Benoît R Mâsse

Université de Montréal | UdeM · School of Public Health

( Lancet. 2024; 403:44–54. doi: 10.1016/ S0140-6736(23)01855-X) Pregnant women with a previous cesarean delivery (CD) face a difficult decision between attempting a trial of labor after a cesarean (TOLAC), hoping for a successful vaginal delivery (VD), or opting for a planned repeat CD. Recent studies suggest women need support in decision-making a...

Problem Preterm birth and preeclampsia significantly contribute to infant morbidity and mortality, posing critical public health concerns. Viral infections, particularly Cytomegalovirus (CMV), associated with chronic inflammation, may play a role in these adverse pregnancy outcomes. The contribution of CMV to preterm birth and preeclampsia requires...

(Abstracted from Lancet 2024;403:44–54) Women who have delivered a baby via cesarean section have a difficult choice when it comes to delivering a second child: delivery via a second cesarean or attempting vaginal delivery, both of which are associated with some risks to both mother and baby. Recent studies have shown evidence that provider support...

BACKGROUND Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) studies suggest that preterm preeclampsia can be predicted in the first trimester by combining biophysical, biochemical, and ultrasound markers and prevented using aspirin. We aimed to evaluate the FMF preterm preeclampsia screening test in nulliparous women. METHODS We conducted a prospective multicenter...

Objective Arterial stiffness and exposure to psychosocial work-related factors increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the relationship between psychosocial work-related factors and arterial stiffness. We aimed to examine this relationship. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Public organisation...

This study aims to compare cardiopulmonary response to aerobic exercise between young adults born very preterm, including a subgroup with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and term controls. Seventy-one adults (18–29 years) born <30 weeks’ gestational age (24 with BPD) and 73 term controls were recruited. Assessment included cardiopulmonary exercis...

The identification of modifiable factors that could maintain cognitive function is a public health priority. It is thought that some work-related psychosocial factors help developing cognitive reserve through high intellectual complexity. However, they also have well-known adverse health effects and are considered to be chronic psychosocial stresso...

Introduction: One of the most effective diagnostic tools for pancreatic cancer is endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) or biopsy (EUS-FNB). Several randomized clinical trials have compared different EUS tissue sampling needles for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Objective: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-gu...

Abstract Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids from infected individuals. Transmission of CMV in households, particularly those with young children, contributes significantly to CMV infection in the general population. However, little is known about the contribution of occupational healthcare or childca...

Objectives: To determine whether maternal supplementation with high-dose docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in breastfed, very preterm neonates improves neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 to 22 months' corrected age (CA). Methods: Planned follow-up of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial to compare neurodevelopmental outcomes...

Introduction: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of a maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation during lactation, compared with a placebo, on the neonatal growth profile of breastfed very preterm infants. Methods: Preterm infants' growth profile, growth velocity from birth to 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA), and growth...

Background: We aim to assess whether the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-containing lipid emulsion (LE) SMOFlipid 20% (Fresenius Kabi Canada Ltd) is associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)-free survival at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age in very preterm infants. Methods: This cohort study is nested in the MOBYDIck randomized clinical trial (NCT0...

The Secretary General of the United Nations described the impact of COVID-19-related school closures as a “generational catastrophe.” What will be the legacy of the 2020–2021 pandemic-related disruptions in 5, 10, 20 years from now, as regards education and well-being of children and youth? Addressing the disproportionate impact on those growing up...

Background Chronic low-grade inflammation has been associated with high risk of several chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, depression, and dementia. As low-grade inflammation could be present long before the apparition of the disease, identifying modifiable risk factors could allow to act upstream. Psychosocial stressors at...

Objectives Psychosocial stressors at work have been proposed as modifiable risk factors for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cumulative exposure to psychosocial stressors at work on cognitive function. Methods This study was conducted among 9188 white-collar workers recruited in 1991–1993 (T1), with follo...

Introduction Maternal Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in the first trimester (T1) of pregnancy is a public health concern, as it increases the risk of severe neurodevelopmental outcomes associated with congenital infection compared to infections occurring later during pregnancy. Objectives To determine CMV seroprevalence in T1 of pregnancy, its tr...

