Evidence map›Paper›PMID 14700246›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique

The seasonality of total hospitalizations in Ontario by age and gender: a time series analysis.

Eric J Crighton, Rahim Moineddin, Ross E G Upshur, Muhammad Mamdani

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Surge capacity and casualization: Human resource issues in the post-SARS health system.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Eric J CrightonPrimary Care Research Unit, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave., Room E-349, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5. eric.crighton@sw.ca
Rahim Moineddin
Ross E G Upshur
Muhammad Mamdani

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundConsistent and predictable seasonal fluctuations in hospitalizations have been demonstrated for diverse communicable and non-communicable health conditions. The objective of this study was to examine the seasonal patterns of all hospitalizations by age and gender in order to determine whether the hospital system for a large geographical area was subject to consistent, predictable temporal variations.

methodsA retrospective population-based study of approximately 14 million residents of Ontario was conducted to assess temporal patterns in all hospitalizations from April 1, 1988 to March 31, 2000. Time series analysis, using spectral analysis, was conducted to assess seasonal variations and trends over time and to account for autocorrelation.

resultsConspicuous seasonality in hospitalizations was found in every age group for both sexes with the exception of males between the ages of 20 and 39. The average monthly variability ranged from lows of 15% for the age group 20-29 for both sexes, to highs of 34% in males between 5 and 9 years. For the total population, this represents a 12-year average variability of approximately 20% or 20,000 out of 97,000 hospitalizations. For both sexes, peak hospitalizations typically occurred in the spring and autumn for the youngest and oldest age groups, and in January for the middle age groups.

conclusionSeasonal factors play an important role in the utilization of hospital services in Ontario. The determinants of this seasonality, which include environmental and social/behavioural factors, are not well understood.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAge DistributionChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHospitalizationHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleMiddle AgedOntarioRetrospective StudiesSeasons

Identifiers

PMID14700246
PMCPMC6979948

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.