Leveraging the Canadian Health Measures Survey for environmental health research
- DOI
- Language of the publication
- English
- Date
- 2018-08-01
- Type
- Article
- Author(s)
- Eykelbosh, Angela
- Werry, Kate
- Kosatsky, Tom
- Publisher
- Elsevier
Abstract
Since 2007, the nationally representative, cross-sectional Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) has collected detailed health and exposure data from more than 25,000 Canadians, including a wide range of chemical biomarkers analyzed in blood, urine, and environmental media. This article highlights the extent to which the CHMS dataset has been used in the peer-reviewed environmental health literature and opportunities for further expanding usage of the dataset. A literature search (2007–2018) was performed to identify peer-reviewed studies that have made substantive use of the CHMS dataset. Studies were analyzed according to the study type, data usage, populations studied, environmental health themes, citation/publication data, and institutional collaborations. A total of 51 environmental-health related CHMS studies were identified, including studies related to indoor and outdoor air quality, the built environment, and chemical and environmental tobacco smoke exposures. Health indicator data are being increasingly exploited, as is the ability to combine cycle datasets over time. Although these studies covered a range of environmental exposures, many CHMS variables remain underutilized. The CHMS dataset provides a valuable portrait of chemical exposures in Canadians of all ages, linked to a wide variety of health indicators. Many opportunities remain to exploit and expand both the use of the dataset and collaborations between Canadian agencies and domestic and international research institutions.
Plain language summary
The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), led by Statistics Canada in partnership with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, is the most comprehensive, direct health measures survey conducted in Canada. Health Canada is responsible for coordinating the biomonitoring component which measures environmental chemical exposures in Canadians. The survey started in 2007 and is designed to be representative of the Canadian population. In the first four cycles of the survey, health and exposure data have been collected from over 25,000 Canadians, including a wide range of environmental chemicals measured in blood, urine, indoor air and tap water. This information provides a valuable dataset on chemical exposures in Canadians which has been used to establish national baseline levels for individual chemicals and to inform regulatory risk assessment and management. Further, the CHMS dataset presents environmental health researchers with opportunities to examine the relationships between chemicals of concern and a wide variety of health indicators. This paper is a collaboration between Health Canada, the BC Centre for Disease Control and the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health. The paper reviews the use of the CHMS data in environmental health research, highlights innovative approaches, and discusses opportunities for further expanding usage of the dataset. The paper serves as a knowledge translation tool for Health Canada and the CHMS and aims to increase awareness of the existence of the survey data and identify areas for data analysis that have not yet been explored to further encourage access, use and application of the data by researchers and population and public health organizations.
Subject
- Health,
- Health and safety