Background: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 long-chain fatty acid mainly accumulated by the fetus during the last trimester, is crucial for brain development. The effect of DHA supplementation on the neurodevelopment of neonates born extremely preterm remains largely unknown. Objective: Determine whether maternal DHA supplementation improve...

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a workplace intervention reducing psychosocial stressors at work in lowering blood pressure and hypertension prevalence. Methods: The study design was a quasi-experimental pre-post study with an intervention group and a control group. Post-intervention measurements were collected 6 and 36 months after t...

Introduction Childhood overweight and obesity (OWO) is a primary global health challenge. Childhood OWO prevention is now a public health priority in China. The Sino-Canadian Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (SCHeLTI), one of four trials being undertaken by the international HeLTI consortium, aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifaceted...

Background and objectives: The aim of the study was to perform the first randomized trial comparing the diagnostic yield, bloodiness, and cellularity of the 25G standard needle (25S) and the 25G ProCore™ needle (25P). Materials and methods: All patients referred to the tertiary care referral center for EUS guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA)...

Abstract Importance: Maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation may prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but evidence remains inconclusive. Objective: To determine whether maternal DHA supplementation during the neonatal period improves bronchopulmonary dysplasia–free survival in breastfed infants born before 29 weeks of gestation. Desig...

Objectives Women have a higher incidence of mental health problems compared with men. Psychosocial stressors at work are associated with mental health problems. However, few prospective studies have examined the association between these stressors and objectively measured outcomes of mental health. Moreover, evidence regarding potential differences...

Background: Previous proof-of-concept studies have shown that a short course of omalizumab can safely accelerate the oral immunotherapy schedule for multiple allergens simultaneously. Considering the high cost of medication, the dose-related efficacy of omalizumab at decreasing the duration of oral immunotherapy up-dosing phase must be objectively...

Background: Low vitamin D level is associated with a higher risk and a more severe course of Crohn’s disease (CD). Varying doses of vitamin D can rapidly alter the serum levels of 25 hydroxy-vitamin D (25OHD). No study specifically addressed whether a supplementation of 25OHD can modulate its long-term level and the relapse rate of CD in children....

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Preterm birth incurs an increased risk of early cardiovascular events and death. In the general population, cardiovascular risk factors cluster in the context of inflammation and oxidative stress. Whether this also occurs in young adults born preterm is unknown. We analyzed 101 healthy young adults (ages 18–29) born preterm (≤29 weeks of gestation)...

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the wage losses incurred by spouses of women with nonmetastatic breast cancer in the 6 months after the diagnosis. Methods A prospective cohort study of spouses of women diagnosed with nonmetastatic breast cancer who were recruited in 8 hospitals in the province of Quebec (Canada) was performed. Inf...

Introduction Preschoolers have the highest rate of emergency visits and hospitalisations for asthma exacerbations of all age groups, with most triggered by upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and occurring in the fall or winter. Vitamin D insufficiency is highly prevalent in Canadian preschoolers with recurrent asthma exacerbations, particul...

Background: The validity of measures used in follow-up studies to estimate the magnitude of the STD-HIV association will be the focus of this paper. A recent simulation study by Boily et al based on a model of HIV and STD transmission showed that the relative risk (RR), estimated by the hazard rate ratio (HRR) obtained by the Cox model had poor val...

Background A growing number of individuals born very preterm (PT) are now entering adulthood and display risk factors for chronic health diseases. Whether risk of chronic health diseases affects health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) remains undetermined. Objectives This study aimed to assess HR-QoL in PT adults versus term-born controls (T) and...

Background and aims: The experience of alcohol use among adolescents is complex, with international differences in age of purchase and individual differences in consumption and consequences. This latter underlines the importance of prediction modeling of adolescent alcohol use. The current study (a) compared the performance of seven machine-learni...

Preterm birth incurs a higher risk for adult cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. Because preterm birth may impact nephrogenesis, study objectives were to assess renal size and function of adults born preterm versus full term and to examine their relationship with blood pressure (BP; 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring) and circulating ren...

Promising multi-dose HIV vaccine regimens are being tested in trials in South Africa. We estimated the potential epidemiological and economic impact of HIV vaccine campaigns compared to continuous vaccination, assuming that vaccine efficacy is transient and dependent on immune response. We used a dynamic economic mathematical model of HIV transmiss...

