Publications

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

2021

Effect of Cognitive Reserve on the Association of Vascular Brain Injury with Cognition: Analysis of the PURE and CAHHM Studies

Authors: Romella Durrani, Matthias G. Friedrich, Karleen M. Schulze, Philip Awadalla, Kumar Balasubramanian, Sandra Black, Philippe Broet, David Busseuil, Dipika Desai, Trevor Dummer, Alexander Dick, Jason Hicks, Thomas Iype, David Kelton, Anish Kirpalani, Scott A. Lear, Jonathon Leipsic, Wei Li, Cheryl R. McCreary, Alan R. Moody, Michael D. Noseworthy, Grace Parraga, Paul Poirier, Sumathy Rangarajan, Dorota Szczesniak, Andrzej Szuba, Jean-Claude Tardif, Koon Teo, MBBCH, Jennifer E. Vena, Katarzyna Zatonska, Anna Zimny, Douglas S. Lee, Salim Yusuf, Sonia S. Anand, Eric E. Smith

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.

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2021

Large-scale cis- and trans-eQTL analyses identify thousands of genetic loci and polygenic scores that regulate blood gene expression

Authors: Urmo Võsa, Annique Claringbould, Lude Franke, et al.

To investigate the genetics of gene expression, the team performed cis- and trans-expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analyses using blood-derived expression from 31,684 individuals through the eQTLGen Consortium.

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2021

Psychosocial factors and cancer incidence (PSY-CA): Protocol for individual participant data meta-analyses

Authors: Lonneke van Tuijl, Adri Voogd, Alexander de Graeff, Adriaan Hoogendoorn, Adelita Ranchor, Kuan-Yu Pan, Maartje Basten, Femke Lamers, Mirjam Geerlings, Jessica Abell, Philip Awadalla, Marije Bakker, Aartjan Beekman, Ottar Bjerkeset, Andy Boyd, Yunsong Cui, Henrike Galenkamp, Bert Garssen, Sean Hellingman, Martijn Huisman, Anke Huss, Melanie Keats, Almar Kok, Annemarie Luik, Nolwenn Noisel, N. Charlotte Onland-Moret, Yves Payette, Brenda Penninx, Lützen Portengen, Ina Rissanen, Annelieke Roest, Judith Rosmalen, Rikje Ruiter, Robert Schoevers, David Soave, Mandy Spaan, Andrew Steptoe, Karien Stronks, Erik Sund, Ellen Sweeney, Alison Teyhan, Ilonca Vaartjes, Kimberly van der Willik, Flora van Leeuwen, Rutger van Petersen, Monique Verschuren, Frank Visseren, Roel Vermeulen, Joost Dekker

This study aims (1) to test whether psychosocial factors are associated with the incidence of any cancer; (2) to test the interaction between psychosocial factors and factors related to cancer risk with regard to the incidence of cancer; and (3) to test the mediating role of health behaviors in the relationship between psychosocial factors and the incidence of cancer.

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2021

Two approaches for estimating propensity score weights for examining neighbourhood built environment and walking changes

Authors: Chelsea Christie, Jennifer Vena, Christine Friedenreich, Gavin McCormack

Christie et al. created a walkability index using pre- and post-relocation neighbourhood built environment and walking data from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project participants to examine how walking duration changed with residential relocation. While changes in walkability were not associated with changes in walking, the researchers suggest further research regarding neighbourhood environment changes and other physical activity behaviours.

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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

Post-Treatment Adverse Health Correlates among Prostate Cancer Survivors in a Sample of Men Residing in Atlantic Canada

Authors: Gabriela Ilie, Robert Rutledge, Ellen Sweeney

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a subsample of 632 male participants aged 36–69 the Atlantic PATH. The primary outcomes were the presence of mild, moderate or severe depression or anxiety indicators and were assessed using the seven-item generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) scale and the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively.

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2021

Environmental Correlates of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Self-Rated Health in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Authors: Daniel Stevens, Pantelis Andreou, Daniel Rainham

This study sought to investigate associations between the environment and physical activity, sedentary behavior, and self-rated health in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The new data may identify barriers to physical activity and assist clinicians in the prescription of exercise for individuals living with COPD.

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2021

Age and Sex-Specific Associations in Health Risk Factors for Chronic Disease: Evidence from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (PATH) Cohort

Authors: Vanessa DeClerq, Ellen Sweeney

The objective of this study was to discern health risk factors for chronic disease by age and sex using health risk factor data from participants of the Atlantic PATH (n = 16,165). The study found evident differences in health risk factors for males and females, as well as across age groups.

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2021

Polygenic risk scores predict diabetes complications and their response to intensive blood pressure and glucose control

Authors: Johanne Tremblay, Mounsif Haloui, Redha Attaoua, Ramzan Tahir, Camil Hishmih, François Harvey, François-Christophe Marois-Blanchet, Carole Long, Paul Simon, Lara Santucci, Candan Hizel, John Chalmers, Michel Marre, Stephen Harrap, Renata Cífková, Alena Krajčoviechová, David R. Matthews, Bryan Williams, Neil Poulter, Sophia Zoungas, Stephen Colagiuri, Giuseppe Mancia, Diederick E. Grobbee, Anthony Rodgers, Liusheng Liu, Mawussé Agbessi, Vanessa Bruat, Marie-Julie Favé, Michelle P. Harwood, Philip Awadalla, Mark Woodward, Julie G. Hussin & Pavel Hamet

This study assessed whether cardiovascular and renal risk factors combined with the age of onset and duration of diabetes are sufficient predictors of type 2 diabetes. Of the 21,702 participants, 488 participants with type 2 diabetes originated from CanPath. The researchers developed a prediction model to help identify high-risk individuals who could benefit from therapies and treatments.

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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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