Authors: Trevor J.B. Dummer, Philip Awadalla, Catherine Boileau, Camille Craig, Isabel Fortier, Vivek Goel, Jason M.T. Hicks, Sébastien Jacquemont, Bartha Maria Knoppers, Nhu Le, Treena McDonald, John McLaughlin, Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, Anne-Monique Nuyt, Lyle J. Palmer, Louise Parker, Mark Purdue, Paula J. Robson, John J. Spinelli, David Thompson, Jennifer Vena, Ma’n Zawati and with the CPTP Regional Cohort Consortium BACKGROUND: Understanding the complex interaction of risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing common diseases is challenging. The Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project (CPTP) is a prospective cohort study created as a population-health research platform for assessing the effect of genetics, behaviour, family health history and environment (among other factors) on chronic diseases. METHODS: Volunteer participants were recruited from the general Canadian population for a confederation of 5 regional cohorts. Participants were enrolled in the study and core information obtained using 2 approaches: attendance at a study assessment centre for all study measures (questionnaire, venous blood sample and physical measurements) or completion of the core questionnaire (online or paper), with later collection of other study measures where possible. Physical measurements included height, weight, percentage body fat and blood pressure. Participants consented to passive follow-up through linkage with administrative health databases and active follow-up through recontact. All participant data across the 5 regional cohorts were harmonized. RESULTS: A total of 307 017 participants aged 30–74 from 8 provinces were recruited. More than half provided a venous blood sample and/or other biological sample, and 33% completed physical measurements. A total of 709 harmonized variables were created; almost 25% are available for all participants and 60% for at least 220 000 participants. INTERPRETATION: Primary recruitment for the CPTP is complete, and data and biosamples are available to Canadian and international researchers through a dataaccess process. The CPTP will support research into how modifiable risk factors, genetics and the environment interact to affect the development of cancer and other chronic diseases, ultimately contributing evidence to reduce the global burden of chronic disease. Link:  https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.170292

Authors: Forbes, C., Yu, Z.M., Cui, Y., DeClercq, V., Dummer, T.J.B., Grandy, S., Keats, M., Parker, L., Sweeney, E., Keats, M. (2019) Abstract PURPOSE: To describe and compare the sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of urban and rural residents in Atlantic Canada. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses of baseline data from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health cohort were conducted. Specifically, 17,054 adults (35-69 years) who provided sociodemographic characteristics, measures of obesity, and a record of chronic disease and health behaviors were included in the analyses. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression models were used to calculate the multivariable-adjusted beta coefficients (β), odds ratios (OR), and related 95% confidence intervals (CI). FINDINGS: After adjusting for age, sex, and province, when compared to urban participants, rural residents were significantly more likely to: be classified as very active (OR: 1.19, CI: 1.11-1.27), be obese (OR: 1.13, 1.05-1.21), to present with abdominal obesity (OR: 1.08, CI: 1.01-1.15), and have a higher body fat percentage (β: 0.40, CI: 0.12-0.68) and fat mass index (β: 0.32, CI: 0.19-0.46). Rural residents were significantly less likely to be regular or habitual drinkers (OR: 0.83, CI: 0.78-0.89). Significant differences remained after further adjustment for confounding sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health characteristics. No significant differences in smoking behavior, fruit and vegetable intake, multimorbidity, or waist circumference were found. CONCLUSIONS: As expected, obesity prevalence was higher in rural Atlantic Canadians. In contrast to much of the existing literature, we found that rural participants were more likely to report higher levels of total physical activity and lower alcohol consumption. Findings suggest that novel obesity prevention strategies may be needed for rural populations. Link: https://doi: 10.1111/jrh.12363