Browsing by Author "Dushoff, Jonathan"
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- ItemAge-dependence of healthcare interventions for COVID-19 in Ontario, Canada(BMC (part of Springer Nature), 2021-04-12) Papst, Irena; Li, Michael; Champredon, David; Bolker, Benjamin M.; Dushoff, Jonathan; Earn, David JDBackground: Patient age is one of the most salient clinical indicators of risk from COVID-19. Age-specific distributions of known SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19-related deaths are available for many regions. Less attention has been given to the age distributions of serious medical interventions administered to COVID-19 patients, which could reveal sources of potential pressure on the healthcare system should SARS-CoV-2 prevalence increase, and could inform mass vaccination strategies. The aim of this study is to quantify the relationship between COVID-19 patient age and serious outcomes of the disease, beyond fatalities alone. Methods: We analysed 277,555 known SARS-CoV-2 infection records for Ontario, Canada, from 23 January 2020 to 16 February 2021 and estimated the age distributions of hospitalizations, Intensive Care Unit admissions, intubations, and ventilations. We quantified the probability of hospitalization given known SARS-CoV-2 infection, and of survival given COVID-19-related hospitalization. Results: The distribution of hospitalizations peaks with a wide plateau covering ages 60–90, whereas deaths are concentrated in ages 80+. The estimated probability of hospitalization given known infection reaches a maximum of 27.8% at age 80 (95% CI 26.0%–29.7%). The probability of survival given hospitalization is nearly 100% for adults younger than 40, but declines substantially after this age; for example, a hospitalized 54-year-old patient has a 91.7% chance of surviving COVID-19 (95% CI 88.3%–94.4%). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a significant need for hospitalization in middle-aged individuals and young seniors. This need is not captured by the distribution of deaths, which is heavily concentrated in very old ages. The probability of survival given hospitalization for COVID-19 is lower than is generally perceived for patients over 40. If acute care capacity is exceeded due to an increase in COVID-19 prevalence, the distribution of deaths could expand toward younger ages. These results suggest that vaccine programs should aim to prevent infection not only in old seniors, but also in young seniors and middle-aged individuals, to protect them from serious illness and to limit stress on the healthcare system.
- ItemThe effect of sexually transmitted co-infections on HIV viral load amongst individuals on antiretroviral therapy : a systematic review and meta-analysis(BioMed Central, 2015-06) Champredon, David; Bellan, Steven E.; Delva, Wim; Hunt, Spencer; Shi, Chyun-Fung; Smieja, Marek; Dushoff, JonathanBackground: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) markedly reduces HIV transmission, and testing and treatment programs have been advocated as a method for decreasing transmission at the population level. Little is known, however, about the extent to which sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which increase the HIV infectiousness of untreated individuals, may decrease the effectiveness of treatment as prevention. Methods: We searched major bibliographic databases to August 12th, 2014 and identified studies reporting differences in HIV transmission rate or in viral load between individuals on ART who either were or were not co-infected with another STI. We used hierarchical Bayesian models to estimate viral load differences between individuals with and without STI co-infections. Results: The search strategy retrieved 1630 unique citations of which 14 studies (reporting on 4607 HIV viral load measurements from 2835 unique individuals) met the inclusion criteria. We did not find any suitable studies that estimated transmission rates directly in both groups. Our meta-analysis of HIV viral load measurements among treated individuals did not find a statistically significant effect of STI co-infection; viral loads were, on average, 0.11 log10 (95 % CI −0.62 to 0.83) higher among co-infected versus non-co-infected individuals. Conclusions: Direct evidence about the effects of STI co-infection on transmission from individuals on ART is very limited. Available data suggests that the average effect of STI co-infection on HIV viral load in individuals on ART is less than 1 log10 difference, and thus unlikely to decrease the effectiveness of treatment as prevention. However, there is not enough data to rule out the possibility that particular STIs pose a larger threat.
