Associations between Neighborhood Walkability, Physical Activity, and Chronic Disease in Nova Scotian Adults: An Atlantic PATH Cohort Study
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.
Diabetes, Brain Infarcts, Cognition and Small Vessels in the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds Study
The CAHHM study collected brain and carotid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and two cognitive tests (DSST and MoCA) in a cross-sectional sample of 7,733 men and women. It was concluded that small vessel disease characterizes much of the relationship between diabetes and vascular brain injury. However, additional factors are required to disentangle the relationship between diabetes and cognitive impairment.
Diet Quality and Food Prices Modify Associations between Genetic Susceptibility to Obesity and Adiposity Outcomes
This cross-sectional investigation geo-temporally linked CARTaGENE data with in-store retail food environment data to examine interactions between a polygenic risk score (PRS) for obesity and (1) diet quality (n = 6807) and (2) in-store retail food measures (n = 3718). The outcomes included adiposity-related measures and diet quality assessed using the 2010 Canadian-adapted Healthy Eating Index.
Assessing arsenic in human toenail clippings using portable X-ray fluorescence
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.
Diet Quality and Neighborhood Environment in the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health Project
This study looked at the differences that exist beween diet quality and someone’s geographical location. It was found that diet quality tended to be lower in areas that were were more socially deprived. Areas with socially deprived and high-density areas were associated with lower-quality data.
Assessing the Variation within the Oral Microbiome of Healthy Adults
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%.
Sunlight exposure, sun‐protective behaviour, and anti‐citrullinated protein antibody positivity: A general population‐based study in Quebec, Canada
This study examined associations between sunlight exposure and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) using general population data in Quebec. The research team studied 7600 people and did not find conclusive associations, but robust positive relationships were observed between industrial PM2.5 emissions and ACPA.
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, hemoglobin A1c and breast cancer risk: a nested case–control study from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project cohort
This study examined the associations between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), common biomarkers of inflammation and insulin resistance, respectively, with breast cancer risk, while adjusting for measures of excess body size. These data suggest that hsCRP may be associated with elevated breast cancer risk, independent of excess body size. However, elevated concentrations of HbA1c did not appear to increase breast cancer risk in apparently healthy women.
Diet Quality and Health Service Utilization for Depression: A Prospective Investigation of Adults in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project
This study investigated the association of depression with diet quality by studying dietary patterns of 25,016 participants in the Alberta cohort using data from the past year food frequency questionnaire. It was found that higher quality diets were associated with a lower number of physician visits for depression.
The Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds: How well does it reflect the Canadian population?
The representativeness of the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM-HSR) cohort was evaluated by comparing to region matched respondents of the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey Rapid Response module (CCHS-RR). CAHHM-HSR participants were older, more often women, more likely Chinese, and had higher education, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and cardiac testing than the general Canadian population. Despite these differences, the INTERHEART risk score was similar.