Search PubMedSearch

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Saskatchewan”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Trends in incidence and mortality from acute myocardial infarction in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan 1974 to 1985. The Nova Scotia-Saskatchewan Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology Group.

OBJECTIVE: To compare trends in incidence and case fatality of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, provinces with the highest and lowest rates, respectively. DESIGN: Provincial hospital separation files were linked with mortality files and searched to identify incident cases in 1977, 1981 and 1985. The diagnoses were validated on a random sample of hospital charts with discharge codes 410 and 411 to 414 of the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization. RESULTS: In spite of persisting differences between Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, standardized AMI mortality and incidence rates in males and females have decreased, although at a slower rate in Saskatchewan. In both provinces the greatest decrease has occurred in male deaths prior to any hospital admission--likely representing cases of sudden death. Excess mortality in Nova Scotia is due predominantly to out-of-hospital deaths. Case fatality rates have declined in both provinces. The proportion of definite and possible AMI was similar in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan in 1977, but not thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: Along with a decline in ischemic heart disease mortality, there appears to be a decline in AMI incidence in Nova Scotia. Parallel studies of risk factor changes, interventive care and access to care are required to explain the observed phenomena.

Adult

A population-wide profile of prescription drug use in Saskatchewan, 1989.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the prevalence of prescription drug use in Saskatchewan in 1989. DESIGN: Retrospective study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 961,203 Saskatchewan residents (including those who died or were born during the study year) who were eligible for coverage under the Saskatchewan Prescription Drug Plan. The study population represented 94% of the province's total population; those excluded were mostly status Indians (for whom a federal plan is available). MAIN RESULTS: At least one prescription was received by 66.0% of the study population in 1989. The mean number of prescriptions per patient was 8.2, and the mean cost of drug material per prescription was $13.95. Females received substantially more prescriptions than males; the difference was particularly notable for cardiovascular agents, antidepressants and benzodiazepines. In the senior population 80.8% received at least one prescription; the mean number of prescriptions per patient was 18.4. The most commonly dispensed drug for the entire study population was amoxicillin (290 prescriptions per 1000 people); triazolam was the most frequently dispensed central nervous system drug (74 prescriptions per 1000 people). Regional variation in overall drug use was remarkably small, although it increased at the drug-class level, especially for tranquillizers. The use of cardiovascular drugs was 27% to 32% higher (depending on how use was measured) per Regina resident than per Saskatoon resident. Benzodiazepines were commonly used on a long-term basis, despite recommendations to the contrary. CONCLUSIONS: The results quantify the prevalence of prescription drug use, underscore the importance of careful management of drug therapy by physicians and pharmacists (especially for seniors), illustrate substantial variation in drug therapy strategies and raise questions about utilization of benzodiazepines and cardiovascular drugs.

Age Factors

Drug prescribing for the elderly in Saskatchewan during 1976.

Over 11% of Saskatchewan's population is 65 years of age or older. To study patterns of prescribing for the elderly a computer file of more than 3.6 million prescriptions filled in Saskatchewan in 1976 was reviewed. The elderly population (aged 65 years or more) that year was 102 070, and 77.3% received at least one prescription drug listed in the Saskatchewan Formulary. In comparison with a "middle-aged" group (persons between the ages of 35 and 54 years) the elderly showed moderately higher average numbers of prescriptions filled and drugs used per person that year. However, the prescription of antihypertensive agents and diuretics increased dramatically with age, and barbiturates, in view of their potential toxicity, appeared to be overprescribed for the elderly.

Adult

Saskatchewan dial-access drug information service.

In September 1974 the colleges of pharmacy and medicine of the University of Saskatchewan began offering a drug information service to the pharmacists and physicians of Saskatchewan without charge. With the help of a radio-page system, calls are taken immediately by experienced pharmacists and pharmacologists. The cost of long-distance phone calls is borne by grants from the Saskatchewan medical and pharmaceutical associations. During the 1st year of operation 415 requests for information were received. Of 93 persons who called up to Feb. 28, 1975, 76% responded to an evaluation questionnaire; virtually all described the service as very valuable. The information received resulted in the alteration of drug therapy in one third of calls requesting information to assist in current treatment of a patient.

Drug Information Services

Mercury levels in whole blood of Saskatchewan residents.

The study was undertaken to establish whole blood mercury levels in the Saskatchewan population and to identify characteristics of individuals with higher blood levels. The mean blood mercury level was 6.7 ng/ml, the median level 5 ng/ml and the range 1 to 42 ng/ml. Native persons living in northern Saskatchewan who had recently eaten local fresh-water fish had the higher levels. A greater consumption of fish and higher blood mercury levels were recorded during the fresh-water fishing season.

Adolescent

Effect of surveillance on the number of hysterectomies in the province of Saskatchewan.

