Data profile: The Statistics Canada Biobank.

Introduction: The Statistics Canada Biobank (Biobank) is a valuable source of nationally representative health information. It contains biospecimens collected from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) and the Canadian COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey (CCAHS). Both surveys are voluntary and aim to collect a variety of important health information from Canadians to create nationally representative estimates. This information is collected through questionnaires, physical measures, and self-administered sample collection. Biospecimens collected as part of the CHMS and CCAHS from consenting participants include whole blood, plasma, serum, urine, DNA samples, and dried blood spots. These samples are stored as part of the Biobank for future health research. Canadian researchers can apply to the Biobank program to use this nationally representative source of biospecimens. Results obtained from their research can also be combined with a wide variety of health and lifestyle information collected as part of the CHMS and CCAHS, making the Biobank a rich source of health-related information that can fill data gaps on the health concerns that are important to Canadians. This data resource profile provides an overview of the Biobank to inform researchers and data users about the program and how it can be used as a resource for the advancement of health-related research.

Longitudinal changes in quality of life following ICD implant and the impact of age, gender, and ICD shocks: observations from the INTRINSIC RV trial.

PURPOSE: ICDs can improve survival in at-risk patients but no consensus exists with respect to their impact on health-related quality of life (QOL). Moreover, the data are unclear on QOL benefits in specific patient subgroups. We sought to analyze, in the INTRINSIC RV ICD trial population, health-related QOL longitudinally following ICD implant and consider impact of age, gender, and ICD shocks on QOL by employing a global measure of health-related QOL. METHODS: One thousand five hundred thirty patients had an ICD implanted. One week after implant (n = 1461), 988 patients were randomized to DDDR with AV search hysteresis (n = 502) or VVI (n = 486) programming. QOL data, using the SF-36 short form, were obtained for the 1461 patient cohort, irrespective of randomization status, at baseline and prospectively for 1 year following ICD implant. RESULTS: Longitudinal mixed-effect analyses revealed significant improvements from baseline across all SF-36 subscales and component scores for the overall study cohort. Women had a substantially lower QOL at baseline, although their improvement after implant was similar to men. Patients <50 years scored consistently worse at baseline but experienced the greatest QOL improvement versus other age groups. Patients with higher NYHA class, angina, and diabetes had greater QOL improvements. There was no significant difference in QOL between patients with and without ICD shocks. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that QOL was reportedly better post-implant and suggest that benefits associated with ICD implantation go beyond the direct treatment of arrhythmias, with benefits seen across genders and different age groups. These results further highlight that ICD implantation, in and of itself, does not reduce QOL.

Comparison of actigraphic and subjective measures of sleep in implantable cardioverter defibrillator and coronary artery disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac patients frequently have insomnia symptoms that may pose risk for future cardiac events. Poor sleep relates to hyperarousal, anxiety and depression, and the incidence of hypertension and myocardial infarction. HYPOTHESIS: The authors hypothesized that implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients would have poorer sleep than coronary artery disease (CAD) patients related to hypervigilance for device functioning and shock discharge. METHODS: Authors investigated sleep efficiency and sleep latency in a sample of 60 patients (n = 30 CAD and n = 30 ICD) without obstructive sleep apnea at the University of Florida & Shands Hospital. For 14 days, participants completed a sleep diary. Additionally, half of the total sample also used actigraphy to objectively measure their sleep. Measures of somatic hypervigilance and psychosocial distress were administered. RESULTS: Using actigraphy, mean sleep efficiency was poorer (69.76%) in CAD patients compared with ICD patients (82.80%). This difference was highly significant, F1,27 = 16.840, P < 0.001. CAD patients also had shorter mean total sleep times per sleep diaries compared with ICD patients (336.19 minutes or 5.60 hours, 430.65 minutes or 7.18 hours, respectively), F1,27 = 15.908, P < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: The finding that ICD patients slept more efficiently than CAD patients is surprising given that CAD patients had higher ejection fractions and no concerns about ICD shocks. This difference cannot be accounted for by differences in hypervigilance, depression, anxiety, or physical activity. Results suggest that CAD patients may have more sleep problems and may warrant increased research attention.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy: a pilot study examining cognitive change in patients before and after treatment.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular patients with reduced cardiovascular output and capacity such as those with congestive heart failure (CHF) have demonstrated cognitive-related dysfunction. The use of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is considered standard care for CHF patients who do not improve despite optimal medical therapy. Cardiac resynchronization therapy may improve neurocognitive and psychosocial functioning in patients by increasing cardiac output and cerebral perfusion. METHODS: A total of 20 patients were examined before and 3 months after CRT device implantation, via administration of standard neurocognitive and psychosocial testing measures. RESULTS: Significant improvements in neurocognitive measures of attention (Digit Span: t[20] = - 2.695 [55.94+/-9.27-62.31+/-10.05], P = 0.015) and information processing (Digit Symbol: t[20] = - 4.577, P < 0.001; Controlled Oral Word Association Test: t[20] = - 3.338, P = 0.004) were demonstrated. Improvements in cardiac-specific quality of life were also significant (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire: t[16] = 3.544, P = 0.005 [55.17+/-18.23-36.75+/-18.00]; The Left Ventricular Dysfunction Questionnaire: t[16] = 3.544, P = 0.003 [63.43+/-23.35-43.29+/-21.62]). CONCLUSION: These results represent clinically significant, qualitative, and quantitative cognitive functional benefits for patients from a neurocognitive and psychosocial perspective. Results suggest that biventricular pacing improves cardiovascular outcome and psychosocial functioning in patients with CHF. The future investigation of a larger sample would be beneficial in establishing the depth and breadth of this improvement.

