Cohort profile: the British Columbia COVID-19 Cohort (BCC19C)—a dynamic, linked population-based cohort

PurposeThe British Columbia COVID-19 Cohort (BCC19C) was developed from an innovative, dynamic surveillance platform and is accessed/analyzed through a cloud-based environment. The platform integrates recently developed provincial COVID-19 datasets (refreshed daily) with existing administrative holdings and provincial registries (refreshed weekly/monthly). The platform/cohort were established to inform the COVID-19 response in near “real-time” and to answer more in-depth epidemiologic questions.ParticipantsThe surveillance platform facilitates the creation of large, up-to-date analytic cohorts of people accessing COVID-19 related services and their linked medical histories. The program of work focused on creating/analyzing these cohorts is referred to as the BCC19C. The administrative/registry datasets integrated within the platform are not specific to COVID-19 and allow for selection of “control” individuals who have not accessed COVID-19 services.Findings to dateThe platform has vastly broadened the range of COVID-19 analyses possible, and outputs from BCC19C analyses have been used to create dashboards, support routine reporting and contribute to the peer-reviewed literature. Published manuscripts (total of 15 as of July, 2023) have appeared in high-profile publications, generated significant media attention and informed policy and programming. In this paper, we conducted an analysis to identify sociodemographic and health characteristics associated with receiving SARS-CoV-2 laboratory testing, testing positive, and being fully vaccinated. Other published analyses have compared the relative clinical severity of different variants of concern; quantified the high “real-world” effectiveness of vaccines in addition to the higher risk of myocarditis among younger males following a 2nd dose of an mRNA vaccine; developed and validated an algorithm for identifying long-COVID patients in administrative data; identified a higher rate of diabetes and healthcare utilization among people with long-COVID; and measured the impact of the pandemic on mental health, among other analyses.Future plansWhile the global COVID-19 health emergency has ended, our program of work remains robust. We plan to integrate additional datasets into the surveillance platform to further improve and expand covariate measurement and scope of analyses. Our analyses continue to focus on retrospective studies of various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as prospective assessment of post-acute COVID-19 conditions and other impacts of the pandemic

Disparités socioéconomiques et spatiales dans les décès attribuables au suicide chez les jeunes et aux blessures non intentionnelles en Colombie-Britannique (2009-2013)

Introduction. Sachant que l’association entre l'état de santé et le statut socioéconomique (SSE) est largement documentée et que les blessures non intentionnelles continuent de se classer parmi les principales causes de décès chez les Britanno-Colombiens, nous avons voulu quantifier les disparités liées au SSE dans les taux de mortalité associés à trois secteurs prioritaires pour la Colombie-Britannique en matière de prévention des blessures : le suicide chez les jeunes, les blessures liées aux chutes chez les aînés et les blessures liées au transport. Méthodologie. Nous avons jumelé les données liées aux décès (2009 à 2013) tirées des statistiques de l’état civil et des données socioéconomiques de CensusPlus de 2011 à l’échelle de l’aire de diffusion ou de la circonscription sanitaire afin d'étudier les taux de mortalité normalisés selon l’âge (TMNA) et les disparités des TMNA concernant les blessures non intentionnelles et leurs sous-types, notamment les blessures liées aux chutes chez les aînés (65 ans et plus) et les blessures liées au transport, ainsi que le suicide chez les jeunes (15 à 24 ans), ce dernier étant considéré comme une forme de blessure intentionnelle. Nous avons étudié les disparités spatiales et les disparités selon le sexe et nous avons mesuré les disparités relatives et absolues entre les zones moins favorisées et les zones plus favorisées en fonction des quintiles de revenu, de scolarité, d’emploi, de défavorisation matérielle et de défavorisation sociale. Résultats. Notre étude a mis en évidence d’importantes différences entre les sexes en matière de taux de mortalité attribuable au suicide chez les jeunes, à des blessures liées aux chutes chez les aînés et à des blessures liées au transport, les hommes affichant des taux de mortalité beaucoup plus élevés que les femmes. Nous avons également observé des variations spatiales notables dans les TMNA pour l’ensemble des blessures non intentionnelles à l’échelle de la province. En général, la population vivant dans des zones où les revenus étaient faibles et où la défavorisation matérielle était importante a affiché des taux de mortalité plus élevés que la population vivant dans des zones favorisées. Conclusion. Le repérage de différences importantes dans les taux de mortalité liée à des blessures intentionnelles et non intentionnelles entre les sexes et en fonction du SSE ouvre des possibilités quant à l’élaboration de stratégies de prévention ciblées pour réduire ces disparités

Area-based socioeconomic disparities in mortality due to unintentional injury and youth suicide in British Columbia, 2009–2013

Introduction: The association between health outcomes and socioeconomic status (SES) has been widely documented, and mortality due to unintentional injuries continues to rank among the leading causes of death among British Columbians. This paper quantified the SES-related disparities in the mortality burden of three British Columbia’s provincial injury prevention priority areas: falls among seniors, transport injury, and youth suicide. Methods: Mortality data (2009 to 2013) from Vital Statistics and dissemination area or local health area level socioeconomic data from CensusPlus 2011 were linked to examine five-year age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) and disparities in ASMRs of unintentional injuries and subtypes including falls among seniors (aged 65+) and transport-related injuries as well as the intentional injury type of youth suicide (aged 15 to 24). Disparities by sex and geography were examined, and relative and absolute disparities were calculated between the least and most privileged areas based on income, education, employment, material deprivation, and social deprivation quintiles. Results: Our study highlighted significant sex differences in the mortality burden of falls among seniors, transport injury, and youth suicide with males experiencing significantly higher mortality rates. Notable geographic variations in overall unintentional injury ASMR were also observed across the province. In general, people living in areas with lower income and higher levels of material deprivation had increasingly higher mortality rates compared to their counterparts living in more privileged areas. Conclusion: The significant differences in unintentional and intentional injury-related mortality outcomes between the sexes and by SES present opportunities for targeted prevention strategies that address the disparities.Pediatrics, Department ofMedicine, Faculty ofReviewedFacultyPostdoctoralResearcherGraduat