Omicron incidence and seroprevalence among children in Montreal, Canada, in early 2023: final results from the longitudinal EnCORE serology study.

Since early 2022, routine testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) based on symptoms and exposure history has largely ceased in Canada. Consequently, seroprevalence studies, particularly longitudinal studies, have become critical for monitoring the rate of incident SARS-CoV-2 infections and the proportion of the population with evidence of immunity. EnCORE is a longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study comprising five rounds of serology testing from October 2020 to June 2023, in a sample of 2- to 17-year-olds (at baseline), recruited from daycares and schools in four neighbourhoods of Montreal, Canada.

The influence of urban trees and total vegetation on asthma development in children.

Objective: We aimed to assess whether the influence of urban vegetation on asthma development in children (<13 years) varies by type (e.g., total vegetation, tree type, and grass) and season.

Contribution of environmental determinants to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in a life-course perspective: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Prevention policies against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) focus solely on individual healthy lifestyle behaviours, while an increasing body of research recognises the involvement of environmental determinants (ED) (cultural norms of land management and planning, local foodscape, built environment, pollution, and neighbourhood deprivation). Precise knowledge of this relationship is essential to proposing a prevention strategy integrating public health and spatial planning. Unfortunately, issues related to the consistency and synthesis of methods, and results in this field of research limit the development of preventive strategies.

Infection-induced seroconversion and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among a cohort of children and youth in Montreal, Canada.

The EnCORE study is a prospective serology study of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of children from Montreal, Canada. Based on data from our fourth round of data collection (May-October 2022), we estimated SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and seroconversion. Using multivariable regression, we identified factors associated with seroconversion.

Pre-Omicron seroprevalence, seroconversion, and seroreversion of infection-induced SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among a cohort of children and teenagers in Montréal, Canada.

Objectives: To use serological testing to assess the pre-Omicron seroprevalence, seroconversion, and seroreversion of infection-induced SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in children and adolescents in Montréal, Canada.

Design: This analysis is from a prospective cohort study of children aged 2-17 years (at baseline) that included blood spots for antibody detection. The serostatus of participants was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using the receptor-binding domain from the spike protein and the nucleocapsid protein as antigens.

An Improved Synthesis of Glucuronide Metabolites of Hindered Phenolic Xenoestrogens.

Aims And Objective: The syntheses of glucuronide metabolites of phenolic xenoestrogens triclosan and 2-phenylphenol, namely triclosan-O-glucuronide (TCS-G; 1), and 2-phenylphenol-Oglucuronide (OPP-G; 2), were achieved for use as analytical standards.

Methods: Under classical conditions previously reported for glucuronide synthesis, the final basic hydrolysis of the peracylated ester intermediate leading to the free glucuronides is often a limiting step. Indeed, the presence of contaminating by-products resulting from ester elimination has often been observed during this step.

Matched cohort study of hospitalization in children who have siblings with cancer.

Background: Health outcomes of children in families affected by cancer are poorly understood. The authors assessed the risk of hospitalization in children who have a sibling with cancer.

Methods: This was a longitudinal cohort study in which 1600 children who had a sibling with cancer were matched to 32,000 children who had unaffected siblings in Quebec, Canada, from 2006 to 2020.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Among Children in School and Day Care in Montreal, Canada.

Importance: Quebec prioritized in-person learning after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with school closures being implemented temporarily in selected schools or in hot-spot areas. Quebec's decision to keep most schools open was controversial, especially in Montreal, which was the epicenter of Canada's first and second waves; therefore, understanding the extent to which children were infected with SARS-CoV-2 provides important information for decisions about school closures.

Objective: To estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in children and teenagers in 4 neighborhoods of Montreal, Canada.

Strong variations in urban allergenicity riskscapes due to poor knowledge of tree pollen allergenic potential.

Exposure to allergenic tree pollen is an increasing environmental health issue in urban areas. However, reliable, well-documented, peer-reviewed data on the allergenicity of pollen from common tree species in urban environments are lacking. Using the concept of 'riskscape', we present and discuss evidence on how different tree pollen allergenicity datasets shape the risk for pollen-allergy sufferers in five cities with different urban forests and population densities: Barcelona, Montreal, New York City, Paris, and Vancouver.

Using administrative health data to estimate prevalence and mortality rates of alcohol and other substance-related disorders for surveillance purposes.

