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

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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2022

Association of essential tremor with novel risk loci: A genome-wide association study and meta-analysis

Authors: Calwing Liao, Charles-Etienne Castonguay, Karl Heilbron, Veikko Vuokila, Miranda Medeiros, Gabrielle Houle, Fulya Akçimen, Jay P. Ross, Helene Catoire, Monica Diez-Fairen, Jooeun Kang, Stefanie H. Mueller, Simon L. Girard, Franziska Hopfner, Delia Lorenz, Lorraine N. Clark, Alexandra I. Soto-Beasley, Stephan Klebe, Mark Hallett, Zbigniew K. Wszolek, Manuela Pendziwiat, Oswaldo Lorenzo-Betancor, Klaus Seppi, Daniela Berg, Carles Vilariño-Güell, Ronald B. Postuma, Geneviève Bernard, Nicolas Dupré, Joseph Jankovic, Claudia M. Testa, Owen A. Ross, Thomas Arzberger, Sylvain Chouinard, Elan D. Louis, Paola Mandich, Carmine Vitale, Paolo Barone, Elena García-Martín, Hortensia Alonso-Navarro, José A. G. Agúndez, Félix Javier Jiménez-Jiménez, Pau Pastor, Alex Rajput, Günther Deuschl, Gregor Kuhlenbaümer, Inge A. Meijer, Patrick A. Dion, Guy A. Rouleau, for the 23andMe Research Team

This study revealed five genome-wide significant loci associated with essential tremor (ET), one of the most common movement disorders. The researchers’ findings suggest that common genetic variation partly explains ET’s heritability.

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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

The impact of reporting magnetic resonance imaging incidental findings in the Canadian alliance for healthy hearts and minds cohort

Authors: Judy M. Luu, Anand K. Sergeant, Sonia S. Anand, Dipika Desai, Karleen Schulze, Bartha M. Knoppers, Ma’n H. Zawati, Eric E. Smith, Alan R. Moody, Sandra E. Black, Eric Larose, Francois Marcotte, Erika Kleiderman, Jean-Claude Tardif, Douglas S. Lee, Matthias G. Friedrich on behalf of the CAHHM Study Investigators

This study aimed to describe the management policy for incidental findings (IFs) for the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM) cohort and understand IF disclosure effects for participants. IF management is challenging, though results are promising for the CAHHM’s policies since 97% of participants with an IF reported no change in their quality of life.

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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

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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2021

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

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

This study found that shift workers reported higher levels of anxiety, depression, and lower self-rated health than non-shift workers. Shift workers were more likely to report major depression and poor self-rated health, and female shift workers were more likely to report depressive symptoms and poor self-rated health.

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