Background: The epidemiological tipping point ratio (TPR) has been suggested as a useful indicator to monitor the scale-up of antiretroviral (ART) programmes and determine when scale-up is sufficient to control the epidemic. TPR has been defined as the ratio of yearly number of new HIV infections to the yearly number of new ART initiations or to th...

Link to abstract and poster: http://www.croiconference.org/sessions/designing-hiv-vaccine-delivery-strategies-south-africa-policy-analysis

Link to abstract and poster: http://www.croiconference.org/sessions/assessing-utility-tipping-point-ratio-monitoring-art-program-success

Appropriate pain measurement relies on the use of valid, reliable tools. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the psychometric properties of three self-reported pain scales commonly used in the pediatric Emergency Department (ED). The inclusion criteria were children aged 6-17 years presenting to the ED with a musculoskeletal injury a...

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries (MSK-Is) are a common and painful condition among children that remains poorly treated in the emergency department (ED). We aimed to test the efficacy of a combination of an anti-inflammatory drug with an opioid for pain management of MSK-I in children presenting to the ED. Methods: In this randomized, double...

Background Rates of cesarean delivery are continuously increasing in industrialized countries, with repeated cesarean accounting for about a third of all cesareans. Women who have undergone a first cesarean are facing a difficult choice for their next pregnancy, i.e.: (1) to plan for a second cesarean delivery, associated with higher risk of matern...

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Diagnostic test accuracy). The objectives are as follows: To determine the per-lesion and per-person diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed with gadoxetate disodium for the diagnosis of HCC in people with chronic liver disease. To identify factors that influence the reported diagn...

Introduction: The C-3PO rule has been validated for use by emergency physicians to identify young children at risk of skull fracture following head trauma. The use of the rule by triage nurses could improve patient flow in the emergency department. Objectives: To evaluate the interobserver agreement of triage nurses and emergency physicians in t...

Aims: Substance use and binge drinking during early adolescence are associated with neurocognitive abnormalities, mental health problems and an increased risk for future addiction. The trial aims to evaluate the protective effects of an evidence-based substance use prevention program on the onset of alcohol and drug use in adolescence, as well as...

Background: This double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group trial assessed whether oral supplementation with 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 IU/day vitamin D3 over one year reduces percent mammographic breast density in premenopausal women. Methods: The trial was conducted between October 2012 and June 2015, among premenopausal female volunteers from...

Introduction: Appropriate pain management relies on the use of valid, reliable and age-appropriate tools that are validated in the setting in which they are intended to be used. The aim of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of pain scales commonly used in children presenting to the pediatric emergency department (PED) with an acute...

Background Mental health problems (MHP) are the leading cause of disability worldwide. The inverse association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and MHP has been well documented. There is prospective evidence that factors from the work environment, including adverse psychosocial work factors, could contribute to the development of MHP including...

Purpose: A number of prospective studies have documented the effect of adverse psychosocial work factors (work stress) on high blood pressure (BP). Weight gain could be an important pathway by which work stress exerts its effect on BP. No previous prospective study has examined this mediating effect. The aim of the present study was to examine the...

Error backpropagation in networks of spiking neurons (SpikeProp) shows promise for the supervised learning of temporal patterns. However, its widespread use is hindered by its computational load and occasional convergence failures. In this letter, we show that the neuronal firing time equation at the core of SpikeProp can be solved analytically usi...

Objectives: Assess the feasibility of a study evaluating one dose of oral ondansetron to decrease post-concussion symptoms at one week and one month following concussion in children aged 8 to 17 years old. Method: This was a pilot study for a randomized, triple-blind controlled trial of one dose of either ondansetron or placebo performed in a te...

BACKGROUND: A single-agent approach to children’s moderate to severe pain is often inadequate. To date, no studies have evaluated the combined use of oral morphine and ibuprofen for optimal pain management of children presenting to an emergency department (ED) for muscu-loskeletal (MSK) trauma. OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of a combination of...

Background: A single-agent approach to children’s moderate to severe pain is often inadequate. To date, no studies have evaluated the combined use of oral morphine and ibuprofen for optimal pain management of children presenting to an Emergency Department (ED) for musculoskeletal (MSK) trauma. Objective: To assess the efficacy of a combination of o...

