Cohorts and sources of data

Isotretinoin users cohort
The Isotretinoin users cohort was put in place by Dr. Anick Bérard's research team at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal. This databse was built by the linkage of data from the Régie de l'Assurance Maladie du Québec (RAMQ) and Med-Écho administrative databases.

The RAMQ database contains information on medical services (diagnoses and procedures) received by all Quebec residents. Although RAMQ covers all residents for the cost of physician visits, hospitalisations, and procedures, it only covers a portion of them for the cost of medications. The RAMQ prescription claims database (RAMQ-Rx) covers individuals 65 years and older, recipients of social assistance (welfare recipients), and workers and their families (adherents) who do not have access to a private drug insurance program, accounting for approximately 43% of the overall Quebec population. MedEcho is a provincial database which records acute care hospitalisation data, including emergency visits, for all Quebec residents.

Globally, the Isotretinoin users cohort contains data on individuals suffering from acne vulgaris from 1984 to 2003, for a total of 30,496 users.

Access to data needed for the creation of the Isotretinoin users cohort was approved by the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec (CAI) and ethical approval was obtained from the CHU Sainte-Justine's ethics committee.

Isotretinoid is extensively used and have many documented adverses effects. Therefore, pharmacoepidemiologic studies using large administrative databases such as the Isotretinoin users cohort are imperative to understand who uses isotretinoin and under what circumstances it is being prescribed.

Funding source
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).