Authors: Sweeney, E., Yu, Z.M., Dummer, T.J.B., Cui, Y., DeClercq, V., Forbes, C., Grandy, S., Keats, M., Parker, L., Adisesh, A. (2019) Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between anthropometric measures and cardiometabolic health in shift workers compared to non-shift workers. Methods: A population health study was conducted with 4155 shift workers and 8258 non-shift workers from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (PATH) cohort. Linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the differences in anthropometric measures (body adiposity) and self-reported cardiometabolic disease outcomes (obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease) between shift workers and non-shift workers. Results: There was a significant increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes among shift workers compared to matched controls despite higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of sedentary behaviour. Shift workers were 17% more likely to be obese (95% CI 7–27) and 27% more likely to have diabetes (95% CI 8–51). The strength of this association was demonstrated by also controlling for body mass index and fat mass index. Conclusions: Shift work is associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes despite higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of sedentary behaviour. The association between shift work and cardiometabolic health was independent of body mass index for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and independent of fat mass index for diabetes. Link:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-019-01459-8.

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

Authors: DeClercq, V., Limbergen, J.V., Langille, M.G.I. Abstract The objective of the current study was to characterize the relationship between diet quality and body composition in participants living with IBD, specifically Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC), in Atlantic Canada. Participants from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (PATH) study are residents of one of the four Atlantic Canada provinces. Participants who completed the dietary questionnaire and had body composition measured were included in the study (n = 12,462 without IBD, n = 111 CD, n = 119 UC). A greater number of participants with IBD reported having multiple chronic conditions compared to those without IBD. Those with UC had statistically higher body weight and body mass index (BMI) compared to those without IBD. Overall, significant positive correlations were observed between adiposity and servings of refined grains, and meats and alternatives such as eggs and fish, whereas negative correlations were observed with servings of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and alternatives such as tofu, and nuts/seeds. Participants with IBD (both CD and UC) consumed more refined grains than those without IBD. Using logistic regression analysis, participants consuming more servings of vegetables and whole grains were less likely to have CD where as those consuming more serving of fruit and bean/legumes were less likely to have UC. In the Atlantic PATH cohort, which includes a region of the world with a high incidence of IBD, distinct differences in adiposity and diet quality were observed in individuals with specific types of IBD compared to those without. There is a need for collaborative efforts to address weight management and diet quality issues in those living with IBD in the Atlantic Canadian region. Link: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200580

Authors: Yu, Z.M., DeClercq, V., Cui, Y., Forbes, C., Grandy, S., Keats, M., Parker, L., Sweeney, E., Dummer, T.J.B. (2018). Abstract Objectives: The prevalence of obesity among populations in the Atlantic provinces is the highest in Canada. Some studies suggest that adequate fruit and vegetable consumption may help body weight management. We assessed the associations between fruit and vegetable intake with body adiposity among individuals who participated in the baseline survey of the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (Atlantic PATH) cohort study. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional analysis among 26 340 individuals (7979 men and 18 361 women) aged 35–69 years who were recruited in the baseline survey of the Atlantic PATH study. Data on fruit and vegetable intake, sociodemographic and behavioural factors, chronic disease, anthropometric measurements and body composition were included in the analysis. Results: In the multivariable regression analyses, 1 SD increment of total fruit and vegetable intake was inversely associated with body mass index (−0.12 kg/m2; 95% CI −0.19 to –0.05), waist circumference (−0.40 cm; 95% CI −0.58 to –0.23), percentage fat mass (−0.30%; 95% CI −0.44 to –0.17) and fat mass index (−0.14 kg/m2; 95% CI −0.19 to –0.08). Fruit intake, but not vegetable intake, was consistently inversely associated with anthropometric indices, fat mass, obesity and abdominal obesity. Conclusions: Fruit and vegetable consumption was inversely associated with body adiposity among the participant population in Atlantic Canada. This association was primarily attributable to fruit intake. Longitudinal studies and randomised trials are warranted to confirm these observations and investigate the underlying mechanisms. Link: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/4/e018060.full?ijkey=s8Si2uDe3SHk33b&keytype=ref

Authors: Lawrence LM, Stone MR, Rainham DG, Keats MR      Journal: Int J Behav Med. 2016 Jun 30 Abstract Purpose Physical activity (PA) is an effective intervention for improving the quality of life of colorectal cancer survivors (CRC) and may reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and cancer specific and all-cause mortality. However, most CRC survivors are not sufficiently active to receive these benefits. Sedentary behavior (SB) has also been linked to morbidity and mortality risk independent of activity level, thereby presenting an additional opportunity to improve health outcomes of CRC survivors. The built environment is known to influence PA and SB; however, little is known about where CRC survivors engage in PA and SB. The objective of this exploratory study was to objectively identify locations where CRC survivors engage in PA and SB in order to inform health promoting interventions. Method Activity and location of CRC survivors (n = 31) was monitored for 1 week between January 2014 and April 2015 in Nova Scotia, Canada. Bouts of PA and SB were time-matched with GPS data to attribute bouts to specific geographic locations. Results Participants’ home environment was the main location for both time spent in PA bouts (73.7 %) and time spent in SB bouts (90.5 %). Conclusion This study is the first to objectively identify environments where CRC survivors are active and sedentary. These findings highlight the importance of considering the home environment when developing intervention strategies to increase PA and reduce SB in CRC survivors. Keywords Behavioral medicine; Built environment; Cancer survivorship; Colorectal cancer; GPS; Physical activity; Sedentary behavior https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12529-016-9575-6

Date: 2013 | Authors: Tarra L Penney The prevention of chronic disease requires understanding and intervention related to both individual and environmental level determinants. However, traditional approaches to chronic disease prevention and management have primarily been focused at the individual level, with limited attention toward environmental level influences on health behaviour. This lack of comprehensiveness is partially due to a paucity of complex theoretical frameworks for clarifying the influences of personal cognitive, and broader environmental, variables on a range of health behaviours. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to expand and test a popular health behaviour theory, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), to include influences of the perceived food environment on healthy eating behaviour. This study involved two phases. Phase 1 expanded SCT to include a perceived food environment construct through review of the food environment literature. Phase 2 conducted a cross-sectional study of 201 adults (age 35 to 69 years) using an online survey to test the expanded SCT informed by phase 1. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) to compare the traditional and expanded SCT model. Results demonstrated no significant model fit, with no improvement in oveall fit with the inclusion of the perceived food environment. However, the expansion of SCT to include perceived food environment attributes altered the pathways of influence within the social cognitive model, suggesting that the presence of perceived environment measures is important for understanding how perceived environments might mediate the effect of personal cognitive influences on eating behaviour. These findings have implications for food environment research, the development of ecological theories, the field of health promotion and the prevention of chronic disease.   http://dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/35463