Publications by authors named "Sarah McDonald"

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common medical complication of pregnancy that leads to adverse outcomes for both infants and pregnant people. Early detection and treatment can mitigate these negative outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic strained healthcare and laboratory services, including GDM screening programs.

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Objectives: Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) face multiple barriers when accessing treatment and rarely receive best-practice cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) when they seek help. Remote treatments, such as internet-delivered CBT (ICBT), enhance access to evidence-based treatments. To date, no known studies have examined the reasons individuals seek remote treatment over traditional in-person treatment for OCD.

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Objectives: To assess perioperative right ventricular (RV) echocardiographic indices and their relationship to vasopressor and inotropic support in cardiac surgical patients. The authors hypothesized that a reduction in echocardiographic parameters of RV function would be associated with a longer duration of vasopressor and inotropic support in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Design: A prospective observational study.

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Article Synopsis
  • Preterm birth (PTB) is a significant cause of neonatal mortality and is associated with higher risks of death later in life, but research on long-term outcomes in North America is limited.
  • This study analyzed data from nearly 5 million births in Canada between 1983 and 1996 to investigate the link between PTB and mortality from birth to age 36.
  • Findings revealed that individuals born preterm had a significantly increased risk of death across all age groups, especially in infancy, highlighting the long-term implications of PTB on health.
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Objectives: Self-guided internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) is an effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); however, there is little research investigating who dropouts of treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct an exploratory study of predictors of dropout in self-guided ICBT for OCD. Given that definitions of dropout vary across ICBT studies, we conceptualized dropout in multiple ways: (1) early dropout (proportion of participants who did not complete the pre-treatment questionnaires); (2) proportion of participants who did not commence the intervention; (3) proportion of participants who did not complete the treatment; and (4) proportion of participants who did not complete the post-treatment questionnaires.

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Objective: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a persistent mental health condition that results in significant individual and economic burden. The uptake of evidence-based treatment is low, with many individuals with GAD citing cost as one of the key barriers. Brief treatments, which are typically more cost effective than standard length treatments, have the potential to make treatment more accessible to patients with GAD.

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Background And Objectives: Preterm birth (PTB) affects ~10% of births worldwide; however, most literature focused on short-term clinical outcomes, with much less focus on long-term socioeconomic outcomes after PTB. We examined associations between PTB and individuals' income, employment, and educational outcomes during early adulthood.

Methods: We conducted a population-level matched cohort study including all live births in Canada between 1990 and 1996, followed until 2018.

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Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) is an effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Currently there is limited research examining the predictors and moderators of outcome in ICBT for OCD. This study examined moderators of treatment outcome in a sample of 216 individuals who commenced a self-guided ICBT intervention for OCD (Mage = 34.

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Article Synopsis
  • Legalization of cannabis has led to increased usage among pregnant and lactating women, requiring clinicians to address this topic even if they feel unprepared.
  • The study involved interviews with 75 individuals, including 23 clinicians and 52 patients, to understand their perspectives on cannabis consumption during pregnancy and lactation.
  • Both clinicians and patients desire a nonjudgmental, open dialogue about cannabis that includes information sharing, exploration of values, and informed decision-making about the benefits and risks involved.
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Background: A substantial proportion of living kidney donors are women of childbearing age. Some prior studies report a higher risk of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia in living kidney donors compared with nondonors. Further research is needed to better quantify the risk of adverse maternal, fetal/infant, and neonatal outcomes attributable to living kidney donation.

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Objective: Guidelines recommending deferred cord clamping (DCC), delaying cord clamping for at least 30 seconds post-birth, have shown significant benefits in preterm singleton births. However, evidence supporting DCC in twins is scarce due to limited trial data, leading to practice variations. This study aims to assess current reported DCC practices for twin pregnancies in tertiary hospitals across Canada.

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Objectives: We examined the length of postpartum hospitalization for live births during the COVID-19 pandemic and explored how pandemic circumstances influenced postpartum hospital experiences.

Methods: We conducted a cross-provincial, convergent parallel mixed-methods study in Ontario (ON) and British Columbia (BC), Canada. We included birthing persons (BPs) with an in-hospital birth in ON from 1 January to 31 March 2019, 2021, and 2022 (quantitative), and BPs (≥18 years) in ON or BC from 1 May 2020 to 1 December 2021 (qualitative).

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Background: Sarcomas are diverse neoplasms with highly variable histological appearances in which diagnosis is often challenging and management options for metastatic/unresectable disease limited. Many sarcomas have distinctive molecular alterations, but the range of alterations is large, variable in type and rapidly increasing, meaning that testing by limited panels is unable to capture the broad spectrum of clinically pertinent genomic drivers required. Paired whole genome sequencing (WGS) in contrast allows comprehensive assessment of small variants, copy number and structural variants along with mutational signature analysis and germline testing.

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Objective: To determine the impact of prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on perinatal outcomes in a subsequent GDM pregnancy.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 544 multiparous patients with two consecutive pregnancies between 2012-2019, where the second (index) pregnancy was affected by GDM. The primary exposure was prior GDM diagnosis, categorized into medical and dietary management.

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The existing literature examining the correlates of depression in individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by inconsistent results. The aim of the current study was to replicate and extend the literature by exploring whether various clinical and demographic factors are related to the occurrence of depression in a large sample ( = 243) of individuals with OCD ( age = 33.00; 12.

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Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) is an effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ICBT can be delivered in a self-guided or clinician-guided format. While a literature is emerging on the predictors of response to clinician-guided ICBT, there is a lack of research examining the predictors of response to self-guided ICBT.

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Objective: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic mental health condition that results in significant individual and societal burden. Cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) therapy is an effective treatment for GAD, however, many individuals experience logistical barriers when accessing evidence-based care. Remote treatments may help to reduce these barriers, however, currently, there are few studies examining the efficacy of high-intensity remote methods for GAD treatment.

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Importance: Preterm birth (PTB) has been associated with lower income in adulthood, but associations with intergenerational income mobility and the role of family socioeconomic status (SES) as modifying factor are unclear.

Objectives: To assess whether the association between PTB and income differs according to family SES at birth and to assess the association between PTB and intergenerational income mobility.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This study comprised a matched cohort of live births in Canada between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 1996, with follow-up until December 31, 2018.

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