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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Tam ACT, Naik H, Trenaman L, Lynd L, Zhang W. Health-related quality of life among women and men living with migraine: a Canada-wide cross-sectional study. J Headache Pain. 2024;25(1):170.
Advancing Health Scientists Drs. Logan Trenaman, Larry Lynd, and Wei Zhang, plus trainees Alexander Tam and Hiten Naik, examined whether migraine differentially affects the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of men and women. The researchers administered a survey comprised of the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire, to assess migraine disability level, and the Veterans Rand 12 Item Health Survey, to understand how migraine impacts HRQoL. Results from 441 respondents indicated that HRQoL worsened with increased migraine disability among both women and men. They also showed that men with mild and moderate migraine disability reported worse HRQoL than women, while women with little-to-no migraine disability reported worse HRQoL than men. These findings suggest that interventions are required to improve HRQoL among those affected by more severe migraine disability, especially among men, and that further research is needed to understand the impact of all levels of migraine disability on women. The results also support the need for a gendered approach to future migraine research and treatment.
This study group has now published additional research analyzing the link between migraine disability and productivity loss.
First Nations people with insomnia are significantly more likely to experience functional impairments in daily life than those without insomnia
Karunanayake CP, Dosman JA, Ayas N, Fenton M, Seeseequasis J, Lindain R, Seesequasis W, McMullin K, Kachroo MJ, Ramsden VR, King M, Abonyi S, Kirychuk S, Koehncke N, Skomro R, Pahwa P. Association of Insomnia with Functional Outcomes Relevant to Daily Behaviors and Sleep-Related Quality of Life among First Nations People in Two Communities in Saskatchewan, Canada. Clocks Sleep. 2024;6(4):578-588.
Alongside a team from Saskatchewan and in partnership with two Cree First Nations, Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Najib Ayas investigated the relationship between insomnia and functional outcomes related to daily behaviours and sleep-related quality of life among First Nations participants. Using the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire, the researchers learned that almost half of the 350 respondents reported sleep-related functional impairment, while one in five participants reported insomnia. There were several factors associated with functional impairments relevant to daily behaviours and sleep-related quality of life including being female, taking prescription medication, clinical insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, and loud snoring. Further analysis suggested that someone with clinical insomnia was over three times more likely to experience functional impairments related to daily behaviours and sleep-related quality of life compared with someone without insomnia. The connection highlighted in this study supports the need to diagnose and treat insomnia through appropriate interventions in order to improve daytime functioning and sleep-related quality of life among First Nations people.
Sepsis during hospitalization increases the likelihood of someone becoming a high-cost user following discharge
Barrett KA, Sheikh F, Chechulina V, Chung H, Dodek P, Rosella L, Thavorn K, Scales DC, Canada S. High-cost users after sepsis: a population-based observational cohort study. Crit Care. 2024;28(1):338.
High-cost users (HCUs) in health care are a small population of individuals who account for a disproportionately large proportion of health spending. Advancing Health Scientist Emeritus Dr. Peter Dodek and colleagues investigated whether experiencing sepsis during hospitalization increased the risk of the patient becoming a HCU. Using linked health-administrative databases, the research team identified 927,057 hospitalized individuals in Ontario, 79,065 of whom had sepsis over a two-year period. Analyses revealed that individuals who had sepsis while hospitalized were more likely to be a top five per cent HCU for 90 consecutive days at any time after discharge and be a HCU for a longer period of time after discharge, compared with individuals who did not have sepsis. Furthermore, the likelihood of becoming a HCU after sepsis was higher among patients who didn’t have high health care costs previously, accentuating the impact of sepsis on someone’s health care usage. The results of this study highlight the economic impacts of sepsis and emphasize the need to implement interventions that aim to prevent sepsis, reduce the clinical burden of sepsis, and improve outcomes after sepsis.
