Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35017172›Full record

ArticleCMAJ open

Pain-driven emergency department visits and food insecurity: a cross-sectional study linking Canadian survey and health administrative data.

Fei Men, Marcelo L Urquia, Valerie Tarasuk

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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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

3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Fei MenDepartment of Nutritional Sciences (Men, Tarasuk), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Consumer Sciences (Men), The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Department of Community Health Sciences (Urquia), University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man.; Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Urquia), University of Toronto; Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute (Urquia), St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ont. fmen@ua.edu.
Marcelo L UrquiaDepartment of Nutritional Sciences (Men, Tarasuk), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Consumer Sciences (Men), The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Department of Community Health Sciences (Urquia), University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man.; Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Urquia), University of Toronto; Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute (Urquia), St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ont.
Valerie TarasukDepartment of Nutritional Sciences (Men, Tarasuk), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Consumer Sciences (Men), The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Department of Community Health Sciences (Urquia), University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man.; Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Urquia), University of Toronto; Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute (Urquia), St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ont.
3M (United States) · USUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

CIHR PJT 153260
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAs the leading cause of emergency department visits in Canada, pain disproportionately affects socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. We examine the association between household food insecurity and individuals' pain-driven emergency department visits.

methodsWe designed a cross-sectional study linking the Canadian Community Health Survey 2005-2017 to the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System 2003-2017. Food insecurity was measured using a validated questionnaire. We excluded individuals with missing food insecurity status, individuals younger than 12 years and jurisdiction-years with partial emergency department records. We assessed emergency department visits driven by pain at different sites (migraine, other headaches, chest-throat pain, abdomen-pelvis pain, dorsalgia, joint pain, limb pain, other pain) and their characteristics (frequency, cause, acuity and time of emergency department visit) in Ontario and Alberta. We adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and prior non-pain-driven emergency department visits in the models.

resultsThe sample contained 212 300 individuals aged 12 years and older. Compared with food-secure individuals, marginally, moderately and severely food-insecure people had 1.42 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20-1.68), 1.64 (95% CI 1.37-1.96) and 1.99 (95% CI 1.61-2.46) times higher adjusted incidence rates of pain-driven emergency department visits, respectively. The association was similar across sexes and significant among adults but not adolescents. Food insecurity was further associated with site-specific pain, with severely food-insecure individuals having significantly higher pain incidence than food-secure individuals. Severe food insecurity predicted more frequent, multicause, high-acuity and after-hours emergency department visits.

interpretationHousehold food insecurity status is significantly associated with pain-driven emergency department visits in the Canadian population. Policies targeting food insecurity may reduce pain and emergency department utilization.

Indexed as

Food InsecurityPainPain ManagementAdolescentAdultCanadaCross-Sectional StudiesEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHealth Services Needs and DemandHumansIncidenceMalePatient Acceptance of Health CareRisk FactorsSociodemographic Factors

Identifiers

PMID35017172
PMCPMC8758177
OpenAlexW4206800397

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.