Wellness

Standing too much at work can double your risk of heart disease: U of T expert

rasbachn — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 04:00:00 +0000

Standing too much at work can double your risk of heart disease: U of T expert rasbachn Wed, 09/13/2017 - 00:00

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While office workers often worry they sit too long while on the job, research suggests standing at work increases the risk of heart disease (photo by Shutterstock)

Peter Smith

Author legacy

Peter Smith

The Conversation

Health

Wellness

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Subheadline

U of T's Peter Smith and The Conversation

There's been a lot of interest in the harmful effects of prolonged sitting at work, from academics and the public alike. The attention being paid to sitting – or rather, not sitting – while on the job stems from the scientifically validated message that being sedentary in general, both indoors and outdoors, is bad for your health.

However, comparatively little attention has been devoted to the harmful effects of prolonged standing at work, despite past studies linking it to chronic back pain and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the lower limbs.

What’s more, research has shown that prolonged standing might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. That’s because standing too long can result in blood pooling in the legs, increased pressure in the veins and increased oxidative stress, all of which can contribute to an increased risk.

Prolonged standing at work doubles heart disease risk

We recently published a study that adds to that body of evidence on the adverse health effects of prolonged standing. It compared the risk of heart disease among more than 7,000 workers in Ontario, followed over a 12-year period, across different types of occupations.

Briefly, we grouped the workers into four categories according to the body position of their jobs.

The categories were: workers who mostly sit, workers who mostly stand, workers who use a mix of sitting, standing and walking, and workers who use other types of body positions, such as crouching or kneeling.

We found that people who primarily stand on the job are twice as likely to develop heart disease as people who primarily sit. This was the case even after taking into account a wide range of factors, including personal factors (including age, gender, education levels, ethnicity, immigrant status and marital status), health (e.g., diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, mood and anxiety disorders) and the type of work being performed (e.g., physical demands, shift schedule).

An elevated risk for those who stand at their jobs (compared to sitting) was still present after taking into account smoking, leisure time, physical activity, alcohol consumption and body mass index.

In fact, the incidence of heart disease among those respondents who stood a lot at work (6.6 per cent) was similar to the incidence of heart disease among workers who smoked on a daily basis (5.8 per cent) or those who were obese (6.9 per cent). This suggests that workplace wellness programs should focus on reducing prolonged standing at work, just as they target smoking and unhealthy diet habits, to curb cardiovascular disease.

Is my sit/stand desk harmful?

For those who may wonder whether their standing or variable desk is a health risk, the short answer is “No.” The focus of our study was prolonged standing at work, without opportunities to sit. We expect that people using sit/stand desks do sit when they feel tired, unlike those in occupations that require prolonged standing, such as grocery store clerks or line cooks.

Good news for employers whose staff must spend too long standing: the chair exists!

The opposite question, “Does standing a little bit more during the day reduce risk of heart disease?” is harder to answer and was not specifically examined by our study.

The available research evidence suggests that while being sedentary in general is bad for you, the amount of time we spend sitting at work (distinct from sitting at home, in traffic, and so on) is not strongly linked with decreased risk of long-term conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.

To reduce the potential health impacts of sitting in general, you would likely need changes in overall energy expenditure. And standing a little more throughout the day (without at least walking in addition to the standing) probably won’t achieve this.

How can I reduce risk?

Based on our study, and other studies in this area, it would seem wise to focus on ways to reduce standing time in certain occupations. In our study, people whose jobs involve standing for long stretches of time included sales and service workers, cooks, food and beverage servers and bank tellers.

With the exception of cooks, there aren’t specific reasons why workers in many of these occupations need to stand for prolonged periods of time. Rather, the need to stand in these jobs has more to do with the need to be seen by the public as being attentive, interested and polite. So most workers could still perform their duties using a mix of sitting and standing.

As a result, greater awareness of the potential health effects of standing too long can help roll back this social expectation.

And luckily for workplaces, in the case of prolonged standing, there are interventions that are known to be effective and readily available: They’re called chairs.

Preventing long-term health conditions such as heart disease likely requires multi-faceted interventions, focusing on factors inside and outside the workplace. Reducing prolonged standing at work – and providing more flexible work environments in general – should be one of the aspects of work that are considered in the future.

