Research Findings

This article in the July 9 issue of the British Medical Journal reports on a systematic review of published trends in incidence of breast cancer before and after the introduction of mammography screening. The authors conclude, “The increase in incidence of breast cancer was closely related to the introduction of screening and little of this increase was compensated for by a drop in incidence of breast cancer in previously screened women. One in three breast cancers detected in a population offered organised screening is overdiagnosed.”

Read the abstract here (subscription required for full article).

By Jeff Vallance, Athabasca University Centre for Nursing and Health Studies

Recent evidence suggests that breast cancer survivors who are physically
active live longer and have a reduced chance of cancer recurrence. This
article presents research that explores strategies for facilitating breast
cancer patients and survivors to do more physical activity.

Read more here. (PDF)

The August 2009 supplement to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 37, Issue 2, examines Tobacco policies and their unintended consequences among low-income women, in a  compilation of nine original, peer-reviewed articles focused on examining these unique challenges related to a smoking stigma, childcare and personal safety. One article is by Lorraine Greaves of the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, entitled: Sex, Gender, and Secondhand Smoke Policies: Implications for Disadvantaged Women

Read Tobacco Policy and Its Unintended Consequences Among Low-Income Women.

Ten+ Years Later – We Are Visible: Ethno-cultural/racialized women with disabilities speak out about health care issues updates the innovative community-based research project, We are Visible, conducted in 1996, and highlights the experiences of health and health care of ethno-cultural/racialized women with disabilities in Toronto. Through community-based research and a literature review, this project works to understand the barriers to health and health care that ethno-cultural/racialized women with disabilities face and whether any progress has been made to address the issues discussed by the women in the original We Are Visible project. Both Ten+ Years Later – We Are Visible and the original We are Visible report are available online

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs is illegal in Canada as a health protection measure, but is permitted in the United States. However, in 2000, Canadian policy was changed to allow ‘reminder’ advertising of prescription drugs. This is a form of advertising that states the brand name without health claims. ‘Reminder’ advertising is prohibited in the US for drugs that have ‘black box’ warnings of serious risks. This study by Barbara Mintzes, Steve Morgan, James M Wright examines spending on DTCA in Canada from 1995 to 2006, 12 years spanning this policy shift. The authors ask how annual per capita spending compares to that in the US, and whether drugs with Canadian or US regulatory safety warnings are advertised to the Canadian public in reminder advertising.

A new study finds: “Lead released from a woman's bones during pregnancy can affect her developing baby's DNA in ways that can alter gene expression and possibly increase the child's lifelong susceptibility to disease. This is the first study to show that lead can influence genetic programming in human cells, and hence, gene expression, throughout life.” View the complete article, Influence of prenatal lead exposure on genomic methylation of cord blood DNA, published in Environmental Health Perspectives doi10.1289/ehp.0800497.

The May 2009 issue of the Statscan publication "Juristat" contains an article entitled "Residents of Canada's shelters for abused women, 2008". It presents new data about the abused women who turned to women's shelters for support in 2008. The types of shelters they accessed, their reasons for going to a shelter, whether or not their children were with them, and what their plans were when they left the shelter are among the factors discussed. It notes that some 22% of women in shelters are experiencing mental health problems, and that mental health problems are among the reasons that some women are turned away from the shelters.

Health Canada has recently published Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity. Topics coved include: Vulnerabilities to Natural Hazards and Extreme Weather; Air Quality, Climate Change and Health; Impacts of Climate Change on Water, Food, Vector and Rodent-Borne Diseases; Health Impacts of Climate Change in Quebec; Health Impacts of Climate Change in Canada's North; and Vulnerabilities, Adaptation and Adaptive Capacity in Canada. For more information or to order a copy of the report, contact Health Canada’s Publications.

Women may be more likely than men to have "nontraditional" stroke symptoms, especially disorientation, confusion, or loss of consciousness, according to a new study. The study, published in the June 1 edition of "Stroke," defines nontraditional stroke symptoms as pain in the face or half of the body, disorientation, confusion, or loss of consciousness, lightheadedness, headache, nausea, hiccups, and weakness, and chest pain, palpitations, and shortness of breath.

See the abstract here.  

The Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) of the Canadian Institute for Health Information is pleased to provide you with the March 2009 edition of Health of the Nation: A Population Health Perspective. This edition features the launch of Improving the Health of Canadians:  Exploring Positive Mental Health. This new publication is the third of three reports in CPHI’s Improving the Health of Canadians mental health series.  It brings together available information and data analyses that look at one way of defining positive mental health; how we currently measure it; its role in health; what factors are associated with high levels of positive mental health; and what strategies are, or may be, effective at promoting mental health at the population level.

Complimentary access to the newsletter and this report is available here.