We’re proud to introduce our Evidence Speaks series, a recurring feature highlighting the latest in CHÉOS research. This series will feature summaries of select publications as well as in-depth features on the latest work from our investigators. In the early days of CHÉOS, the Centre had a series known as “The Evidence Speaks,” a monograph series to keep media and the research community up-to-date with CHÉOS’ current research results in the health outcomes field.
O’Donnell S, Bhate TD, Grafstein E, Lau W, Stenstrom R, Scheuermeyer FX. Missed opportunities for HIV prophylaxis among emergency department patients with occupational and nonoccupational body fluid exposures. Ann Emerg Med. 2016 Sep;68(3):315–323.
This study compared the initiation of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for occupational HIV exposure versus non-occupational HIV exposure in an emergency department in Vancouver. The authors—which included PHC physicians and CHÉOS Scientists Drs. Eric Grafstein and Rob Stenstrom—found that those with high-risk non-occupational exposures were not given HIV prophylaxis nearly twice as often as those with high-risk occupational exposure.
—
Kanters S, Vitoria M, Doherty M, Socias ME, Ford N, Forrest JI, Popoff E, Bansback N, Nsanzimana S, Thorlund K, Mills E. Comparative efficacy and safety of first-line antiretroviral therapy for the treatment of HIV infection: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Lancet HIV. 2016 Nov;3(11):e510-20.
CHÉOS Scientist Dr. Nick Bansback and a team of researchers, with support from the WHO Guidelines Development Group, recently published a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the efficacy and safety of antiretroviral therapies for treatment of HIV. The group analyzed data from 126 articles—34,032 participants—and found that dolutegravir and low-dose efavirenz were more effective and tolerable than standard-dose efavirenz. The findings of this study will be used to inform a component of the new WHO Consolidated HIV Treatment Guidelines.
—
To MJ, Palepu A, Aubry T, Nisenbaum R, Gogosis E, Gadermann A, Cherner R, Farrell S, Misir V, Hwang SW. Predictors of homelessness among vulnerably housed adults in 3 Canadian cities: a prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health. 2016 Oct;16(1):1041.
People who are vulnerably housed are typically low-income individuals living in single room occupancy (SRO) and rooming houses with unstable living situations who often transition between vulnerable housing and homelessness. CHÉOS Scientists Drs. Anita Palepu and Anne Gadermann co-authored a study that aimed to determine the probability of homelessness and associated factors in the vulnerably housed population. This study followed up on individuals in Ottawa, Vancouver, and Toronto who participated in a previous study and found that the prevalence of homelessness was 29.2% over a three year period. The male gender, moderate to severe drug use disorders, and a higher percentage of prior time spent homeless were associated with experiencing homelessness during those three years.
—
Sbihi H, Koehoorn M, Tamburic L, Brauer M. Asthma trajectories in a population-based birth cohort: impacts of air pollution and greenness. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017 Mar 1;195(5):607-13.
A recent study, co-authored by CHÉOS Scientist Dr. Mieke Koehoorn, found that traffic-related air pollution is associated with both early and late onset chronic asthma. Children born between 1999 and 2002 to mothers living in Vancouver during pregnancy were followed for 10 years. Over 65,000 children were included in the final data analysis which found that exposure to nitrogen dioxide increased the risk of chronic asthma while no protective effect of residential green spaces was found.
