Ian Colman

University of Ottawa · Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine

The purpose of the study was to describe trajectories of relationship satisfaction across the transition to parenthood, and identify predictors of these trajectories. This study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Mothers (N = 43,517) reported on their relationship satisfaction at five timepoints from 17 weeks g...

Background: Depression affects an individual’s physical health and mental well-being, and in pregnant and postpartum women, has specific adverse short- and long-term effects on maternal, child, and family health. The aim of these two systematic reviews is to identify evidence on the benefits and harms of screening for depression compared to no scre...

Positive maternal mental health can improve perceptions of stressful situations and promote the use of adaptive coping strategies. However, few studies have examined how positive maternal mental health affects children’s development. The aims of this study were to examine the associations between positive maternal mental health and children’s inter...

Background: Nearly 22% of the Canadian population are first-generation immigrants. We investigated immigrants' health status and health deterioration over time in terms of the prevalence of chronic diseases (CDs) and their relationship to vitD status. Methods: We used cycles three (2012-2013) and four (2014-2015) of the Canadian Health Measures Sur...

Purpose To estimate associations between multiple forms of substance use with self-harming thoughts and behaviours, and to test whether gender is an effect modifier of these associations, both independently and along with perceived risk of cannabis use. Methods Data were drawn from the 2018 Norwegian Students’ Health and Wellbeing Study (SHoT 2018...

Background Spinal pain and major depression are prevalent conditions in adult populations and are particularly impactful in the military. However, the temporal relationship between these two conditions remains poorly understood.Methods Using data extracted from electronic medical records, we assessed the association between incident diagnoses of sp...

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are cross-sectionally associated with headache, including migraine, in pediatric populations. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether ACEs are prospectively associated with incident health-professional diagnosed migraine and prevalence of non-migraine frequent headache in a...

Background Few studies have examined how parenting influences the associations between prenatal maternal stress and children's mental health. The objectives of this study were to examine the sex-specific associations between prenatal maternal stress and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and to assess the moderating effects of parentin...

Background An emerging body of research suggests that stress experienced in the workplace can have detrimental impacts on maternal mental health, including greater risk of postnatal depression. However, few longitudinal studies have examined these associations during the perinatal period. The objective of this study was to examine the associations...

Background Research examining the associations between movement behaviours and mental health indicators within a compositional framework are sparse and limited by their cross-sectional study design. This study has three objectives. First, to describe the change in movement behaviour composition over time. Second, to explore the association between...

One in five Canadians are first-generation immigrants. Evidence suggests the baseline risk for vitamin D (vitD) deficiency is increased among immigrants who move from equatorial to northern countries. We investigated the prevalence and determinants of vitD deficiency/insufficiency among first-generation immigrants compared with native-born Canadian...

Driving under the influence of cannabis is a growing public health concern among young people. This study assessed the prevalence of cannabis-impaired driving and its related sociodemographic, psychological, and knowledge-based correlates among Canadian adolescents. The sample for this study were drawn from the 2017 Ontario Student Health and Drug...

Purpose: The present study examined associations between nonmedical use of prescription opioids and serious psychological distress, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, and tested whether age and sex moderate these relationships. Methods: Data on 5582 adolescents were obtained from a representative province-wide survey of students in grades...

Purpose: Parenting practices represent important and modifiable factors for health and wellbeing in children and adolescents; however, strength and quality of studies examining relationships between parenting practices in childhood and risk of depression and anxiety in adolescence are unclear. The objective of this systematic review was to synthes...

Children and youth are recommended to achieve at least 60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, no more than 2 h/day of recreational screen time, and a sleep duration of 9–11 h/night for 11–13-year-olds or 8–10 h/night for 14–17-year-olds. Meeting the physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration recommendations have previously be...

Objective: Adverse prenatal and postnatal exposures may have long-lasting effects on health and development. However, it remains unclear whether being exposed to a greater number of prenatal adversities affects mental health risk. The current study examined whether exposure to maternal health problems prenatally is associated with an increasing ri...

Objective To examine differential associations between types of social media use and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviors. Methods Participants were N = 40,065 Norwegian college and university students, age 18–25, from the 2018 Students' Health and Wellbeing (SHoT) study. Students reported on their use of social media for seven s...

Background Major depressive disorder is common, debilitating, and affects feelings, thoughts, mood, and behaviors. Childhood and adolescence are critical periods for the development of depression and adolescence is marked by an increased incidence of mental health disorders. This protocol outlines the planned scope and methods for a systematic revi...

Objectives School belonging impacts a range of factors, including academic performance, school attendance, relationships with peers and teachers, mental and physical health, and drug and alcohol use. Previous studies have shown that a lack of belonging to one’s school is associated with substance use. The objective of the study was to examine the a...

