Publications

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

2023

Examining the influence of built environment on sleep disruption

Authors: Jaclyn Parks, Millie Baghela, Parveen Bhatti

Researchers sought to understand if modifying aspects of the built environment improved sleep. Using data from 28,385 BC Generations Project participants, they found that increased light-at-night, air pollution (SO2), and living <100 m from a main roadway were associated with insufficient sleep. Greenness had a positive effect on sleep.

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2022

Dietary Intake and the Neighbourhood Environment in the BC Generations Project

Authors: Rachel A. Murphy, Gabriela Kuczynski, Parveen Bhatti, Trevor J. B. Dummer

This study examined how neighbourhood factors like access to amenities and social relationships, as well as greenness and walkability, can influence fruit and vegetable intake. ~28,000 participants from the BC Generations Project were involved. Those living in neighbourhoods with greater material and social deprivation were less likely to meet recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption, while those living in neighbourhoods with higher greenness were more likely to meet recommendations. These findings highlight how multiple neighbourhood characteristics can impact dietary intake.

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2022

Harnessing the power of data linkage to enrich the cancer research ecosystem in Canada

Authors: Robin Urquhart, Philip Awadalla, Parveen Bhatti, Trevor Dummer, Simon Gravel, Jennifer Vena, Riaz Alvi, Philippe Broet, Cynthia Kendell, Victoria Kirsh, Guillaume Lettre, Kimberly Skead, Grace Shen-Tu, Ellen Sweeney, Donna Turner

This abstract discusses a project aimed at linking cancer registry and administrative health data to Canada’s largest population health study, the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath). The project seeks to enrich the cancer research ecosystem in Canada by providing researchers with a comprehensive dataset that includes genetics, environment, lifestyle, and behaviour data. The linked data will be made available through a cloud-based solution called the CanPath Data Safe Haven, which is accessible to researchers through secure access. The project will address concerns related to the accessibility of cancer data in Canada, bring more value to existing data, and support an enhanced understanding of the impacts of cancer on marginalized populations.

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2022

Lifestyle factors and lung cancer risk among never smokers in the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath)

Authors: Rachel Murphy, Maryam Darvishian, Jia Qi, Yixian Chen, Quincy Chu, Jennifer Vena, Trevor J B Dummer, Nhu Le, Ellen Sweeney, Vanessa DeClercq, Scott A Grandy, Melanie R Keats, Yunsong Cui, Philip Awadalla, Darren R Brenner, Parveen Bhatti

Data from 950 CanPath participants were analyzed to understand why 15-25% of lung cancers occur in never smokers. Researchers found a link between lung cancer risk, sleep, and fruit and vegetable intake amongst never smokers.

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2022

The BC Generations Project as a Tumor Tissue Resource for Cancer Research

Authors: Umaimah Zanif, Jessica Chu, Jonathan Simkin, Trevor Dummer, Ryan Woods, Eric Belanger, Parveen Bhatti

BCGP is making significant strides in its utility as a high-quality tumor tissue research resource. The BC Cancer Registry recently implemented a text mining solution to allow BCGP to capture pathology reports for 100% of all newly diagnosed BCGP cancer cases!

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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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2022

Patterns and determinants of adherence to colorectal cancer primary and secondary prevention recommendations in the BC Generations Project

Authors: Molly Sweeney-Magee, Carolyn Gotay, Mohammad Ehsanul Karim, Jennifer Telford, Trevor Dummer

Researchers assessed how 26,074 BCGP participants adhere to cancer prevention recommendations. They found that adherence to some behaviours was high, but clusters of poorer adherence were also highlighted. They suggested future work to evaluate targeted interventions to maximize adherence amongst lower socioeconomic status and health groups.

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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

Examining the etiology of early-onset breast cancer in the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath)

Authors: Joy Pader, Robert Basmadjian, Dylan O'Sullivan, Nicole Mealey, Yibing Ruan, Christine Friedenreich, Rachel Murphy, Edwin Wang, May Lynn Quan, Darren Brenner

The objective of this study was to investigate relationships between modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors and early-onset breast cancer among the BC Generations Project, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project and Ontario Health Study. In this study, measures of adiposity, pregnancy history, and familial history of breast cancer are important risk factors for early-onset breast cancer.

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