In 1972 the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan appointed a committee to study hysterectomies because the Saskatchewan Department of Health had data showing that the annual number of hysterectomies carried out in the province had increased by 72.1 per cent between 1964 and 1971, whereas the number of women over 15 years of age had increased by 7.6 per cent. The committee compiled a list of indications for hysterectomy. Any hysterectomy carried out for one of these reasons was classified as justified, and the remainder as unjustified. Five hospitals were reviewed in 1970 and a further two in 1973. In 1974, all seven hospitals were reviewed again. In these hospitals, the average proportion of unjustified hysterectomies had dropped from 23.7 per cent at the time of the first review to 7.8 per cent in 1974. The total number of hysterectomies in the province dropped by 32.8 per cent between 1970 and 1974.

Adolescent

Survival following renal transplantation in Saskatchewan, 1970--74: follow-up study using medical insurance records.

The patient history file of a medical care insurance plan can be used for statistical purposes in many ways. This is illustrated by the use of the records of the Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Commission to study the survival of patients receiving kidney transplants in the period 1970--74. During this period 48 males and 23 females received at least one renal transplant; these patients represented 34% of all males and 28% of all females undergoing regular renal dialysis. These period prevalence estimates are consistent with calculations based on incidence and point prevalence reported elsewhere. Life-table calculations showed the 4-year survival rate following first kidney transplantation in Saskatchewan to be 45% for all patients, 55% for those less than 45 years of age and 26% for those 45 years of age or older.

Actuarial Analysis

A serological survey of Leptospira interrogans serotype pomona in Saskatchewan horses.

Leptospira interrogans serotype pomona antibody titres of 1:100 or greater were detected in 12.8% of 408 adult horses from seven of eight sampled herds in Saskatchewan. The geographical distribution of the seropositive horses was widespread throughout the agricultural area of the province. The geographical distribution and the cumulative increase in prevalence with age suggested that serotype pomona is enzootic in the equine population of Saskatchewan.

Animals

Serum IgE levels in white and metis communities in Saskatchewan.

Serum IgE levels and the prevalence of certain atopic diseases have been studied in 819 individuals in 176 white families living in central Saskatchewan and in 275 individuals in 58 Metis families living in northern Saskatchewan. The geometric mean serum IgE level in the white community (81.3) u/ml) was lower than that in the Metis community (275.4 u/ml). The prevalence of asthma, eczema and urticaria was greater in the white than in the Metis community and contrasted with the increased prevalence of helminth infestation as well as of other untreated viral and bacterial diseases in the Metis community. It is suggested that atopic disease is the price paid by some members of the white community for their relative freedom from diseases due to viruses, bacteria and helminths.

Adolescent

2,4-D levels in the South Saskatchewan River in 1973 as determined by GLC method.

2,4-D levels in the South Saskatchewan River near Saskatoon in 1973 at the height of the spraying season, and at harvestime, were determined by a method involving direct glc analysis, ankaline hydrolysis, followed by n-butylation of the liberated free acid after acidification of the alkaline solution, and confirmed by subsequent n-octylation. GC/MS also confirmed the presence of 2,4-D. 2,4-D was detected during the spraying season but not at harvest time or in river mud samples. The average level was ca. 2mug of acid equivalent to 2,4-D per liter of river water at the height of the spraying season.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid

Residues of 2, 4-D in air samples from Saskatchewan: 1966-1975.

Residues of 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) in air samples from several sampling sites in central and southern Saskatchewan during the spraying seasons in the 1966-68 and 1970-75 periods were determined by gas-liquid chromatographic techniques. Initially, individual esters of 2,4-D were characterized by retention times and confirmed further by co-injection and dual column procedures. Since 1973, however, only total 2,4-D acid levels in air samples have been determined after esterification to the methyl ester and confirmed by gc/ms techniques whenever possible. Up to 50% of the daily samples collected during the spraying season at any of the locations and during any given year contained 2,4-D, with butyl esters being found most frequently. The daily 24-hr mean atmospheric concentrations of 2,4-D ranged from 0.01 to 1.22 mug/m3, 0.01 to 13.50 mug/m3, and 0.05 to 0.59 mug/m3 for the iso-propyl, mixed butyl and iso-octyl esters, respectively. Even when the samples were analysed for the total 2,4-D content, i.e. from 1973 onwards, the maximum level of the total acid reached only 23.14 mug/m3. In any given year and at any of the sampling sites, about 30% of the samples contained less than 0.01 mug/m3 of 2,4-D. In another 40% of the samples, the levels of 2,4-D ranged from 0.01 to 0.099 mug/m3. Only about 30% of the samples contained 2,4-D concentrations higher than 0.1 mug/m3, with only 10% or less exceeding 1 mug/m3. None of the samples, obtained with the high volume particulate sampler, showed any detectable levels of 2,4-D, indicating little or no transport of 2,4-D adsorbed on dust particles or as crystals of amine salts.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and gastrointestinal hospitalizations in Saskatchewan: a cohort study.

