Real-world evidence of sotrovimab effectiveness for preventing severe outcomes in patients with COVID-19: A quality improvement propensity matched retrospective cohort study of a pan-provincial program in Alberta, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: Post-marketing surveillance of sotrovimab's effect during implementation in the Canadian population is limited. METHODS: The study used a propensity score matched retrospective cohort design. Follow-up began between the periods of December 15, 2021 to April 30 2022. The study assessed any severe outcome defined as all-cause hospital admission, or mortality within 30 days of a confirmed COVID-19 positive test. Covariate adjusted odds ratios between sotrovimab treatment and the severe outcome was conducted using logistic regression. RESULTS: There were 22,289 individuals meeting treatment criteria for sotrovimab. There were 1,603 treated and 6,299 untreated individuals included in the analysis. Outcome occurrence in the study was 5.49% (treated) and 4.21% (untreated), with a median time from diagnosis to treatment of 1.00 days (IQR = 2.00 days). In the propensity-matched cohort, sotrovimab was not associated with a lower odds of a severe outcome (OR = 1.20; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.58), adjusting for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: After adjusting for confounding variables, sotrovimab treatment was not associated with lower odds of a severe outcome within 30-days of COVID-19 positive date.

The association between social fragmentation and deaths attributable to alcohol, drug use, and suicide: Longitudinal evidence from a population-based sample of Canadian adults.

BACKGROUND: Social fragmentation has been theorized and empirically associated with suicide in prior research. However, less is known about whether social fragmentation is associated with deaths attributed to alcohol use or drug use. This research examined the association between social fragmentation and risk for deaths attributable to alcohol use, drug use, and suicide (collectively known as deaths of despair) among Canadian adults. METHODS: A weighted sample representing 15,324,645 Canadians within 288 census divisions between 2006 and 2019 was used. Mortality data from the Canadian Vital Statistics Database (alcoholic liver disease, drug use, and suicide) was linked with census division socioeconomic data from the 2006 Canadian census using the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts. Social fragmentation at the census division was created based on the Congdon Index. Cox-proportional hazard regression with survey weights and the sandwich estimator were used to account for clustering of individuals (level-1) nested within census divisions (level-2). RESULTS: After adjusting for individual and census division confounders, social fragmentation was positively associated with all-cause mortality (HR = 1.04; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.07), suicide (HR = 1.09; 95%CI: 1.01, 1.18), drug overdose related mortality (HR = 1.13; 95%CI: 1.03, 1.24), and deaths of despair (HR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.16), and not significantly associated with alcohol related liver disease (HR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.23). CONCLUSION: Social fragmentation is associated with an increased hazard of deaths of despair among Canadian adults. Efforts to improve social cohesion in areas that are highly socially fragmented need to be evaluated.

Neighbourhood Income Inequality and General Psychopathology at 3-Years of Age.

Background: Several studies have linked neighbourhood environment to preschool-aged children's behavioural problems. Income inequality is an identified risk factor for mental health among adolescents, however, little is known as to whether this relationship extends to younger children. Objective: To explore the association between neighbourhood-level income inequality and general psychopathology problems among preschool-aged children. Methods: We analyzed data from the All Our Families (AOF) longitudinal cohort located in Calgary, Canada at 3-years postpartum. The analytical sample consisted of 1615 mother-preschooler dyads nested within 184 neighbourhoods. Mothers completed the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth Child Behaviour Checklist (NLSCY-CBCL), which assessed internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Income inequality was assessed via the Gini coefficient, which quantifies the unequal distribution of income in society. Mixed effects linear regression assessed the relationship between neighbourhood income inequality and preschooler's general psychopathology. Results: The mean Gini coefficient across the 184 neighbourhoods was 0.33 (SD = 0.05; min, max: 0.20-0.56). In the fully adjusted model income inequality was not associated with general psychopathology in children ß = 0.07 (95%CI: -0.29, 0.45). Neighbourhood environment accounted for 0.5% of the variance in psychopathology in children. Conclusion: The lack of significant findings may be due to a lack of statistical power in the study. Future studies should investigate this relationship with appropriately powered studies, and over time, to assess if income inequality is a determinant of preschooler psychopathology in Canada.

Contexte: Plusieurs études ont relié l'environnement du quartier aux problèmes de comportement des enfants d'âge préscolaire. L'inégalité du revenu est un facteur de risque identifié pour la santé mentale chez les adolescents, pourtant, on ne sait pas encore si cette relation s'étend aux enfants plus jeunes. Objectif: Explorer l'association entre l'inégalité du revenu au niveau du quartier et les problèmes de psychopathologie générale chez les enfants d'âge préscolaire. Méthodes: Nous avons analysé les données de la cohorte longitudinale All Our Families (AOF) située à Calgary, Canada, à 3 ans de postpartum. L'échantillon analytique consistait en 1615 dyades mère-enfant d'âge préscolaire logées dans 184 quartiers. Les mères ont rempli l'Enquête longitudinale nationale sur les enfants et les jeunes et la liste de contrôle du comportement de l'enfant (ELNEJ-LCCE), qui évaluaient les symptômes d'internalisation et d'externalisation. L'inégalité du revenu était évaluée par le coefficient Gini, qui quantifie la distribution inégale du revenu dans la société. La régression linéaire à effets mixtes a évalué la relation entre l'inégalité du revenu du quartier et la psychopathologie générale de enfants d'âge préscolaire. Résultats: Le coefficient Gini moyen dans les 184 quartiers était de 0,33 (ET = 0,05; min, max : 0,20­0,56). Dans le modèle complétement ajusté, l'inégalité du revenu n'était pas associée à la psychopathologie générale des enfants ß = 0,07 (IC à 95 % −0,29 à 0,45). L'environnement du quartier représentait 0,5 % de la variance de psychopathologie chez les enfants. Conclusion: L'absence de résultats significatifs peut être attribuable au manque de puissance statistique de l'étude. Les futures études devraient investiguer cette relation avec des études d'une puissance appropriée, et avec le temps, évaluer si l'inégalité du revenu est déterminante de la psychopathologie des enfants d'âge préscolaire au Canada.

Neighborhood Income Inequality and Alcohol Use among Adolescents in Boston, Massachusetts.

OBJECTIVES: Previous research has indicated that area-level income inequality is associated with increased risk in alcohol consumption. However, few studies have been conducted among adolescents living within smaller area units, such as neighborhoods. We investigated whether neighborhood income inequality is associated with alcohol consumption among adolescents. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional data from a sample of 1878 adolescents living in 38 neighborhoods participating in the 2008 Boston Youth Survey. Multilevel logistic regression modeling was used to determine the role of neighborhood income inequality and the odds for alcohol consumption and to determine if social cohesion and depressive symptoms were mediators. RESULTS: In comparison to the first tertile of income inequality, or the most equal neighborhood, adolescent participants living in the second tertile (AOR = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.89, 1.61) and third tertile (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.96) were more likely to have consumed alcohol in the last 30 days. Social cohesion and depressive symptoms were not observed to mediate this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that the distribution of incomes within urban areas may be related to alcohol consumption among adolescents. To prevent alcohol consumption, public health practitioners should prioritize prevention efforts for adolescents living in neighborhoods with large gaps between rich and poor.