Peter Smith is a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health and an associate professor at ��߲ݴ�ý's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the School of Population Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University in Australia.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Housing crisis pushing people into rural areas with already stretched health services: U of T research

ullahnor — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 14:50:53 +0000

Housing crisis pushing people into rural areas with already stretched health services: U of T research

ullahnor Mon, 09/11/2017 - 10:50

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People are seeking affordable housing in remote communities that are already overburdened and don’t have specialized health and social services, according to a new U of T study (photo by Indigo Skies Photography via Flickr)

Nicole Bodnar

Author legacy

Nicole Bodnar

Topic

Breaking Research

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Health services in rural and remote areas are struggling to cope with an influx of people on low, fixed incomes moving to these areas, researchers at U of T's Dalla Lana School of Public Health have found.

No longer able to survive in southern Ontario due to skyrocketing housing costs, people are seeking affordable housing in remote communities that are already overburdened and don’t have specialized health and social services.

“An influx of low-income people with complex conditions places additional pressures on rural health services that are already struggling to overcome the challenges posed by lack of services, distance from specialized care and high physician turn-over,” said Kathleen Rice, a medical anthropologist and post-doctoral researcher at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Rice worked with Associate Professor Fiona Webster on a study recently published in Social Science & Medicine. The study is among the first to examine the migration trend to northern and remote communities as a consequence of rising housing costs in urban areas.

Based on observations and interviews with primary care providers, clinical directors, policymakers and patients in two remote recourse communities in northern Ontario, they found that people with complex care needs and few personal resources were intentionally relocating to economically depressed resource towns in search of affordable housing.

“These people are putting their pragmatic need for affordable housing ahead of their need for specialized medical and social care,” said Webster, who is affiliated with the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation. Webster is a medical sociologist heading up a program of research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research using qualitative approaches to study the care of people with complex needs with a particular focus on chronic pain.

“While conversations about housing costs in southern Ontario typically focus on the implications for young Canadians, for the vibrancy of urban neighbourhoods, and for the Canadian economy at large, we rarely hear about how these issues affect rural communities,” said Rice.

“Many of the people who are leaving southern Ontario for these northern resource towns are unable to work due to chronic illness, and these communities lack the resources to provide the complex care that many of them require. Current programs and policies do not account for this,” said Rice.

Globally, people living in rural areas tend to have poorer health relative to their urban counterparts, and many rural towns in Ontario are experiencing growing poverty and unemployment, which has resulted in a dramatic increase in mental health and addictions.

That’s why, researchers say, policies aimed at mitigating urban-rural health disparities should account for the influx of low-income people with complex chronic conditions. Study findings suggest that funding for pain and mental health disorders are especially needed.

Asthma: U of T expert says breathing problems are often under-tested and over-treated

rasbachn — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 16:10:46 +0000

Asthma: U of T expert says breathing problems are often under-tested and over-treated

rasbachn Tue, 08/15/2017 - 12:10

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Asthma patients are often given antibiotics even though flare-ups like pollution won't be helped by those drugs. (photo by stephen boisvert via Flickr)

Topic

Subheadline

Patients should make sure they get formal testing before taking medications

With its heat and humidity, summer is the season for breathing problems, like asthma flare-ups and aggravation of bronchitis. But Dr. Samir Gupta, an assistant professor in U of T’s Faculty of Medicine and a respirologist at St. Michael’s Hospital, says breathing issues are often under-tested and over-treated.

From asthma and bronchitis to COPD, many physicians aren't properly testing patients and often prescribe too many antibiotics, Gupta explains in the current edition of Doctors' Notes, a weekly column in the Toronto Star written by members of U of T's Faculty of Medicine.

Patients who have been told they have COPD or asthma should ask their doctor to be tested, especially before starting treatment, Gupta writes. Too often, asthma patients are given antibiotics even though the most common triggers for a flare-up – allergens, smoke, pollution or viruses – won’t be helped by those drugs.

There is help, Gupta says: overtreatment and under-testing are behind the “Choosing Wisely” movement, led by ��߲ݴ�ý faculty members. They produce Top 5 lists that detail tests and treatments that are still used by doctors but aren’t supported by medical evidence.

In the case of breathing problems, for example, they look at inhaler medications, which are often prescribed without a formal test. But Gupta points out that a recent large Canadian study showed that one-third of patients who had been told they had asthma by their doctor did not have it when formally tested.