Tackling sleeplessness: Psychological treatment options for insomnia.

The purpose of the present paper is to review and summarize the research supporting nonpharmacologic treatment options for insomnia. The different treatment approaches are described followed by a review of both original research articles and meta-analyses. Meta-analytic reviews suggest that common nonpharmacologic approaches exert, on average, medium to large effect sizes on SOL, WASO, NWAK, SQR, and SE while smaller effects are seen for TST. Stimulus control therapy, relaxation training, and CBT-I are considered standard treatments for insomnia by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Sleep restriction, multicomponent therapy without cognitive therapy, paradoxical intention, and biofeedback approaches have received some levels of support by the AASM. Sleep hygiene, imagery training, and cognitive therapy did not receive recommendation levels as single (standalone) therapies by the AASM due to lack of empirical evidence. Less common approaches have been introduced (Internet-based interventions, bright light treatment, biofeedback, mindfulness, acupuncture, and intensive sleep retraining) but require further research. Brief and group treatments have been shown to be as efficacious as longer and individually-administered treatments. Considerations are presented for special populations, including older adults, children and teens, individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, insomnia comorbid with other disorders, and individuals who are taking hypnotics.

Examination of research trends on patient factors in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

BACKGROUND: The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is the most effective treatment available for terminating potentially life-threatening ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation and reducing the risk of mortality. Despite its established health benefits, ICD therapy is accompanied by a unique array of patient and psychological factors meriting ample research attention. The purpose of this paper is to examine research trends and results regarding patient factors in cardiac and ICD research and to discuss key areas for future research. HYPOTHESIS: : An increase in articles associated with patient factors in cardiac and ICD research will be shown over time. METHODS: : The Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) system in PubMed was used to index articles under a range of psychosocial headings for both cardiovascular disease and ICDs to quantify the frequency of articles published across time, the journals most frequently utilized, the most productive institutions, and the most common areas of inquiry. RESULTS: : A significant positive relationship was revealed between patient factors in cardiac research (r=0.96, p<0.01) and ICD research (r=0.88, p<0.01) over time. Research is limited by the small number of investigations and institutions. Of the 178 articles on patient factors in ICD research, the most frequent areas of inquiry were psychosocial treatment (70.79%), anxiety (33.15%), quality of life (32.02%), and depression (29.78%). CONCLUSION: : Future research examining positive adjustment is warranted, especially in light of increased prophylactic ICD implantation and possible decreased treatment burden associated with decreased shocks.

Comparison of rural and urban residents' implicit and explicit attitudes related to seeking medical care.

CONTEXT: The decision whether or not to consult a physician draws from a variety of attitudes within an individual's health schema. While rural Americans are in greater need of health care, many of them have fewer external resources than urbanites available to them. PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to elicit implicit and explicit attitudes related to seeking medical treatment for a condition described as fairly serious. Participants were asked to rate how often they comply with treatment regimens and practice good health habits. METHODS: The sample of rural (N = 586) and urban (N = 433) North Carolina residents was derived based on random-digit dialing. Multiple regression analyses were performed to investigate how attitudes associated with perceived compliance and health behaviors. FINDINGS: While rural and urban residents offered very similar responses, the associations between attitudes and behaviors were different. One healthy and 2 unhealthy schema patterns emerged. First, fear of hospitals was associated with effective compliance for rural residents and good health habits for urbanites. Second, affordability concerns were ascribed to rural community residents but seemed to reflect personally relevant implicit attitudes since they were associated with poor health adherence and habits for rural residents. Third, mistrust of doctors predicted low adherence for both groups and was also associated with poorer health habits for urbanites. With inconsistencies among implicit and explicit attitudes and behaviors, some residents seemed to be ambivalent about seeking health care.

Patient-reported outcomes for open versus laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Rates of living kidney donation have increased dramatically in recent years, in large part because of improved surgical techniques such as laparoscopic nephrectomy. OBJECTIVE: To compare patient-reported outcomes of laparoscopic nephrectomy versus open donor nephrectomy in 84 adult live kidney donors. OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcomes included perceptions of pain and surgical scarring, number of surgical/medical complications, hospital length of stay, physical health problems related to donation, return to work, financial impact, health-related quality of life, and satisfaction with the donation experience. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The 2 groups did not differ significantly in pain perceptions, number of surgical/medical complications, physical health problems, financial impact, health-related quality of life, or overall satisfaction. However, laparoscopic nephrectomy donors had significantly fewer hospital days and faster return to work time than open donor nephrectomy donors. The majority of donors report excellent health-related quality of life and no complications in the months following surgery. In addition, it appears that laparoscopic nephrectomy, in comparison to open donor nephrectomy, may reduce barriers to living kidney donation by reducing hospital length of stay and time away from work. Being able to return to work much sooner after surgery may significantly reduce the indirect costs (ie, lost wages) associated with living donation.