Background: Randomized controlled trials (RCT) suggest that the efficacy of tenofovir-based pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) strongly depends on consistency of PrEP use. We explore how patterns of pill-taking and waning of PrEP protection may affect PrEP efficacy for HIV prevention. Methods: A two-arm RCT was simulated by mathematical models assu...

As a result of innovations in informatics over the last decades, physiologic models elaborated in the second half of the 20th century could be transformed into specific virtual patients called computational models. These models, developed initially for teaching purposes, are of great potential interest in responding to current concerns about improv...

Background Two main theoretical models have been used to assess the impact of psychosocial work factors on blood pressure (BP): the demand–control (DC) model and the effort–reward imbalance (ERI) model. Previous studies have mostly used a single time point exposure to examine this association. Objective To examine the effect of repeated job strain...

BACKGROUND: Intravenous nutrition preparations that are not photoprotected generate oxidants, which are deleterious for cell survival. The question remains: are these observations of clinical relevance in individuals receiving parenteral nutrition (PN), especially in those who exhibit immature antioxidant defenses such as premature infants? OBJECT...

Background: There is no clear consensus regarding radiologic evaluation of head trauma in young children without traumatic brain injury. We conducted a study to develop and validate a clinical decision rule to identify skull fracture in young children with head trauma and no immediate need for head tomography. Methods: We performed a prospective...

BACKGROUND Most patients suffering from concussion present persistent symptoms at one week post injury. A systematic review showed a paucity of studies for short term outcomes following concussion. Among potential treatments, Ondansetron has shown promising results based on clinical experience and a single retrospective study. OBJECTIVES The prima...

BACKGROUND There is no clear consensus regarding the use of skull radiological evaluation for young children who sustained a head trauma without traumatic brain injury. OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this study was to derive and validate a clinical decision rule to identify skull fracture among children younger than two years of age with head...

To evaluate whether women who themselves were born preterm are at increased risk of preterm delivery and, if so, whether known maternal complications of preterm birth such as hypertension or diabetes explain this risk. We conducted a population-based cohort study of all women born preterm (51,148) and term (823,991) in Québec, Canada, between 1976...

Reproductive-age women need effective interventions to prevent the acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to assess daily treatment with oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), oral tenofovir-emtricitabine (TDF-FTC), or 1% tenofovir (TFV) vaginal gel as preexposure...

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to spread and take the lives of millions around the world. Advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART) have substantially extended survivorship without completely removing the risk of transmission. Some preventive interventions have demonstrated efficacy in clinical trials [1,2] but their effectiveness rema...

BACKGROUND A clinical score was reported in 2010 by Bin et al to identify head-injured infants that are at higher risk of skull fracture. OBJECTIVES To determine the criterion validity of the clinical score to identify skull fracture among children younger than two years old with head trauma and no need for head tomography. DESIGN/METHODS A prosp...

Two main theoretical models have been used to assess the impact of psychosocial work factors on blood pressure (BP): the demand-control model (DC) and the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model. Little is known about their independent and combined effect. To examine the independent and combined effect of the DC and ERI models on ambulatory BP (ABP). D...

The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of 2- and 4-film x-ray series when interpreted by pediatric emergency medicine physicians in the diagnosis of skull fracture in children. A noninferiority crossover study was performed. The skull radiographs of the 50 most recent cases of skull fracture for which a 4-film ra...

Objective The objective of the study was to examine the associations of maternal plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] with angiogenesis and endothelial dysfunction indicators: soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), placental growth factor (PlGF), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and...

Background We lack comprehensive information about the extent of out-of-pocket costs after diagnosis of early breast cancer and their effects on the family's financial situation.Methods This longitudinal study assessed out-of-pocket costs and wage losses during the first year after diagnosis of early breast cancer among Canadian women and spouses....

Heterosexual anal intercourse confers a much greater risk of HIV transmission than vaginal intercourse, yet its contribution to heterosexual HIV epidemics has been under researched. In this article we review the current state of knowledge of heterosexual anal intercourse practice worldwide and identify the information required to assess its role in...