Respiratory disease

This document reports on the Québec data acquired since 2003 on asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases, both among workers and in the general population. However, the aim is not to update the knowledge on asbestos as such. This report also summarizes the status of the Québec surveillance system for asbestos exposures and asbestos-related diseases, which will be introduced by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), as a result of the adoption of the Policy…

The main objective of this report is to enable decision makers in clinical and administrative health settings in Montréal to be better informed of the utilisation of ambulatory care and institutional services by people in their territories who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This report on COPD is part of the “Monitorage interprétative” project conducted by the Équipe Santé des populations et services de santé (ESPSS), a joint team of the Montréal Public Health…

A respiratory health survey on a representative sample (1023) of Inuit children aged 0 to 14 was undertaken for the first time in Nunavik in 2004. The data on respiratory symptoms and asthma were obtained from a household respondent, usually a parent, by means of the standardized ISAAC questionnaire (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood). Other questions were also asked about various home and environmental variables.

Results indicate that the prevalence of…

While awaiting the introduction of the future surveillance system for asbestos exposures and their related diseases, we created the descriptive epidemiological portrait of two of these health problems, malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis. It was constructed using the data from statutory databases available at the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux: the Fichier des tumeurs du Québec (tumour registry) for cancer incidence, the Fichier des décès (death registry) for mortality and…

A residential building’s indoor air can theoretically contain various types of contaminants to which the occupants could be exposed. Many studies have established links between the presence of indoor air contaminants and some health problems. A reduction in indoor air contamination must ideally be the subject of a strategy encompassing a certain number of measures, with control at source definitely being the first option to be considered. However, this approach alone is not sufficient to…

In 1997, in light of international developments with respect to asbestos, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (Québec's department of health and social services) set up the Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (asbestos advisory committee) to make recommendations concerning appropriate measures for informing the public about the asbestos situation in Québec and protecting public health in this regard. To carry out this mandate, the committee conducted a number of studies. These were…

Under the auspices of the Comité aviseur sur l'amiante au Québec (asbestos advisory committee), the sub-committee on the epidemiology of asbestos-related diseases reviewed the available epidemiological data on these diseases in Quebec. The sub-committee also conducted various studies to fill in certain gaps identified during the analysis of available data. 

The findings that have been summarized here show a statistically significant increase in the incidence of mesothelioma of…

In April 2000, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux mandated the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) to coordinate the production of a scientific report on the health risks associated with the indoor presence of moulds. To accomplish this mission, a Task Force was created, primarily composed of representatives of the public health network, especially the environmental health and occupational health sectors.

This document is a summary of the scientific…