Ontario Health Study

Differences in hair and eye color (pigmentation) are principally determined by our genes rather than our environment. To determine the genetic variants that are associated with having blonde, red and brown hair, researchers selected a sample of 12,741 CanPath participants of European ancestry (including more than 700 participants from the OHS). People with European ancestors tend to have a high diversity of hair and eye colour. Researchers then conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the results of which shed light on how pigmentation is regulated in humans.

Read more about this project in the Montreal Gazette

Read the full article in Communications Biology

Authors from five CanPath cohorts presented a poster detailing the vast data and biosample holdings of the research platform and its overall utility as a powerful tool for population health research. CanPath’s harmonized dataset contains 1,477 variables, many of which are particularly relevant to occupational health researchers.

Read the poster abstract, presented at the 28th International Symposium on Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH 2021)

Researchers at the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) performed a cross-sectional analysis of two harmonized studies: the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Healthy Minds (CAHHM), which includes a subset of OHS and CanPath participants, and the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The analysis concluded that to improve cognitive brain health, prevention of cerebrovascular disease and the promotion of positive lifestyles are needed.

Read the full article in the journal Neurology

Read the abstract on PubMed