The impact of exposure to sugary drink marketing on youth brand preference and recall: a cross-sectional and multi-country analysis.

Background: Consumption of sugary drinks (SD) among children and adolescents is a prevalent public health issue both within Canada and worldwide. This problem is exacerbated by the powerful marketing of such beverages to youth, which is known to influence a wide range of dietary behaviours.

Methods: A cross-sectional, secondary analysis of the International Food Policy Survey Youth Wave 2019 was conducted to assess the relationship between self-reported exposure to SD marketing within the past 30 days or SD brand advertisements and brand preference and brand recall among youth aged 10-17 from Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Effect modification by sex of genetic associations of vitamin C related metabolites in the Canadian Longitudinal study on aging.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient. Sex differences in serum vitamin C concentrations have been observed but are not fully known. Investigation of levels of metabolites may help shed light on how dietary and other environmental exposures interact with molecular processes.

Exploring ethnic and racial differences in intraocular pressure and glaucoma: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on aging.

Purpose: To determine whether self-reported race/ethnicity is associated with intraocular pressure (IOP) and glaucoma and to explore whether any associations are due to social, behavioral, genetic, or health differences.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of population-based data.

Methods: We used the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging Comprehensive Cohort, which consists of 30,097 adults aged 45-85 years.

The impact of fast food marketing on brand preferences and fast food intake of youth aged 10-17 across six countries.

Background: Consumption of fast food, which is associated with poor diet, weight gain and the development of noncommunicable diseases, is high amongst youth. Fast food marketing, a modifiable determinant of excess weight and obesity, affects youth's food-related behaviours. This study aimed to examine the relationship between exposure to fast food marketing and the fast food brand preferences and intake amongst youth aged 10-17 across six countries.

Alcohol Consumption, Genetic Risk, and Intraocular Pressure and Glaucoma: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of alcohol consumption with intraocular pressure (IOP) and glaucoma and to assess whether any associations are modified by a glaucoma polygenic risk score (PRS).

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging Comprehensive Cohort, consisting of 30,097 adults ages 45 to 85 years, was done. Data were collected from 2012 to 2015.

GENLIB: new function to simulate haplotype transmission in large complex genealogies.

Summary: Founder populations with deep genealogical data are well suited for investigating genetic variants contributing to diseases. Here, we present a major update of the genealogical analysis R package GENLIB, centered around a new function which can simulate the transmission of haplotypes from founders to probands along very large and complex user-specified genealogies.

Availability And Implementation: The latest update of the GENLIB package (v1.

Genome-wide association study of age at menarche in the Taiwan Biobank suggests NOL4 as a novel associated gene.

Sexual maturation is a complex physiological process that involves multiple variables, such as genetic and environmental factors. Among females, age at menarche (AM) is a critical milestone for sexual maturation. This study aimed to identify genetic markers of AM using nationwide population cohort data in Taiwan.

Inverse Association of APOE ε4 and Glaucoma Modified by Systemic Hypertension: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Purpose: Studies examining the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele and glaucoma are inconsistent, which could be due to interactions with other factors. We examined the relationship between the APOE ε4 allele and glaucoma and intraocular pressure in a large, population-based random sample and explored whether the APOE ε4 allele interacted with systemic hypertension.

Methods: Data came from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a population-based study that included 24,655 adults ages 45 to 85 years old in the European ancestry cohort.

Comparison of mixed model based approaches for correcting for population substructure with application to extreme phenotype sampling.

Background: Mixed models are used to correct for confounding due to population stratification and hidden relatedness in genome-wide association studies. This class of models includes linear mixed models and generalized linear mixed models. Existing mixed model approaches to correct for population substructure have been previously investigated with both continuous and case-control response variables.

Clinical and demographic predictors of antiretroviral efficacy in HIV-HBV co-infected patients.

Background: The clinical and demographic characteristics that predict antiretroviral efficacy among patients co-infected with HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) remain poorly defined. We evaluated HIV virological suppression and rebound in a cohort of HIV-HBV co-infected patients initiated on antiretroviral therapy.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed with Canadian Observation Cohort Collaboration data.

General and abdominal obesity trajectories across adulthood, and risk of prostate cancer: results from the PROtEuS study, Montreal, Canada.

Purpose: Greater body fatness is a probable cause of advanced prostate cancer (PCa). Body fat distribution and timing of exposure may be relevant. We investigated associations between body size trajectories and PCa incidence in a population-based case-control study in Montreal, Canada.

Body shape and pants size as surrogate measures of obesity among males in epidemiologic studies.

