Supplementary file 1_COVID-19 testing and mental health service utilization in Ontario: a

6,175,114 adult records from ICES data in Ontario link COVID-19 PCR test status to mental health service use for anxiety and depression between January 2020 and March 2021. The study, authored by Kiran Saqib, found individuals who underwent testing had significantly higher mental health-related healthcare utilization than untested individuals, with adjusted hazard ratios of 6.37 for PCR-positive and 5.91 for PCR-negative groups. This dataset supports the analysis of healthcare-seeking behavior and pandemic-related mental health impacts.

Use Cases

• Analyze differences in mental health service use based on COVID-19 test status using the exposure categories described.
• Study demographic disparities in healthcare utilization based on age, sex, and socioeconomic status mentioned in the results.
• Model time-to-event for first mental health visit using the Cox proportional hazards methodology outlined.
• Investigate the relationship between healthcare-seeking behavior and pandemic vulnerability as suggested by the study's conclusion.

Strengths

• Population-scale cohort of 6,175,114 adults, providing substantial statistical power.
• Data linkage to ICES, a recognized health data repository in Ontario, suggests high administrative data quality.
• Study period covers 15 months (January 2020–March 2021) of the early pandemic.
• Results are supported by propensity score matching and adjusted hazard ratios with confidence intervals.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the underlying analytical dataset is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The 41.7 KB file size indicates the provided document is likely a summary, not the raw data.

Provenance

Source

ICES data (Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences), Ontario.

Collection Method

Population-based retrospective cohort study using linked administrative health data.

Time Range

January 2020 to March 2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 05:01:20; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Ontario, Canada