The Evidence Speaks Series is a recurring feature highlighting the latest in Advancing Health research. This series features summaries of select publications and is designed to keep media and the research community up to date with the Centre’s current research results in the health outcomes field.
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Addressing PTSD Symptoms to Recovery Outcomes in Individuals Recovering from Active Transportation Injury
Latent profiles of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and their association with recovery trajectories in active transportation injury survivors. Momenyan S, Chan H, Jae L, Taylor JA, Staples JA, Kestler A, Brar B, Brubacher JR. J Affect Disord. 2026
Between 2018 and 2020, an average of 300 pedestrians lost their lives to traffic accidents in Canada. Rates of cyclist injuries have also increased significantly. Many injury survivors develop psychological conditions like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can manifest as re-experiencing, avoidance, emotional numbing, and heightened response to stimuli (fight-or-flight response). Recognizing PTSD’s impact on quality of life, researchers, including Advancing Health scientists Drs. John Staples and Andrew Kestler, studied patterns of PTSD at 2 months post-injury, the factors that predict health outcomes, and 12-month recovery trajectories.
The study included 1,636 road injury survivors in BC, recruited between 2022 and 2023, assessed with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist at 2 months. The team also measured health-related quality of life, recovery status, return to work or study, and daily and recreational activities at baseline, 2, 4, 6, and 12 months post-injury. They identified three PTSD symptom patterns and the proportion of participants who fell into these categories: low (64.0 per cent of participants), moderate (24.4 per cent), and high (11.6 per cent) symptoms, representing increasing severity and vulnerability post-injury. They also found that high symptom patterns were associated with biological, quality of life, and mental health factors like younger age, female sex, being a pedestrian, lower pre-injury quality of life, pre-existing bodily complaints, no expectation of fast recovery, higher injury pain scores, and injuries to the face, neck, or torso. While most participants experienced a low level of symptoms and had a fast recovery, the researchers stressed that addressing PTSD symptoms is an important part of the recovery process. Future research should explore early interventions that target pain management, psychological distress, and recovery expectations that can improve outcomes for high-risk groups.
Female Patients Experiencing Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests Related to Non-Prescription Drug Use Are More Likely to Receive Bystander Intervention
Sex-based disparities in bystander CPR for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest related to non-prescription drug use. Prasongsukarn AA, Mok V, Hsu J, Hutton J, Scheuermeyer F, Awad E, Moe J, Cartwright C, Hundal R, Jenneson S, Christenson J, Grunau B . Resusc Plus. 2026
Non-prescription drug toxicity (overdose) accounts for up to 10 per cent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs), but timely bystander interventions like CPR can help improve the chances of survival and favourable neurological outcomes. However, whether a bystander chooses to intervene may be influenced by factors like the patient’s sex and bystander perception of substance use.
A team of researchers, including Advancing Health scientists Drs. Frank Schuermeyer, Jim Christenson, Brian Grunau, and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jacob Hutton conducted a study of 3,012 drug toxicity cases in BC between 2019 and 2024 to understand the association between patient sex and receipt of bystander CPR. They also looked at associations between sex and bystander naloxone administration, automated external defibrillator (AED) use, and CPR technique.
The team found that 72.5 per cent of the cases were male and 27 per cent were female, with a median age of 40. Female patients were younger, more often witnessed by bystanders, and, if witnessed, more likely to receive bystander CPR (47 per cent for males and 53 per cent for females). Females were also more likely to receive compression-plus-ventilation CPR versus compression-only CPR. There were no sex-based differences for bystander-administered naloxone and AED use. The team concluded that a higher likelihood of bystander CPR for female patients may be due to factors like substance use and cardiac arrests occurring in private or known settings with known bystanders, a decision which is influenced by factors like social stigma, houselessness, and caregiving responsibilities. Future research should focus on ways to improve education and policy initiatives to address biases and barriers to ensure everyone receives prompt and adequate emergency response in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest situations.
People with Glomerular Disease at 30% Higher Risk of Developing Cancer than the General Population
Cancer Incidence in People With Glomerular Disease: A Population-Level Study. Han J, Canney M, Zhao Y, Atiquzzaman M, Levin A, Barbour SJ. Am J Kidney Dis. 2026
Glomerular diseases (GNs) are a group of conditions that negatively impact the main filtering unit of the body, the glomeruli of the kidney. While GNs can have many causes, their development is partly caused by long-term activation of the immune system. Since chronic immune activation often contributes to cancer development, it seemed likely that people with GN were at an increased risk of developing cancer. However, there is limited research into this possible connection.
A team of researchers, including Advancing Health scientists Drs. Adeera Levin and Sean Barbour, analysed rates of cancer in GN patients compared to the general population. They analysed health data from all adults diagnosed with GN by biopsy in BC between 2000 to 2020, for a study population of 4,039 patients. They looked at the rates at which these patients developed cancer, as well as known risk factors for both cancer and GN.
The 20-year cancer risk for participants was 23 per cent, with a cancer development rate 30 per cent higher than the general population across all demographics and cancer types. Specifically, GN patients seemed most likely to develop lymphoma, kidney cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancers than the general population. This risk was most clearly seen in patients under 40 years old, who were nearly three times more likely to develop cancer than the general population. The team posited that this may be due to younger patients being excluded from many of the cancer screening programs available for older individuals. The researchers recommend raising awareness of the elevated cancer risk for GN patients, as well as developing ongoing targeted screening and prevention strategies.