- ItemHow to make epidemiological training infectious(Public Library of Science, 2012-04-03) Bellan, Steve E.; Pulliam, Juliet R. C.; Scott, James C.; Dushoff, Jonathan; Porco, T.; Williams, B. G.; Hargrove, J. W.Modern infectious disease epidemiology builds on two independently developed fields: classical epidemiology and dynamical epidemiology. Over the past decade, integration of the two fields has increased in research practice, but training options within the fields remain distinct with few opportunities for integration in the classroom. The annual Clinic on the Meaningful Modeling of Epidemiological Data (MMED) at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences has begun to address this gap. MMED offers participants exposure to a broad range of concepts and techniques from both epidemiological traditions. During MMED 2010 we developed a pedagogical approach that bridges the traditional distinction between classical and dynamical epidemiology and can be used at multiple educational levels, from high school to graduate level courses. The approach is hands-on, consisting of a real-time simulation of a stochastic outbreak in course participants, including realistic data reporting, followed by a variety of mathematical and statistical analyses, stemming from both epidemiological traditions. During the exercise, dynamical epidemiologists developed empirical skills such as study design and learned concepts of bias while classical epidemiologists were trained in systems thinking and began to understand epidemics as dynamic nonlinear processes. We believe this type of integrated educational tool will prove extremely valuable in the training of future infectious disease epidemiologists. We also believe that such interdisciplinary training will be critical for local capacity building in analytical epidemiology as Africa continues to produce new cohorts of well-trained mathematicians, statisticians, and scientists. And because the lessons draw on skills and concepts from many fields in biology—from pathogen biology, evolutionary dynamics of host–pathogen interactions, and the ecology of infectious disease to bioinformatics, computational biology, and statistics—this exercise can be incorporated into a broad array of life sciences courses.
- ItemPartner age differences and associated sexual risk behaviours among adolescent girls and young women in a cash transfer programme for schooling in Malawi(BioMed Central, 2018-03-27) Beauclair, Roxanne; Dushoff, Jonathan; Delva, WimBackground: Age disparities in sexual relationships have been proposed as a key risk factor for HIV transmission in Sub-Saharan Africa, but evidence remains inconclusive. The SIHR study, a cluster randomised trial of a cash transfer programme in Malawi, found that young women in the intervention groups were less likely to have had a sexual partner aged 25 or older, and less likely to test positive for HIV and HSV-2 at follow-up compared to control groups. We examined the hypotheses that girls in the intervention groups had smaller age differences than control groups and that large age differences were associated with relationship-level HIV transmission risk factors: inconsistent condom use, sex frequency, and relationship duration. Methods: We conducted an analysis of schoolgirls in the Schooling, Income, and Health Risk (SIHR) study aged 13-22 at baseline (n = 2907). We investigated the effects of study arm, trial stage and participant age on age differences in sexual relationships using a linear mixed-effects model. Cumulative-link mixed-effects models were used to estimate the effect of relationship age difference on condom use and sex frequency, and a Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the effect of relationship age difference on relationship duration. We controlled for the girl’s age, number of partners, study group and study round. Results: Girls receiving cash transfers, on average, had smaller age differences in relationships compared to controls, though the estimated difference was not statistically significant (− 0.43 years; 95% CI: -1.03, 0.17). The older the participant was, the smaller her age differences (− 0.67 per 4-year increase in age; 95% CI: -0.99, − 0.35). Among controls, after the cash transfers had ended the average age difference was 0.82 years larger than during the intervention (95% CI: 0.43, 1.21) , suggesting a possible indirect effect of the study on behaviour in the community as a whole. Across treatment groups, larger age differences in relationships were associated with lower levels of condom use, more frequent sex, and longer relationship durations. Conclusions: Cash-transfer programmes may prevent HIV transmission in part by encouraging young women to form age-similar relationships, which are characterised by increased condom use and reduced sex frequency. The benefits of these programmes may extend to those who are not directly receiving the cash.