Introduction: Administrative health databases (AHD) are critical to guide health service management and can inform the whole spectrum of substance-related disorders (SRD). This study estimates prevalence and mortality rates of SRD in administrative health databases.

Methods: The Quebec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System consists of linked AHD.

Spatial distribution of gambling exposure and vulnerability: an ecological tool to support health inequality reduction.

Objectives: Recent research by Public Health has redefined harmful gambling, shifting the focus from problematic people with irresponsible behaviour to 'gamblogenic' environments. The aim of this research was to support this alternative perspective with concrete ecological tools for characterizing harmful environments. Studies that analyse the spatial distribution of gambling show that people living in the most disadvantaged areas have greater access to gambling and are more affected by the harms of gambling.

Telephone versus web panel National Survey for monitoring adoption of preventive behaviors to climate change in populations: a case study of Lyme disease in Québec, Canada.

Background: To monitor the adoption of climate change adaptive behaviors in the population, public health authorities have to conduct national surveys, which can help them target vulnerable subpopulations. To ensure reliable estimates of the adoption of these preventive behaviors, many data collection methods are offered by polling firms. The aim of this study was to compare a telephone survey with a web survey on Lyme disease with regard to their representativeness.

Comparison of land use regression and random forests models on estimating noise levels in five Canadian cities.

Chronic exposure to environment noise is associated with sleep disturbance and cardiovascular diseases. Assessment of population exposed to environmental noise is limited by a lack of routine noise sampling and is critical for controlling exposure and mitigating adverse health effects. Land use regression (LUR) model is newly applied in estimating environmental exposures to noise.

Men's Help-Seeking Attitudes in Rural Communities Affected by a Natural Disaster.

The article describes a mixed methods study of help-seeking in men living in the Chilean Central Valley, following exposure to a major earthquake event in 2010. The results identify that, within the sample, positive attitudes toward help-seeking correlated with younger age, higher education levels, above-average incomes, and stable personal relationships. It appears that education plays a significant role in shaping such positive attitudes, particularly by influencing views of gender roles and help-seeking.

Incarceration history and risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus acquisition among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) experience a high prevalence of incarceration and might be at high risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection during or after incarceration. We aimed to assess whether incarceration history elevates HIV or HCV acquisition risk among PWID.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases for studies in any language published from Jan 1, 2000 until June 13, 2017 assessing HIV or HCV incidence among PWID.

The Influence of Individuals' Vulnerabilities and Their Interactions on the Assessment of a Primary Care Experience.

This study examines the relationship between the vulnerabilities of individuals and their assessments of their primary care experiences in the setting of a universal care system. It focuses on 2 specific objectives: (1) evaluating the influence of each of the 5 vulnerabilities on the assessment of the care experience; (2) evaluating the influence of the interactions between the different types of vulnerabilities on the assessment of the care experience. The study identifies the primary care experience of 9,206 people.

Tranquilizer misuse among active cocaine users: Predictors of initiation.

Introduction And Aims: Tranquilizer use is associated with negative health outcomes among people who use drugs. This paper aims to estimate the incidence rate (initiation) and identify predictors of tranquilizer misuse (TM) among cocaine users.

Design And Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in Montreal, Canada.

Temporal trends in prevalence, incidence, and mortality for rheumatoid arthritis in Quebec, Canada: a population-based study.

Health administrative data are a potentially efficient resource to conduct population-based research and surveillance, including trends in incidence and mortality over time. Our objective was to explore time trends in incidence and mortality for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as well as estimating period prevalence. Our RA case definition was based on one or more hospitalizations with a RA diagnosis code, or three or more RA physician-billing codes, over 2 years, with at least one RA billing code by a rheumatologist, orthopedic surgeon, or internist.

Statistical modeling of the spatial variability of environmental noise levels in Montreal, Canada, using noise measurements and land use characteristics.

The availability of noise maps to assess exposure to noise is often limited, especially in North American cities. We developed land use regression (LUR) models for LA, L, and L to assess the long-term spatial variability of environmental noise levels in Montreal, Canada, considering various transportation noise sources (road, rail, and air). To explore the effects of sampling duration, we compared our LA levels that were computed over at least five complete contiguous days of measurements to shorter sampling periods (20 min and 24 h).