelines, a formal survey was sent to prominent faculty at each of the 14 English-speaking Canadian medical schools.

Vitamin B12 deficiency with combined hematological and neuropsychiatric derangements: a case report.

Introduction: Although vitamin B12 deficiency is a well-known cause of hematological and neuropsychiatric illness, the presentation of combined severe pancytopenia, demyelination and prominent psychiatric impairment is rare.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a previously healthy 55-year-old East African man with severe vitamin B12 deficiency (serum vitamin B12 22pmol/L) secondary to pernicious anemia. He had a severe hypoproliferative megaloblastic anemia with hemolysis (hemoglobin 61g/L, mean corpuscular volume 99fL, reticulocytes 0.

Is cortisol excretion independent of menstrual cycle day? A longitudinal evaluation of first morning urinary specimens.

Background: Cortisol is frequently used as a marker of physiologic stress levels. Using cortisol for that purpose, however, requires a thorough understanding of its normal longitudinal variability. The current understanding of longitudinal variability of basal cortisol secretion in women is very limited.

Clinical correlates of quality of life in systemic sclerosis measured with the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II.

Objective: To identify the clinical characteristics of systemic sclerosis (SSc) that best correlate with the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with SSc, using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II) as the measure of HRQOL.

Methods: A cross-sectional, multicenter study of 337 patients from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Registry was conducted. Patients were assessed through detailed clinical histories, medical examination, and the WHODAS II.