ArticleCMAJ open
Sickle cell disease in Ontario, Canada: an epidemiologic profile based on health administrative data.
Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Newborn screening for hemoglobinopathies: a review of Canadian data from 2020 to 2023.Paediatrics & child health · 2026Article
- Article
- Transformative therapies for sickle cell disease.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2026Article
- Clinical Complications, Mortality, and Healthcare Resource Utilization of Patients with Sickle Cell Disease with Recurrent Vaso-Occlusive Crises in Ontario, Canada: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Advances in therapy · 2026Article
- A patient-centered, theory-guided approach to examining the barriers and enablers to trial participation among people with SCD.Journal of sickle cell disease · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe number of patients with sickle cell disease in Ontario, Canada, is unknown. In the absence of a formal registry, we performed a study to determine an approximate census via analysis of health administrative databases.
methodsWe identified Ontario patients with a diagnosis of sickle cell disease through queries of the Discharge Abstract Database, National Ambulatory Care Reporting System and Newborn Screening Ontario database. The period of inquiry was Apr. 1, 2007, through Mar. 31, 2017. We identified repeat interactions by the same patient by cross-referencing provincial health insurance plan numbers.
resultsWe documented health care system interactions for 3418 unique patients (1912 [55.9%] female, median age at the time of identification 24 yr). Over the 10-year study period, patients visited the emergency department a median of 2 (interquartile range [IQR] 1-7) times and an average of 6.69 (standard deviation [SD] 26.71) times, and were admitted to hospital a median of 1 (IQR 1-5) time and an average of 4.38 (SD 8.53) times for treatment related to sickle cell disease. A total of 229 patients (6.7%) died during the study period, with an average age at death of 55 years. Even without accounting for the effects of immigration, the rate of natural increase slowed slightly over the study period owing to a decrease in the annual number of affected births.
interpretationThe estimated prevalence of patients with sickle cell disease in Ontario in 2007/08-2016/17 was 1 in 4200, and affected patients' need for hospital-based care was substantial, although highly variable. Similar queries of health administrative databases may be feasible in other Canadian provinces.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.