Tag: Cohort

Participant Town Hall

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Join us for the upcoming Atlantic PATH and CanPath Participant Town Hall! On Monday, November 17th, you can learn about how we are “Preventing Cancer, Together: How your Data is Driving Discoveries.” The Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath) is the largest population health study in Canada with more than 330,000 participants in seven regional cohorts, including Atlantic PATH, BC Generations Project, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project, Healthy Future Sask, Manitoba Tomorrow Project, Ontario Health Study, and CARTaGENE (Quebec). The data and biological samples provided by our participants are used to study cancer and chronic disease and support exciting scientific discoveries. Join us at the Town Hall to When: Monday, November 17, 2025 1-230pm Atlantic Time Where: Online Zoom Meeting Register here and submit your questions to be answered during our panel discussion. Please note, the webinar will be recorded and shared afterwards on YouTube.

World Mental Health Day

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Join us in recognizing World Mental Health Day. CanPath is Canada’s largest population health study and includes approximately 34,000 participants who were diagnosed with depression and more than 27,000 participants with anxiety. Data and biosamples provided by our participants are being used in critical mental health research. Alexandra Del Favero is a PhD student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University. Along with her supervisor, Dr. Kelvin Fong and using questionnaire data, toenail and saliva samples from Atlantic PATH, Alex is examining the effect of environmental factors on mental health in Nova Scotia. CanPath is one of 23 cohorts with 2.8 million participants included in the COVID Global Mental Health Consortium (CGMHC). Led by Dr. Jordan Smoller (Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital), this work is investigating pandemic-related mental health outcomes using individual-level harmonized longitudinal data. Data collected from CanPath COVID-19 questionnaires completed by participants from all regional cohorts are being used. Atlantic PATH are proud to lead this work on behalf of CanPath. Dr. Ashlyn Swift-Gallant (Department of Psychology, Memorial University) used data from Atlantic PATH to conduct research that found ovarian hormones contribute to the sex disparity in post-traumatic stress disorder. Drs. Gabriela Ilie, Rob Rutledge and Ellen Sweeney (Dalhousie University and Nova Scotia Health) used data from Atlantic PATH to investigate the association between prostate cancer diagnosis and mental health outcomes. Their work found increased rates of anxiety and depression among males with a history of prostate cancer; higher odds of depression among prostate cancer survivors who were treated with surgery; and higher rates of depression among prostate cancer survivors with a low household income compared to other forms of cancer and a high household income. These findings highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary effort to prioritize and deliver comprehensive mental health support to prostate cancer survivors. This work has helped to inform the groundbreaking Prostate Cancer Patient Empowerment Program (PC-PEP) and CancerPEP led by Drs. Ilie and Rutledge that have been implemented around the world. Atlantic PATH is one of the 18 cohort studies in the PSYchosocial factors and CAncer (PSY-CA) Consortium. Led by Dr. Joost Dekker from the Amsterdam University Medical Centre, this study investigated whether psychosocial factors, such as depression can predict the incidence of cancer. Multiple publications that include Atlantic PATH data can be found here. To find out about the most up-to-date mental health research and learn about data access, please visit our website.