We evaluated the association between individual nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity in a retrospective cohort study aimed at examining and comparing the incidence of serious gastrointestinal disorders among NSAIDs users. We observed 2,302 GI hospitalizations among diclofenac, indomethacin, naproxen, piroxicam, sulindac, and other NSAIDs users in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, from 1982 to 1986 for 228,392 persons who contributed 679,075 person-years of follow-up and filled close to 1.5 million NSAID prescriptions. Current NSAID users presented an increased risk of GI hospitalization [rate ratio (RR) = 3.9, 95% confidence interval = 3.5-4.4]. RRs decreased as time since the last prescription increased: 2.2 (1.9-2.6) for recent past users and 1.3 (1.1-1.5) for less recent past users. Among current users, RRs were the highest in indomethacin users (5.1, 4.3-6.0), and the lowest in sulindac users (3.1, 2.3-4.2). All of these results are adjusted for calendar time, sex, and age. Age showed a particularly strong association with the risk of GI hospitalization.

Adolescent

Cache Valley virus: isolations from mosquitoes in Saskatchewan, 1972-1974.

Eighteen isolations of Cache Valley virus (Bunyaviridae) were obtained from a total of 113,694 mosquitoes collected in Saskatchewan during the summers of 1972 to 1974. Most of the isolations were from mosquitoes collected during August. Culiseta inornata, the most abundant mosquito (38% of total collected), had the highest minimum vector-infection rate (0.83 isolations per 1000 mosquitoes). The virus was also isolated from Culex tarsalis and Aedes vexans. It is indicated in the isolations that the prairie grasslands of the province are enzootic for Cache Valley virus.

Aedes

Patterns in the delivery of psychiatric care in Saskatchewan 1971-1972 (II). Types of contacts and some patient career characteristics.

A previous paper dealt with an overview of service sectors and patient volumes (2), whereas this one concentrates on types of contacts and some patient career characteristics. Analysis of a comprehensive psychiatric care utilization data file for Saskatchewan for the 1971-1972 period shows that 'public' sector patients were hospitalized for a greater average length of time than were 'private' sector patients. This may reflect differences in the styles of practice, exigencies of the demand for hospital beds in the 'private' as opposed to the 'public' sector and/or intrinsic differences in the nature of the problem treated in each sector. Some interesting facts regarding patterns of contact were uncovered. The bimodal nature of the 'psychiatric population' was further evident from the data which show that the majority of patients used relatively few services whereas a few used a large number of services. This suggests that the majority of the people seen for psychiatric reasons by medical practitioners were suffering from relatively minor psychiatric disorders. Heavy users of services were much more likely to have had some'public' or University Hospital-based contact. Conversely, light users were predominantly private sector patients. In the 'public' sector, those who had had some in patient treatment were consistently higher users of all services. It is evident that psychiatrists held a dominant position in this community-oriented public sector, having seen a large number of patients, but having had a low average rate of services per patient. In contrast, community nurses saw relatively few patients but saw them very often. This no doubt reflects their role in providing 'maintenance' services to chronic patients in approved homes in the community. In the 'private' sector, 69 percent of the services were delivered by GPs and 23 percent by psychiatrists were more likely to have had 'public' sector activity than were those seen only by GPs; also once in the 'public' sector, they were likelier to have had in patient as well as outpatient treatment. This suggests a 'sifting' of the more "difficult" patients through the private specialist sector into the public sector.

Community Mental Health Services

Indian people and community psychiatry in Saskatchewan.

A discrepancy is identified between the increase in inpatient admissions and of outpatient contacts of Treaty Indians in Saskatchewan from 1967 to 1976. This is the reverse of the trend in the non-Treaty Indian population, and represents a contradictory effect to the intention of the Community Psychiatry Program of the province's government. No major diagnostic differences were at statistically significant levels, which might have accounted for the higher inpatient admission rates and the relatively lower outpatient contact rates of Treaty Indians. This is an interesting example of the use of governmental statistics and a promising one for the identification and solution of problems in health care delivery.

Ambulatory Care

Sex differences in the utilization of health services for psychiatric problems in Saskatchewan.

Comprehensive data on all pscyhiatric patients in Saskatchewan show that women are substantially higher users of health services for psychiatric problems than are men. Women: 1) use up to twice as many services as men in the private sector, but use almost the same number of public sector services; 2) tend to be treated for psychosomatic and neurotic disorders on an outpatient basis; 3) have only a slightly greater chance than men of being hospitalized; and 4) are less likely than men to have organic or addictive diagnoses. These differentials in utilization cannot be explained by age, diagnoses and/or marital status. Sex is the best predictor of utilization. These results are largely consistent with utilization and epidemiological literature. It seems more likely that these sex differences in utilization result from the interaction of biology, sex roles, and the functioning and labelling processes of the health system rather than from any single factor. Combining Andersen's components of health behaviour with Freidson's lay-professional construction of illness continuum yields a possible framework for understanding sex differences in the utilization of psychiatric health services.

Adult

10 year survey of pretrial examinations in Saskatchewan.

The results of a survey of pretrial examination cases admitted to the provincial psychiatric hospital in Saskatchewan from 1966 to 1975 are reported. The demographic and psychiatric data and data from the psychiatric reports to the Court are analyzed. Some deficiencies noted in the reports to the Court are discussed and some remedial measures are suggested.

Adolescent