Objective The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth recommend at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, 2 hours or less of recreational screen time per day, and 9 to 11 hours of sleep per night for 5 to 13 years old and 8 to 10 hours per night for 14 to 17 years old. This study examined the association between meeting...

Background Patients who present to emergency departments after intentional self-harm are at an increased risk of dying by suicide. This applies particularly to men, who represent nearly two-thirds of those who die by suicide in Ontario. One way of potentially addressing this gap is to offer a course of blended problem-solving therapy, comprised of...

The prenatal environment can exert important effects on mental health. While much research has linked low birth weight to psychopathology, the intrauterine environment associated with high birth weight (macrosomia; > 4000 g) is also sub-optimal and may increase risk. Given the increasing prevalence of macrosomic births, understanding the mental hea...

Background The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth recommend ≥60 min of physical activity per day, ≤2 h of recreational screen time per day, and 9−11 hours of sleep per night for 11–13 years old and 8−10 hours per night for 14–17 years old. Objective This study examined the association between combinations of these recommen...

Purpose The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (≥60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, ≤2 hours of recreational screen time per day, and 9–11 hours of sleep per night for 5–13 years old) are associated with better physical health, but less is known about how these behaviors are related to mental heal...

Objective: Some research suggests that suicidal ideation and attempt among adolescents may be contagious - i.e., adolescents who are exposed to peers' suicidal behaviour are more likely to experience suicidal ideation or attempt suicide themselves. Less is known about the potential contagion effect of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Our objective...

Background Individual and neighbourhood-scale socioeconomic characteristics modify associations between exposure to air pollution and mortality. The role of stress, which may integrate effects of social and environmental exposures on health, is unknown. We examined whether an individual’s perspective on their own well-being, as assessed using self-...

Background: A growing number of epidemiological studies have linked air pollution exposure to psychological conditions. Laboratory studies indicate that air pollutants can activate the neuroendocrine stress axis and modulate stress hormone levels, which could contribute to the development or exacerbation of psychological distress. The present stud...

Objective To investigate longitudinal relationships between parenting practices in childhood and adolescent suicidality, and assess the mediating role of emotional and behavioral symptoms. Methods Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, a Canadian population‐based longitudinal cohort study. The sample included...

Although exposure to ambient air pollution has been linked to mental health problems, little is known about its potential effects on youth. This study investigates the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants and emergency department (ED) visits for mental health disorders. The National Ambulatory Care Reporting System database was...

Background: For optimal health benefits, the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (aged 5-17 years) recommend an achievement of high levels of physical activity (≥60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity), low levels of sedentary behaviour (≤2 h of recreational screen time), and sufficient sleep (9-11 h for children...

Maternal thyroid problems during pregnancy have been linked to neurocognitive impairments in children. While studies suggest that disorders of maternal thyroid function during pregnancy are associated with symptoms of mental health problems in children, little is known about the risk of clinically significant psychiatric disorders in adolescence. A...

Objective The aim of the study was to examine the association between meeting combinations of the Canadian 24-h movement guidelines and academic performance in adolescents. Study design This cross-sectional study used the 2017 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a survey representative of Ontario students in grades 7–12 attending publicly...

Purpose Major depression is a leading cause of morbidity in military populations. However, due to a lack of longitudinal data, little is known about the rate at which military personnel experience the onset of new episodes of major depression. We used a new source of clinical and administrative data to estimate the incidence of major depression dia...

Background The 24-hour movement guidelines for children and youth recommend ≥60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, ≤2 h/day of screen time, 9-11 h/night of sleep for 11-13 years and 8-10 h/night for 14-17 years. The objectives of this study were to examine the associations between meeting combinations of the recommendations containe...

Background: Patients who present to Emergency Departments (ED) after intentional self-harm are at an increased risk of dying by suicide. This applies particularly to men, who represent nearly two-thirds of those who die by suicide in Ontario. One way of potentially addressing this gap is to offer a course of blended problem-solving therapy (PST), c...

Background: Patients who present to Emergency Departments (ED) after intentional self-harm are at an increased risk of dying by suicide. This applies particularly to men, who represent nearly two-thirds of those who die by suicide in Ontario. One way of potentially addressing this gap is to offer a course of blended problem-solving therapy (PST), c...

Objectives The main objectives of this study were to (1) determine whether sex moderates the association between social media use and body mass index (BMI) and (2) assess whether sleep duration mediates the association between social media use and BMI. Design A cross-sectional province-wide and school-based survey of 7th to 12th graders (mean age:...

Background: The use of diet and physical activity in alleviating the burden of migraine is unclear, therefore, more scientific study on the role of positive health behaviors in migraine management is needed. Objective: To explore the potential moderating influence of positive health behaviors on the early life stress-migraine relationship in a s...