Atlantic PATH – Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

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To round up Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, we are highlighting some of the recent and ongoing work on prostate cancer conducted using Atlantic PATH data and biosamples. Flashback to 2023 and welcoming our youngest team member(!) and the Plaid for Dad tradition raising awareness about prostate cancer in Canada. We have ongoing research on prostate cancer exploring environmental exposure to arsenic and cancer risk using toxicological and machine learning methods. This research stream has received and benefitted from funding from Nova Scotia Health, the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute, Prostate Cancer Canada, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the New Frontiers in Research Fund. Watch this space for new findings and publications! Related publications to date include: Majouni, S., Kim, J.S., Sweeney, E., Keltie, E., Abidi, S. (2022). Applying Machine Learning to Arsenic Species and Metallomics Profiles of Toenails to Evaluate Associations of Environmental Arsenic with Incident Cancer Cases. Medical Informatics Europe Conference (MIE) Conference Proceedings. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics. Keltie, E., Hood, K., Cui, Y., Sweeney, E., Ilie, G., Adisesh, A., Dummer, T.J.B., Bharti, V., Kim, J.S. (2022). Arsenic speciation and metallomics profiling of human toenails as a biomarker to assess prostate cancer cases: Atlantic PATH cohort study. Frontiers in Public Health, 10.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9301242/ Hood, K., Sweeney, E., Ilie, G., Keltie, E., Kim, J.S. (2023). Toenail arsenic species and metallome profiles associated with breast, cervical, prostate, and skin cancer prevalence in the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health cohort. Frontiers in Public Health, Environmental Health and Exposome.  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1148283/full Smith, N., Keltie, E., Sweeney, E., Weerasinghe, S., MacPherson, K., Kim, J.S. (2022). Toenail speciation biomarkers in arsenic-releated disease: a feasibility study for investigating the association between arsenic expsosure and chronic disease. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 232. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651322001099 The Langille Lab at Dalhousie University has an ongoing research stream on the microbiome. This work has included a focus on prostate cancer. Related publications include: Nearing, J., DeClercq, V., Langille, M. (2023). Investigating the Oral Microbiome in Retrospective and Prospective Cases of Prostate, Colon and Breast Cancer. Nature Biofilms and Microbiomes. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-023-00391-7. We have also conducted research on the mental health of prostate cancer survivors compared to those with no history of cancer and those with types of cancer. This work was supported by funding from the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. Publications to date include: Ilie, G., Rutledge, R., Sweeney, E. (2020). Anxiety and depression symptoms in adult males in Atlantic Canada with or without a lifetime history of prostate cancer. Psycho-Oncology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pon.5244 Ilie, G., Rutledge, R., Sweeney, E. (2021). An examination of the role of socioeconomic status in the relationship between depression and prostate cancer survivorship in a population-based sample of men from Atlantic Canada. Oncology, 99(4). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33486485/ Ilie, G., Rutledge, R., Sweeney, E. (2021). Post-Treatment Adverse Health Correlates among Prostate Cancer Survivors in a Sample of Men Residing in Atlantic Canada. Current Oncology, 28(4). https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/28/4/246

CanPath Round Up: Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

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What could you uncover with data from over 3,500 participants with prostate cancer? 🤔💭 With close to 3,000 prevalent cases of prostate cancer within our participant population, CanPath remains committed to continuing to support participants and researchers in uncovering new breakthroughs in prostate cancer prevention, detection and treatment. By collecting biological, genetic and health data from our participants, we can keep track of new and existing cases of prostate cancer to provide researchers with access to invaluable health information to support the next generation of cancer research. 🔗 Get inspired by the latest prostate cancer publications using CanPath data: http://bit.ly/46VMeqJ

Canadian Cancer Society – Data Saves Lives

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“Data save lives. It’s as simple as that.” ? Thank you to the Canadian Cancer Society for having CanPath at the Cancer Data Community of Practice Workshop in Toronto this March. We were honoured to join this important conversation about improving Canada’s cancer data ecosystem because better data means better outcomes for all Canadians. Dr. Robin Urquhart, Atlantic PATH Scientific Director, says, “Data save lives. It’s as simple as that … How are we going to improve if we don’t know how we’re doing or if we don’t know where we have to improve, right? And data allows us to do that.” Dr. Donna Turner, Manitoba Tomorrow Project Scientific Director, says, “We really can’t manage what we don’t measure … We know that cancer data are actually relatively strong compared to other diseases, but we have so far to go.” A video from the Canadian Cancer Society of seven cancer stakeholders is available on LinkedIn.    

Government of Canada invests in breast cancer research at CanPath

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Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and the second leading cause of cancer-related death among women* in Canada, with one in eight women expected to be diagnosed in their lifetime. Early detection through screening can make treatment easier and improve survival rates. In April 2024, the US recommended starting breast cancer screening for women in their forties. However, Canada’s guidelines, updated in May 2024, did not fully adopt this change, highlighting the need for more research. To address these evidence gaps, the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health for the Government of Canada, announced $295,000 in funding for CanPath to advance research for breast cancer screening. Minister Holland announced this funding at an in-person event at the Canadian Cancer Society, which also received funding for breast cancer public awareness. “When we think of breast cancer screening, data gaps, and the solutions research can deploy, it’s exceptionally important,” said the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, “so the partnership between the federal government and CanPath is very exciting.” CanPath will use existing Canadian cohort and administrative data to address three main objectives: Study differences in screening participation, treatments, and outcomes by race and ethnicity; Understand breast cancer risk factors and how they vary by race and ethnicity; and Analyze screening results, such as recall and biopsy rates, by race and ethnicity. This research aims to create better screening guidelines that consider the diverse needs of all Canadian women. “Anytime we can announce good news and talk about how we can advance research together is an exciting day. It’s so great to get to celebrate these wins together,” says Dr. Jennifer Brooks, Executive Director at CanPath. *Cisgendered women and other adults assigned female at birth, such as transgender men and nonbinary people. About CanPath The Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath) is Canada’s largest population health cohort and a national platform for health research. Comprised of more than 330,000 volunteer participants across seven regional cohorts, including Atlantic PATH, CanPath is a unique platform that allows scientists to explore how genetics, environment, lifestyle, and behaviour interact and contribute to the development of chronic disease and cancer.  

