Publications

These publications are examples of research made possible with data from CanPath and its regional cohorts.

2022

Toenail speciation biomarkers in arsenic-related disease: a feasibility study for investigating the association between arsenic exposure and chronic disease

Authors: Nathan Kyle Smith, Erin Keltie, Ellen Sweeney, Swarna Weerasignhe, Kathleen MacPherson, Jong Sung Kim

With data from 60 Atlantic PATH participants, this study aimed to develop a method to analyze arsenic in toenails, distinguish arsenic speciation profiles in those with chronic diseases, and assess the novel method’s feasibility to find speciation pattern differences between the disease groups. This is the first study to describe arsenic speciation patterns in those with arsenic-related diseases using toenails!

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2022

Evaluation of Adiposity and Cognitive Function in Adults

Authors: Sonia S. Anand, Matthias G. Friedrich, Douglas S. Lee, Phillip Awadalla, J. P. Després, Dipika Desai, Russell J. de Souza, Trevor Dummer, Grace Parraga, Eric Larose, Scott A. Lear, Koon K. Teo, Paul Poirier, Karleen M. Schulze, Dorota Szczesniak, Jean-Claude Tardif, Jennifer Vena, Katarzyna Zatonska, Salim Yusuf, Eric E. Smith, the Canadian Alliance of Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM), the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) Study Investigators

Researchers sought to undercover the association between adipose tissue (amount and distribution) and cognitive scores. Using data from 9,189 participants, they found that higher visceral adipose tissue and body fat percentage correlated with increased vascular brain injuries and cardiovascular risk factors, as well as lower cognitive scores.

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2021

Investigation of the impact of commonly used medications on the oral microbiome of individuals living without major chronic conditions

Authors: Vanessa DeClercq, Jacob T. Nearing, Morgan G. I. Langille

Saliva samples from 1,214 Atlantic PATH participants were analyzed for gene sequencing and microbial community composition differences, particularly between non-, single-, and multi-drug users. Researchers found a minimal influence of the analyzed medications on the salivary microbiome for those with chronic conditions.

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2021

A large Canadian cohort provides insights into the genetic architecture of human hair colour

Authors: Frida Lona-Durazo, Marla Mendes, Rohit Thakur, Karen Funderburk, Tongwu Zhang, Michael A. Kovacs, Jiyeon Choi, Kevin M. Brown, Esteban J. Parra 

Researchers performed genome-wide association studies and meta-analyses to garner insight on regulatory mechanisms of hair colour variation and pigmentation biology. 12,996 genotyped CanPath participants were included in this study, along with their self-reported natural hair colour. The researchers fine-mapped significant loci throughout the genome, identifying multiple novel causal variants for hair colour.

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2021

Effect of Cognitive Reserve on the Association of Vascular Brain Injury with Cognition: Analysis of the PURE and CAHHM Studies

Authors: Romella Durrani, Matthias G. Friedrich, Karleen M. Schulze, Philip Awadalla, Kumar Balasubramanian, Sandra Black, Philippe Broet, David Busseuil, Dipika Desai, Trevor Dummer, Alexander Dick, Jason Hicks, Thomas Iype, David Kelton, Anish Kirpalani, Scott A. Lear, Jonathon Leipsic, Wei Li, Cheryl R. McCreary, Alan R. Moody, Michael D. Noseworthy, Grace Parraga, Paul Poirier, Sumathy Rangarajan, Dorota Szczesniak, Andrzej Szuba, Jean-Claude Tardif, Koon Teo, MBBCH, Jennifer E. Vena, Katarzyna Zatonska, Anna Zimny, Douglas S. Lee, Salim Yusuf, Sonia S. Anand, Eric E. Smith

This study sought to determine whether cognitive reserve lessens the correlation between brain injury and cognition. The researchers analyzed data from two population-based studies, including the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Healthy Minds (CAHHM), comprising CanPath national and regional data. They found that brain injury and cognitive reserve are related to cognition, but higher cognitive reserve does not mitigate the harmful effects of brain injury.

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2021

Psychosocial factors and cancer incidence (PSY-CA): Protocol for individual participant data meta-analyses

Authors: Lonneke van Tuijl, Adri Voogd, Alexander de Graeff, Adriaan Hoogendoorn, Adelita Ranchor, Kuan-Yu Pan, Maartje Basten, Femke Lamers, Mirjam Geerlings, Jessica Abell, Philip Awadalla, Marije Bakker, Aartjan Beekman, Ottar Bjerkeset, Andy Boyd, Yunsong Cui, Henrike Galenkamp, Bert Garssen, Sean Hellingman, Martijn Huisman, Anke Huss, Melanie Keats, Almar Kok, Annemarie Luik, Nolwenn Noisel, N. Charlotte Onland-Moret, Yves Payette, Brenda Penninx, Lützen Portengen, Ina Rissanen, Annelieke Roest, Judith Rosmalen, Rikje Ruiter, Robert Schoevers, David Soave, Mandy Spaan, Andrew Steptoe, Karien Stronks, Erik Sund, Ellen Sweeney, Alison Teyhan, Ilonca Vaartjes, Kimberly van der Willik, Flora van Leeuwen, Rutger van Petersen, Monique Verschuren, Frank Visseren, Roel Vermeulen, Joost Dekker

This study aims (1) to test whether psychosocial factors are associated with the incidence of any cancer; (2) to test the interaction between psychosocial factors and factors related to cancer risk with regard to the incidence of cancer; and (3) to test the mediating role of health behaviors in the relationship between psychosocial factors and the incidence of cancer.

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2021

The association between mental health and shift work: Findings from the Atlantic PATH study

Authors: Ellen Sweeney, Yunsong Cui, Zhijie Michael Yu, Trevor J. B. Dummer, Vanessa DeClercq, Cynthia Forbes, Scott A. Grandy, Melanie R. Keats, Anil Adisesh

Researchers studied the relationship between mental health and shift work amongst 12,413 Atlantic PATH participants, including 4,155 shift workers and 8,258 non-shift workers. They found that shift workers were more likely to have increased rates of depression and poor self-rated health, as well as depressive and anxiety symptom scores compared to non-shift workers.

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2021

Post-Treatment Adverse Health Correlates among Prostate Cancer Survivors in a Sample of Men Residing in Atlantic Canada

Authors: Gabriela Ilie, Robert Rutledge, Ellen Sweeney

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a subsample of 632 male participants aged 36–69 the Atlantic PATH. The primary outcomes were the presence of mild, moderate or severe depression or anxiety indicators and were assessed using the seven-item generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) scale and the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively.

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2021

Environmental Correlates of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Self-Rated Health in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Authors: Daniel Stevens, Pantelis Andreou, Daniel Rainham

This study sought to investigate associations between the environment and physical activity, sedentary behavior, and self-rated health in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The new data may identify barriers to physical activity and assist clinicians in the prescription of exercise for individuals living with COPD.

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2021

Age and Sex-Specific Associations in Health Risk Factors for Chronic Disease: Evidence from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (PATH) Cohort

Authors: Vanessa DeClerq, Ellen Sweeney

The objective of this study was to discern health risk factors for chronic disease by age and sex using health risk factor data from participants of the Atlantic PATH (n = 16,165). The study found evident differences in health risk factors for males and females, as well as across age groups.

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