Publications

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

2020

Long-term exposure to a mixture of industrial SO 2, NO 2, and PM 2.5 and anti-citrullinated protein antibody positivity

Authors: Naizhou Zhao, Audrey Smagiassi, Marianne Hatzopoulou, Ines Colmegna, Marie Hudson, Marvin Fritzler, Philip Awadalla, Sasha Bernatsky

The research team looked at exposures to SO2, NO2, and fine particles matter on anti-citrullinated protein antibodies, a characteristic biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It was found that there was a positive correlation between ACPA and industrial emissions of PM2.5 and SO2.

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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.

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2019

Rheumatoid arthritis-relevant DNA methylation changes identified in ACPA-positive asymptomatic individuals using methylome capture sequencing

Authors: Xiaojian Shao, Marie Hudson, Ines Colmegna, Celia Greenwood, Marvin Fritzler, Philip Awadalla, Tomi Pastinen, Sasha Bernatsky

They wanted to compare DNA methylation in subjects postivie/negative for anti-citrullinated protein antibodies which is a key marker for rheumatoid arthritis. They measured the DNA methylation of 137 subjects, 63 who were ACPA-positive, 66 were negative and 8 were self-reported with their rheumatoid arthritis.

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2018

Physical Activity and Cancer Incidence in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project: Results from a Prospective Cohort of 26,538 Participants.

Authors: AM Barberio, CM Friedenreich, BM Lynch, KL Campbell, P Arora, DR Brenner

They were able to determine that a moderate to high level of physical activity could lead to a modest protection against the development of all cancer.

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2017

Allele-specific expression reveals interactions between genetic variation and environment

Authors: David Knowles, Joe Davis, Hilary Edgington, Anil Raj, Marie-Julie Fave, Xiaowei Zhu, James Potash, Myrna Weissman, Jianxin Shin, Douglas Levinson, Philip Awadalla, Sara Mostafavi, Stephen Montgomery, Alexis Battle

Combining whole-blood RNA-seq with extensive environmental annotations collected from 922 human individuals, we identified 35 GxE interactions, compared with only four using standard GxE interaction testing. EAGLE provides new opportunities for researchers to identify GxE interactions using functional genomic data.

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2017

The Comparative Reliability and Feasibility of the Past-Year Canadian Diet History Questionnaire II: Comparison of the Paper and Web

Authors: Geraldine Lo Siou, Ilona Cszimadi, Beatrice Boucher, Alianu Akawung, Heather Whelan, Michelle Sharma, Ala Al Rajabi, Jennifer Vena, Sharon Kirkpatrick, Anita Koushik, Isabelle Massarelli, Isabelle Rondreau, Paula Robson

This study looked at evaluating the intra-and inter-version reliability, feasability, and accetability of the Canadian Diet History Questionnaire II in a sub-sample of 648 adults. They were assigned either web or paper, 59% preferred the web version.

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2016

A haplotype-based normalization technique for the analysis and detection of allele specific expression

Authors: Alan Hodgkinson, Jean-Christophe Grenier, Elias Gbeha, Philip Awadalla

The research team examined allele specific expression which can be an identifier for disease loci. They were able to sequence exomes from CARTaGENE cohort and find a significant association between the proportion of sites undergoing ASE within the genome and smoking.

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2016

Rationale, design, and methods for Canadian alliance for healthy hearts and minds cohort study (CAHHM) – a Pan Canadian cohort study

Authors: Sonia S. Anand, Jack V. Tu, Philip Awadalla, Sandra Black, Catherine Boileau, David Busseuil, Dipika Desai, Jean-Pierre Després, Russell J. de Souza, Trevor Dummer, Sébastien Jacquemont, Bartha Knoppers, Eric Larose, Scott A. Lear, Francois Marcotte, Alan R. Moody, Louise Parker, Paul Poirier, Paula J. Robson, Eric E. Smith, John J. Spinelli, Jean-Claude Tardif, Koon K. Teo, Natasa Tusevljak, Matthias G. Friedrich

Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM) is a pan-Canadian, prospective, multi-ethnic cohort study being conducted in Canada. This project has sed CPTP data to help and assist it. CAHHM is a prospective cohort study which aims to examine the health of adults living in Canada.

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2016

Dietary assessment is a critical element of health research – Perspective from the Partnership for Advancing Nutritional and Dietary Assessment in Canada

Authors: Marie-Ève Labonté, Sharon I. Kirkpatrick, Rhonda C. Bell, Beatrice A. Boucher, Ilona Csizmadi, Anita Koushik, Mary R. L’Abbé, Isabelle Massarelli, Paula J. Robson, Isabelle Rondeau, Bryna Shatenstein, Amy F. Subar, and Benoît Lamarche

This was an opinion based paper which argued that while assessing dietary intakes is difficult, it`s not impossible. They believe that building capacity and funding opportunities should be readily available in order to build research. If they were to have these, there would be better understanding in Canada and elsewhere.

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2016

The mental health status of ethnocultural minorities in Ontario and their mental health care

Authors: Sherry Grace, Yongyao Tan, Robert Cribbie, Han Nguyen, Paul Rivito, Jane Irvine

The reason for this study was to compare the pyschosocial indicators and mental health service use among diverse populations in Ontario. There was a high level of pyschosocial distress in ethnic minorities in Ontario who are not accessing mental health services.

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