Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences

Variable Selection for the Propensity Score Model: Beyond Main Effects and Linear Relations

ABSTRACT Propensity score methods are frequently used to estimate treatment effects in observational studies. The propensity score is usually estimated using a logistic regression model with additive and linear effects. The limited literature on variable selection for the propens...

Ultraprocessed Food Intake and Adiposity, Vascular Brain Injury, and Cognition in Middle-Aged Adults

Importance Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) account for a substantial and increasing proportion of dietary intake in Canada. Although UPFs are consistently associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic disease, their associations with subclinical vascular brain injury (VBI) and cognit...

Trends in Dispensing of Opioids and Benzodiazepines Among Older Adults Admitted for an Acute Hip Fracture Between 2008 and 2024 in Ontario, Canada

INTRODUCTION: Opioids and benzodiazepines (BZDs) are commonly prescribed for managing pain, anxiety, and sleep-related problems following a hip fracture. Both opioids and BZDs carry risks of persistent dependence, falls, and mortality with long-term use. Despite these risks, Cana...

Disparities in Heat-Related Injuries Among People Experiencing Homelessness

This cohort study examines whether people experiencing homelessness in Ontario, Canada, have higher rates of heat-related injury than people not experiencing homelessness.

Exclusive and Any Breastfeeding, Infant Formula Feeding, and Childhood Growth

OBJECTIVES: To understand the association between exclusive breastfeeding, any breastfeeding, and infant formula feeding and childhood growth. METHODS: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted among children from birth up to 10 years in Toronto, Canada. The primary exposure was...

Reconsidering the Alberta study of the closure of the Red Deer supervised consumption site

Supervised consumption sites (SCS) are interventions supported by decades of evidence and yet remain subject to considerable politicization. Recently, researchers from Alberta, Canada published a study in the journal Addiction that sought to assess the impacts of the closure of a...

Considerations for optimal team-based rheumatology care: a qualitative study exploring the experiences of rheumatology health professionals

Interdisciplinary team-based rheumatology care models are a promising solution for improving access to high quality, equitable care for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders. There is limited understanding on health professionals’ perspectives on their needs to deli...

The Association Between Intranasal Steroids and Length of Stay in Children With Orbital Infections

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the use of intranasal agents in the management of orbital infections in children. This study aims to describe intranasal corticosteroid use in children hospitalized with orbital infections and to determine whether an association exists between int...

A Novel Approach to Monitoring Calcinosis in Juvenile Dermatomyositis: Serial Low-Dose Whole-Body CT

Objectives Evaluating the overall impact of calcinosis and response to therapy in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) remains challenging, primarily relying on physician assessments or plain X-rays.[1] We aimed to explore the use of an ultra-low-dose protocol for whole-body CT imaging...

Confirming the Validity of the New EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for Pediatric Chronic Nonbacterial Osteomyelitis

Objectives We aimed to investigate the performance characteristics of the new European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) /American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for pediatric CNO, in a distinct real-world clinical setting and compare it to...