Predicting chronic disease enabled by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia data linkage

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  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Wednesday, June 5, 2024 Predicting chronic disease enabled by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia data linkage Predicting chronic disease has gotten faster and simpler with the linkage of data gathered from a longitudinal study involving over 34,000 participants and administrative health data routinely gathered by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. A collaboration between the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (Atlantic PATH) and New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data & Training (NB-IRDT), and Health Data Nova Scotia (HDNS) is an important opportunity for advancing health research. “I am absolutely thrilled to see these linkages happen,” said Dr. Robin Urquhart, Atlantic PATH Scientific Director. “Atlantic PATH is an incredibly rich resource to understand the health of Atlantic Canadians and all of the different factors, like our biology, behaviours, and environments, that impact our health. This new linkage activity makes our resource more powerful, giving us access to different sources of data to answer complex health questions affecting all Atlantic Canadians.” Atlantic PATH follows the health of participants from all four Atlantic Canadian provinces to help researchers discover why some people develop certain chronic diseases and cancers and others don’t in order to advance prevention and early diagnosis. Atlantic PATH is part of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath), a pan-Canadian, longitudinal cohort studying Canadians’ health, behaviours and environments. “Not only is this historical, record-level data linkage activity, this work is crucial for Atlantic Canada, which has among the country’s highest rates of chronic disease and cancer,” said Dr. Ted McDonald, director of NB-IRDT. “Critically, it will enable researchers to focus on studies related to cancer and chronic disease that cannot be undertaken without linking the separate data sources. The data linkage has other important implications too, such as the potential to inform health policy and improve detection, prevention and treatment.” Based at the University of New Brunswick, NB-IRDT provides researchers with secure access to pseudonymized personal level administrative data and conducts research on policy topics to support evidence informed government decision-making. NB-IRDT is a member of Health Data Research Network Canada, a pan-Canadian network of data centres and research organizations. HDRN Canada facilitates access to multi-regional administrative data to address health challenges that cross boundaries and foster improvements in health and health equity. Within the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University, HDNS facilitates research and innovation in Nova Scotia by providing access to linkable administrative health data and analysis for research purposes in a remote, secure, controlled environment. HDNS is also a member of HDRN Canada. “This is an exciting opportunity for researchers across the Maritimes,” said Dr. Sam Stewart, director of HDNS. “Research cohorts like Atlantic PATH take a tremendous amount of work to collect, so it is paramount that we do everything we can to make that data as effective as possible. Linking Atlantic PATH data to the data resources at HDNS and NB-IRDT will enable researchers to discover key, long-term insights into the health of Canadians, and signal an important step forward in how research data can be leveraged and enhanced within the healthcare system.” “This is an exciting development, as this linkage includes data from participants in two provinces, so it is already multi-regional in nature,” said Dr. Kim McGrail, HDRN Canada Scientific Director. “It also builds on linkage of other regional CanPath cohorts across Canada, creating many new research opportunities that can help us to better understand chronic disease and how to prevent them.” New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are the first Atlantic Canadian provinces to link to Atlantic PATH, the result of a long and deliberate collaboration involving HDRN Canada, Atlantic PATH, CanPath, and administrative data holders in the four Atlantic provinces. Since the transfer of Atlantic PATH baseline data holdings to NB-IRDT and HDNS, researchers can now apply to link Atlantic PATH data to provincial administrative data holdings, such as screenings, hospitalizations, medication use, health outcomes and more. View the NB data holdings here View the NS data holdings here. MEDIA CONTACT: Dr. Kate Milberry Strategic Communications Manager HDRN Canada kate.milberry@hdrn.ca 604.306.1512

Webinar: Using CanPath to Support Innovative Health Research 

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Using CanPath to Support Innovative Health Research  Join our colleagues, Dr. Parveen Bhatti (Scientific Director, BC Generations) and Sheraz Cheema (Data Manager, CanPath) on Wednesday, October 11th to learn about CanPath, types of questions the data can be used to address, and how the data can be accessed. Registration: https://t.co/m8PU92M881  

CITF COVID-19 Immunity Task Force Databank

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CanPath and its regional cohorts, including Atlantic PATH, are proud to be part of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) Databank with our COVID-19 serology study that includes participants across the country. The CITF Databank data holdings include data from 21 studies, including six multi-province studies “representing a wide range of population and community data from various regions of Canada. Access is free and open to researchers everywhere.” Details: https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/citf-databank/