Publications

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

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

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

Predictors of CRC Stage at Diagnosis among Male and Female Adults Participating in a Prospective Cohort Study: Findings from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project

Authors: Monica Ghebrial, Michelle L. Aktary, Qinggang Wang, John J. Spinelli, Lorraine Shack, Paula J. Robson, Karen A. Kopciuk

This study aimed to uncover factors associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) at diagnosis in 267 Alberta Tomorrow Project participants. Researchers found that social support, having children, and caffeine intake were strong CRC stage predictors at diagnosis for males. In contrast, CRC family history, pregnancy, hysterectomy, menopausal hormone therapy, Pap test lifetime number, and household physical activity were strong CRC predictors at diagnosis for females.

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2021

Chronic Disease Surveillance in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project using Administrative Health Data

Authors: Ming Ye, Jennifer Vena, Jeffrey Johnson, Grace Shen-Tu, Dean Eurich

This study linked data from 52,770 Alberta’s Tomorrow Project participants with Alberta Health data to describe the prevalence and incidence of chronic diseases. Researchers found an increase in chronic diseases among the cohort, especially for cardiovascular diseases and multimorbidity.

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2021

Associations between neighbourhood built characteristics and sedentary behaviours among Canadian men and women: findings from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project

Authors: Vikram Nichani, Liam Turley, Jennifer E. Vena, Gavin R. McCormack

This study examined associations between the objective neighbourhood built environment and self-reported sedentary behaviour. Researchers sourced data from 14,785 Alberta’s Tomorrow Project participants. 3-way intersections, high population counts, and high walkability resulted in more sitting time, and low connectivity and low walkability resulted in more sitting time in motor vehicles.

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2021

The effect of different methods to identify, and scenarios used to address energy intake misestimation on dietary patterns derived by cluster analysis

Authors: Geraldine Lo Siou, Alianu Akawung, Nathan Solbak, Kathryn McDonald, Ala Al Rajabi, Heather Whelan, Sharon Kirkpatrick

This study used self-reported food frequency and physical activity data from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project participants to compare the revised-Goldberg and the predicted total energy expenditure methods in their ability to identify misreporters of energy intake.

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2021

Towards refining World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research cancer prevention recommendations for red and processed meat intake: insights from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project cohort

Authors: Ala Al Rajabi, Geraldine Lo Siou, Alianu K. Akawung, Kathryn McDonald, Tiffany R. Price, Grace Shen-Tu, Paula J. Robson, Paul J. Veugelers, Katerina Maximova

This study examined the associations of processed meat derived from red versus non-red meats with cancer risk in the Alberta’s Tomorrow Project cohort of 26 218 adults who reported dietary intake using the Canadian Diet History Questionnaire. Incidence of cancer was obtained through data linkage with the Alberta Cancer Registry.

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2021

Administering a combination of online dietary assessment tools, the Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Assessment Tool and Diet History Questionnaire-II, in a cohort of adults in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project

Authors: Nathan Solbak, Paula Robson, Geraldine Lo Siou, Ala Al Rajabi, Seol Paek, Jennifer Vena, Sharon Kirkpatrick

This study determined the feasibility and acceptability of combining the ASA24-2016 and the past-year Diet History Questionnaire web-based tools in a subset of participants in the ATP cohort. The study found that combining ASA24-2016 recalls and the DHQ-II is feasible in this group of ATP participants.

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2021

Normal sex and age-specific parameters in a multi-ethnic population: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance study of the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds cohort

Authors: Judy M. Luu, Catherine Gebhard, Chinthanie Ramasundarahettige, Dipika Desai, Karleen Schulze, Francois Marcotte, Philip Awadalla, Philippe Broet, Trevor Dummer, Jason Hicks, Eric Larose, Alan Moody, Eric E. Smith, Jean-Claude Tardif, Tiago Teixeira, Koon K. Teo, Jennifer Vena, Douglas S. Lee, Sonia S. Anand, Matthias G. Friedrich

Researchers sought to create a robust, reference value set for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters, and understand their relationship with age and sex in people without cardiovascular disease (CVD) history or risk factors. They were able to uncover a significant influence of sex and age on these parameters for use in clinical evaluations of CVD.

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2020

Social Jetlag and Prostate Cancer Incidence in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project: A Prospective Cohort Study

Authors: Liang Hu, Andrew Harper, Emily Heer, Jessica McNeil, Chao Cao, Yikyung Park, Kevin Martell, Geoffrey Gotto, Grace Shen-Tu, Cheryl Peters, Darren Brenner, Lin Yang

Social jetlag has been linked with obesity, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular risk in previous research. This study assessed social jetlag in 7455 cancer-free men in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project and followed them for on average 9.6 years, 250 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. The study found that the more social jetlag men experienced, the greater their prostate cancer risk was.

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