The Business & Community Newsletter – April 2015

A Checkup on Health in Canada

According to the World Health Organization, "health is a complete state of mental, physical and social well-being, not only the absence of disease". Statistics Canada takes the pulse of the health of Canadians regarding such topics as obesity, fertility, suicide, physical activity, and smoking so Canadians can check in on the latest health data. In this newsletter, we will offer you an assortment of health resources available on Statistics Canada's website that will help you analyze the data and use it for your personal and professional needs.

Let's take a look at a couple of topics we read about every day in the media and discover where the facts are found.

Weighty issues

Obesity has become one of the world's greatest health concerns. Based on their measured body mass index (BMI), 31% of Canadian children and youth aged 5 to 17 years were overweight or obese in 2012 to 2013 as reported in a Statistics Canada Health Fact sheet, Body mass index of children and youth, 2012 to 2013.

In the latest data from the Canadian Community Health Survey 2013, the rates of adults who reported height and weight that classified them as overweight in 2013 were 42% for men and 28% for women. More men than women were obese, and obesity increased for men while it did not for women from 2012 to 2013.

Statistics Canada conducts a number of surveys, specifically the Canadian Health Measures Survey, and Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) which gather relevant health data on Canadians health and health habits. CCHS features information on more than 30 health indicators, including perceived health, smoking, exposure to second-hand smoke at home, access to a regular medical doctor (family doctor or specialist), physical activity during leisure time, obesity, high blood pressure, heavy drinking, fruit and vegetable consumption, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and perceived life stress.

Health Fact Sheets are a great resource with short, focused, single-theme analysis available from the Browse by Key resource module of the Statistics Canada website under Publications.

Where are babies coming from?

Statistics Canada publishes data tables that provide these numbers. By simply typing in a key word like fertility you can check in on Births and total fertility rates by province and territory in Canada. This information is of interest to many, especially those working in the provincial and federal governments, individuals involved in an educational setting, such as professors and teachers, researchers, policy analysts, individuals working in the private sector and the media, as well as organizations and businesses.

Rates of suicide and analysis

Statistics Canada provides summary tables with suicide numbers in Canada by year, by sex, and by age group. There were 3,728 suicides in Canada in 2011, a rate of 10.8 per 100,000 people. Suicide typically results from the interaction of many factors.

Look for Health at a Glance found under Features in Health in Canada at www.statcan.gc.ca to find analysis on this topic and other health related studies in short, non-technical articles.

Put on your white coat

A Rigorous Process

Researchers must go through a rigorous application process to access the biobank's biospecimens. Twice a year—in the spring and the fall—CHMS directors put out a call for proposals and accept all applications to access the biobank, on the condition that the researchers submitting an application can demonstrate that they are conducting research in Canada and that they are working under the direction or supervision of a recognized public or private agency.

After receiving proposals from researchers, the CHMS team moves on to the next phase. If the project appears to meet the basic conditions after a preliminary review of the file, the team must then do a feasibility study.

Researchers whose projects are selected then receive a cost estimate so that they can take steps to secure research funding. This is an important detail since we are not talking about trifle sums. The cost of having access to biobank specimens is on average $45,000 per project.

If researchers meet all the conditions, they are on the right track, but they still have to go through other important steps.

Committee Test

If a research project is determined to be feasible, it is then transferred to the CHMS Biobank Advisory Committee, which consists of representatives from Statistics Canada, the Public Health Agency, Health Canada and four renowned Canadian researchers. Committee members scrupulously evaluate each research project against several elements, and each project is given a score between zero and five.

Often, the few research projects that are considered viable by the committee require a follow-up. Once everything is in order, recommendations are then submitted to the Executive Management Board for a final decision.

Confidentiality and Security

Statistics Canada treats biospecimens like microdata. Therefore, they are stored in a way that guarantees their security and confidentiality as stipulated by the Statistics Act. As mentioned earlier, the specimens are frozen and stored anonymously at the NML in Winnipeg. All tubes of specimens bear only a bar code. Consequently, no other information is associated with participants' specimens, which maintains their anonymity.

A researcher whose project has been approved must demonstrate that the laboratory they chose meets all of the security requirements. To ensure that everything is in order, Statistics Canada uses the services of Public Works and Government Services Canada's Industrial Security Program. All laboratory employees whether they work closely with the specimens or not, must become deemed employees of Statistics Canada to take an oath of confidentiality.

Once all security mechanisms are in place, the CHMS team contacts the managers at the NML in Winnipeg to tell them which specimens must be sent where. Of course, the transfer protocol is extremely secure. This type of transfer agreement between Statistics Canada, the NML and the research laboratory selected by the researcher includes highly secure delivery mechanisms that can help to locate the shipment at any time. Finally, researchers must provide written proof that the remaining specimens, if any, have been destroyed once the research project is complete.

Specimens serving the Public

The research results must be sent to Statistics Canada, which creates a microdata file. The file is then sent to the research data centre chosen by the researcher. Only then can the researcher access the data, and the researcher's access is exclusive for a one-year period. After that time, the data become available to other researchers as well.

Three research projects have been approved since the biobank came into existence, and that is just the beginning. In 2014, CHMS managers launched the Legacy Series. For all future CHMS cycles, specimens will be preserved to leave a legacy for the Canadian public.

The biobank is in the dawn of its existence, and the future already looks promising. “The biobank is still very new,” said Josée Bégin. “Right now, we are working on spreading the word in the scientific research community across Canada. We hope that it will grow as it becomes more visible in these communities.”

For more details and contact information, consult Statistics Canada's Biobank.

Answers to 5 Questions

1: 60%. (Source), 2: Half (Source), 3: 55.2% (Source), 4: 6 in 10 (Source), 5: 49% (Source)