Publications

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

2021

An examination of the role of socioeconomic status in the relationship between depression and prostate cancer survivorship in a population-based sample of men from Atlantic Canada

Authors: Gabriela Ilie, Robert Rutledge, Ellen Sweeney

This study found that the association of depression and prostate cancer still stands when the survivors of prostate cancer are compared to survivors of any other form of cancer, and further indicates that the association is moderated by household income.

Read Publication
2021

Regional Comparisons of Associations between Physical Activity Levels and Cardiovascular Disease: The Story of Atlantic Canada

Authors: Bartosz Orzel, Melanie Keats, Yunsong Cui, Scott Grandy

The study examined participants’ physical activity levels and the risk of cardiovascular disease based on the region they lived in. The research team found that high physical activity was associated with a 26% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Regions in Newfoundland and New Brunswick observed higher levels of CVD than Nova Scotia and PEI.

Read Publication
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.

Read Publication
2020

Associations between Neighborhood Walkability, Physical Activity, and Chronic Disease in Nova Scotian Adults: An Atlantic PATH Cohort Study

Authors: Melanie Keats, Yunsong Cui, Vanessa Declercq, Scott Grandy, Ellen Sweeney, Trevor Dummer

The study investigated the association between neighbourhood walkability and chronic disease. A cross-sectional study was used to determine that there were health protective benefits of higher levels of physical activity and a reduction in the prevalence of certain chronic diseases in areas where there was a higher walk score.

Read Publication
2020

Assessing arsenic in human toenail clippings using portable X-ray fluorescence

Authors: David Fleming, Samantha Crook, Colby Evans, Michel Nader, Manuel Atia, Jason Hicks, Ellen Sweeney, Christopher McFarlane, Jong Song Kim, Erin Keltie, Anil Adsesh

Single toenail clippings from 60 Atlantic Canadian participants were assessed for arsenic using a new portable X-ray fluorescence approach. The portable XRF technique used in this study shows promise as a means of assessing arsenic concentration in toenail clippings.

Read Publication
2020

Assessing the Variation within the Oral Microbiome of Healthy Adults

Authors: Jacob Nearing, Vanessa DeClerq, Johan Van Limbergen, Morgan Langille

This study examined the salivary oral microbiome of 1,049 Atlantic Canadians using 16S rRNA gene sequencing to determine which dietary, lifestyle, and anthropometric features play a role in shaping microbial community composition. Results showed that while many features were significantly associated with oral microbiome composition, no single biological factor explained a variation larger than 2%.

Read Publication
2020

Burden of multimorbidity and polypharmacy among cancer survivors: a population-based nested case–control study

Authors: Melanie Keats, Yunsong Cui, Vanessa DeClerq, Scott Grandy, Ellen Sweeney, Trevor Dummer

The purpose of this study was to investigate if adult cancer survivors showed more than one comorbidity while taking medications. The article found multimorbities in 53% of cancer survivors. Those on multiple medications showed much higher results.

Read Publication
2020

Association between lifestyle behaviors and frailty in Atlantic Canadian males and females

Authors: Vanessa DeClerq, Todd Duhamel, Olga Teou, Scott Kehler

The aim of this study was to identify lifestyle factors in males and females that are associated with a degree of frailty in a Canadian cohort. Higher frailty was more prevalent among participants with unhealthy lifestyle behaviors related to smoking, alcohol consumption, sedentary and physical activity level, diet, and sleep.

Read Publication
2020

Reduced Cognitive Assessment Scores Among Individuals With Magnetic Resonance Imaging–Detected Vascular Brain Injury

Authors: Sonia S. Anand, Matthias G. Friedrich, Dipika Desai, Karleen M. Schulze, Philip Awadalla, David Busseuil, Trevor J.B. Dummer, Sébastien Jacquemont, Alexander Dick, David Kelton, Anish Kirpalani, Scott A. Lear, Jonathan Leipsic, Michael D. Noseworthy, Louise Parker, Grace Parraga, Paul Poirier, Paula Robson, Jean-Claude Tardif, Koon Teo, Jennifer Vena, Salim Yusuf, Alan R. Moody, Sandra E. Black, Eric E. Smith,

This study investigated if scores on a cognitive screen were lower in individuals with higher cardiovascular risk, and those with covert vascular brain injury. Among a middle-aged community-dwelling population, scores on a cognitive screen were lower in individuals with higher cardiovascular risk factors or MRI vascular brain injury. Much of the population attributable risk of low cognitive scores can be attributed to lower educational attainment, higher cardiovascular risk factors, and MRI vascular brain injury.

Read Publication
2019

Anxiety and depression symptoms in adult males in Atlantic Canada with or without a lifetime history of prostate cancer

Authors: G Illie, Ellen Sweeney, R Rutledge

In this study based on prostate cancer and to examine the assoication between depression and anxiety. They looked at sample size of 6585 participants and found surivors of PCa had 2.45 or 2.05 statistically significant higher odds of screening positive for anxiety/depression

Read Publication