Background Previous research has found links between energy drink consumption and mental health outcomes in youth. However, little is known about the factors that could moderate these relationships. The present study examined the associations between energy drink consumption and psychological distress, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts among...

Introduction Major depression is a leading cause of morbidity in military personnel and an important impediment to operational readiness in military organizations. Although treatment options are available, a large proportion of individuals with depression do not access mental health services. Quantifying and closing this treatment gap is a public h...

Background Patients who present to Emergency Departments (ED) after intentional self-harm receive variable levels care in Ontario. Many are not assessed by a mental health professional following discharge from ED and do not receive psychological services available in the community as many of these services are not covered by the provincial health i...

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to assess longitudinal associations between positive and harsh parenting in childhood and adolescent mental and behavioral difficulties. Methods: Data were drawn from Canada's population-based National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (data collected from 1994 to 2009, analyzed 2018). The...

We examined the association between social media use and parent–child relationship quality and tested whether this association is independent of total screen time. Data on 9,732 students (48.4% female) aged 11–20 years were obtained from a provincially representative school‐based survey. Heavy use of social media (daily use of more than 2 hr) was a...

Background: Self-harm is increasing among adolescents, and because of changing behaviours, current data are needed on the consequences of self-harm. We sought to investigate the trends related to hospital presentation, readmission, patient outcome and medical costs in adolescents who presented with self-harm to the emergency department. Methods:...

Background: Spending time outdoor has been identified as an important way to achieve the physical activity required for maintaining and improving health and to lower sedentary time among young children. However, evidence of such relationships in adolescents is particularly limited. This study investigated the relationships between frequency of out...

Background Adolescence is a high-risk period for the onset of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Identification of preceding patterns of internalizing and externalizing symptoms that are associated with subsequent suicidal thoughts may offer a better understanding of how to prevent adolescent suicide. Methods Data from the National Longitudinal Surv...

Objective: This study sought to examine the association between early life stressors and adolescent headache in the Canadian population, and the potential mediating influence of symptoms of depression and anxiety. Background: Early life stress or adverse childhood experiences have a well-documented association with migraine and headache in adult...

Background: A growing body of literature indicates that, worldwide, immigrants experience health deterioration after their arrival into their adopted country, and moreover, they have lower vitamin D compared to the native-born population. We plan to review if the levels of vitamin D are comparable between different ethnic groups in different regio...

Following publication of the original article [1], we have been notified that the copyright holder needs to be changed from ©The Author(s) to ©Crown.

Background: Parents of children with chronic illness have reported decreased psychological and physical quality of life (QoL) relative to parents of children without such illness, which may be associated with the extent of complexity involved in the caregiving role. Given that coping strategies have been reported to influence QoL, our goal was to...

Objective: To document the rates of intentional self-harm and mental disorders among youths aged 13 to 17 years visiting Ontario emergency departments (EDs) from 2003-2017. Methods: This was a repeated cross-sectional observational design. Outcomes were rates of adolescents with (1) at least 1 self-harm ED visit and (2) a visit with a mental dis...

Background Exposure to stressful life events is an established risk factor for the development of adolescent mental disorder. Growing evidence also suggests that neighbourhood social environments, including strong social cohesion, could have a protective effect on mental health. However, little is known about how neighbourhood social cohesion may b...

Background: Past mental disorders predict future disorders, both in the presence and absence of trauma exposure. However, it is not clear whether those with past mental disorders are disproportionately vulnerable to the negative effects of a given level of trauma. Methods: The data source was the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey (CFMHS)...

Aims Lay opinions and published papers alike suggest mood varies with the seasons, commonly framed as higher rates of depression mood in winter. Memory and confirmation bias may have influenced previous studies. We therefore systematically searched for and reviewed studies on the topic, but excluded study designs where explicit referrals to seasona...

Objectives This study aims to assess the psychosocial risk factors and resettlement stress relationships to cardiovascular health among adult immigrant who landed in Canada after 1985. Furthermore, to develop Machine Learning (ML) prediction models based on pre and post-immigration data to predict the risk of CVD for new arrivals of adult immigrant...

Aims To examine the impact of multiple psychiatric disorders over the lifetime on risk of mortality in the general population. Methods Data came from a random community-based sample of 1397 adults in Atlantic Canada, recruited in 1992. Major depression, dysthymia, panic disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorders were assessed...

Background In 2018, the World Health Organization reported that depression is the most common cause of disability worldwide, with over 300 million people currently living with depression. Depression affects an individual’s physical health and well-being, impacts psychosocial functioning, and has specific negative short- and long-term effects on mat...