This study aimed at characterizing anthropometric indicators that can be used as alternatives to measurements for assessing overall obesity over adulthood and abdominal obesity among men. We used data from a population-based case-control study of prostate cancer conducted in Montreal, Canada in 2005-2012. It included men aged ≤ 75 years, 1872 of which were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 1918 others randomly selected from the electoral list.

Food and Beverage Advertising to Children and Adolescents on Television: A Baseline Study.

The progressive rise in Canadian child obesity has paralleled trends in unhealthy food consumption. Industry has contributed to these trends through aggressive food and beverage marketing in various media and child settings. This study aimed to assess the extent of food and beverage advertising on television in Canada and compare the frequency of food advertising broadcasted during programs targeted to preschoolers, children, adolescents and adults.

Characteristics and outcomes of antiretroviral-treated HIV-HBV co-infected patients in Canada?

Background: Hepatitis B (HBV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) share common risk factors for exposure. Co-infected patients have an increased liver-related mortality risk and may have accelerated HIV progression. The epidemiology and demographic characteristics of HIV-HBV co-infection in Canada remain poorly defined.

Age-Related Eye Disease and Cognitive Function: The Search for Mediators.

Purpose: Age-related eye disease may be associated with cognitive decline, but the scientific literature has not been consistent. Furthermore, no studies have been able to explain the relationship. Our objective was to assess whether older adults with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or glaucoma performed worse on 6 cognitive tests compared with older adults with normal vision and, if so, to understand why.

Utilization of key preventive measures for pregnancy complications and malaria among women in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia.

Background: In Ethiopia, malaria infections and other complications during pregnancy contribute to the high burden of maternal morbidity and mortality. Preventive measures are available, however little is known about the factors influencing the uptake of maternal health services and interventions by pregnant women in Ethiopia.

Methods: We analyzed data from a community-based cross-sectional survey conducted in 2016 in three rural districts of Jimma Zone, Ethiopia, with 3784 women who had a pregnancy outcome in the year preceding the survey.

Investigating Gene-Gene and Gene-Environment Interactions in the Association Between Overnutrition and Obesity-Related Phenotypes.

Animal studies suggested that , , and genes could be involved in the association between overnutrition and obesity. This study aims to investigate interactions involving these genes and macronutrient intakes affecting obesity-related phenotypes. We used a traditional statistical method, logistic regression, and compared it to alternative statistical method, multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) and penalized logistic regression (PLR), to better detect genes/environment interactions in the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health Study ( = 1639) using dichotomized body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference as obesity-related phenotypes.

A quality assessment of Health Management Information System (HMIS) data for maternal and child health in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia.

Health management information system (HMIS) data are important for guiding the attainment of health targets in low- and middle-income countries. However, the quality of HMIS data is often poor. High-quality information is especially important for populations experiencing high burdens of disease and mortality, such as pregnant women, newborns, and children.

Modeling gene-environment interactions in longitudinal family studies: a comparison of methods and their application to the association between the IGF pathway and childhood obesity.

Background: The interactive effect of the IGF pathway genes with the environment may contribute to childhood obesity. Such gene-environment interactions can take on complex forms. Detecting those relationships using longitudinal family studies requires simultaneously accounting for correlations within individuals and families.

Factors associated with human West Nile virus infection in Ontario: a generalized linear mixed modelling approach.

Background: West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that has become established in North America. Risk for human infection varies geographically in accordance with climate and population factors. Though often asymptomatic, human WNV infection can cause febrile illness or, rarely, neurologic disease.

Age-Related Eye Disease and Participation in Cognitive Activities.

Studies have found a benefit to living a cognitively active life in older age. Our goal was to quantify participation in cognitively stimulating activities in adults with and without age-related eye disease. We conducted a cross-sectional hospital-based study in Montreal, Canada of older adults (n = 303) having either age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (n = 96), glaucoma (n = 93), or normal vision (n = 114).

Survey highlights the need for specific interventions to reduce frequent conflicts between healthcare professionals providing paediatric end-of-life care.

Aims: This study explored how paediatric healthcare professionals experienced and coped with end-of-life conflicts and identified how to improve coping strategies.

Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to all 2300 professionals at a paediatric university hospital, covering the frequency of end-of-life conflicts, participants, contributing factors, resolution strategies, outcomes and the usefulness of specific institutional coping strategies.

Results: Of the 946 professionals (41%) who responded, 466 had witnessed or participated in paediatric end-of-life discussions: 73% said these had led to conflict, more frequently between professionals (58%) than between professionals and parents (33%).