Mental health service use and associated predisposing, enabling and need factors in community living adults and older adults across Canada
The authors utilized data from the CanPath COVID-19 health survey (May to December 2020) to conduct multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the association between mental health service use (MHSU) and predisposing, enabling, and need factors — derived from Andersen’s model of healthcare-seeking behaviour — among five regional cohorts. Among the 45,542 adults in the study population, 6.3% of respondents reported MHSU and need factors were consistently associated with MHSU.
Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative: Powering genetic discovery across human disease
The Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative is a collaborative network of 23 biobanks, representing more than 2.2M consented participants with genetic data linked to electronic health records. This collaborative effort will improve genome-wide association studies’ power for diseases, benefit understudied diseases, and improve risk prediction.
Population-Based Recalibration of the Framingham Risk Score and Pooled Cohort Equations
The Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and Pooled Cohort Equations (PCEs) overestimate risk in many contemporary cohorts. This study sought to determine if the recalibration of these scores using contemporary population-level data improves risk stratification for statin therapy.
Harnessing the power of data linkage to enrich the cancer research ecosystem in Canada
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.
Cohort Profile: The Ontario Health Study (OHS)
OHS’s cohort profile outlines its research platform’s history and value for the broader scientific community. OHS follows 225,000 over their lifetime, actively and passively, making de-identified genomic, environmental, lifestyle, and electronic health data available to cancer and chronic disease researchers.
Negative Association of Smoking History With Clinically Manifest Cardiac Sarcoidosis: A Case-Control Study
Researchers aimed to explore whether smoking was associated with a specific sarcoidosis phenotype, primarily in Caucasian patients with clinically manifest cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). Ontario Health Study participants’ data were used as controls, while the cases came from the Cardiac Sarcoidosis Multi-Center Prospective Cohort Study. They found a strong association between smoking history and clinically manifest CS, but more research is required to understand whether these associations have therapeutic potential.
Lifestyle factors and lung cancer risk among never smokers in the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath)
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.
Evaluation of Adiposity and Cognitive Function in Adults
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.
A large Canadian cohort provides insights into the genetic architecture of human hair colour
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.
Effect of Cognitive Reserve on the Association of Vascular Brain Injury with Cognition: Analysis of the PURE and CAHHM Studies
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.