Read the entire Doctors’ Notes column in the Toronto Star

Don't brood or wallow when feeling bad, U of T study says

geoff.vendeville — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 16:45:49 +0000

Don't brood or wallow when feeling bad, U of T study says

geoff.vendeville Mon, 08/14/2017 - 12:45

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Feeling bad about your thoughts and judging your emotions can make you feel worse, U of T's Brett Ford says in a recently published paper (photo by Matt Harris via Flickr)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Author legacy

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Don’t bury your feelings, but don't dwell on them, either.

That’s the key message of a new study from researchers at the ��߲ݴ�ý and UC Berkeley on the psychological health benefits of accepting negative emotions.

Brett Ford, the lead author and an assistant professor of psychology at U of T Scarborough, says her research shows that people feel better when they treat bad feelings like “passing clouds.”

“When times are tough, and you’re feeling angry, worried, sad and so forth – try to simply let your feelings happen,” she said.

Lyme disease: U of T expert says don't let fear of tick bites keep you inside

ullahnor — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 19:55:21 +0000

Lyme disease: U of T expert says don't let fear of tick bites keep you inside

ullahnor Mon, 07/17/2017 - 15:55

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After a day outside, take a shower and check your pet and yourself for ticks, says Tara Moriarty (photo by Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)

Topic

Subheadline

The importance of regular tick checks and showering after a day outdoors

This summer is shaping up to be a very big tick season because the weather has been cool and wet, says Tara Moriarty, an associate professor in U of T's Faculty of Dentistry who is also cross-appointed to the Faculty of Medicine’s department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology.

Those are the ideal conditions for the black-legged tick that carries the bacteria causing Lyme disease, Moriarty explains in the current edition of Doctors' Notes, a weekly column in the Toronto Star, written by members of U of T's Faculty of Medicine.

If this sounds worrisome, she's got good and bad news.

“First, a reality check. Estimates from early Lyme disease vaccine trials suggest that about 90 per cent of people infected with the bacteria don’t develop major symptoms of the disease such as arthritis. Many don’t know they’re infected. Ten per cent are diagnosed with Lyme disease and receive antibiotics, and of those, another 10 per cent have a version of Lyme that doesn’t respond well to treatment. This means about one per cent of people infected with Lyme bacteria suffer the terrible, often crippling, long-lasting symptoms that make this disease so feared – but 99 per cent don’t.

Lyme disease isn’t common yet in many parts of Ontario, including the Toronto region, because traditionally our climate doesn’t allow ticks to survive the winter in large numbers, Moriarty writes. But by 2020, she predicts, all of southern Ontario extending east to Quebec and north to southern parts of Algonquin Park will be high-risk areas for Lyme-carrying ticks. And, thanks to climate warming, the GTA has developed the ideal conditions for ticks to live here year-round.

Read the entire Doctors' Notes column in the Toronto Star

Time for some vitamin D? U of T researchers find lactose intolerance related to low vitamin D levels

ullahnor — Fri, 12 May 2017 16:40:02 +0000

Time for some vitamin D? U of T researchers find lactose intolerance related to low vitamin D levels

ullahnor Fri, 05/12/2017 - 12:40

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New research shows people intolerant to lactose also have low levels of vitamin D. Some sunshine could help (photo by Joslynn Gallant via Flickr)

Heidi Singer

Author legacy

Heidi Singer

Topic

New research from the ��߲ݴ�ý shows that people genetically intolerant to lactose, the main sugar found in dairy, have lower blood levels of vitamin D than the general population.

The researchers found those who had a gene associated with lactose intolerance (called LCT) consumed lower amounts of dairy products than those without that variation. The lactose intolerant also had lower levels of vitamin D in their blood – unsurprisingly, since dairy products are fortified with vitamin D, and most people don’t get enough of this vitamin from the sun or from other foods.

“We were not surprised that lactose intolerant people ate less dairy, but we were surprised that they did not compensate by supplementing or eating other foods fortified with this crucial nutrient,” said Ahmed El-Sohemy, a professor of nutrition at the Faculty of Medicine, who authored the study with Ohood Alharbi, a PhD candidate in U of T’s department of nutritional science.

“These findings speak to the need for greater awareness for those who limit dairy because of lactose intolerance. They need to be mindful of getting enough vitamin D from other fortified foods like certain brands of orange juice, or to consider trying lactose-free dairy products.”

The researchers also confirmed previous findings that those who have the gene for lactose intolerance are slightly shorter than those who don’t – suggesting insufficient intakes of these essential nutrients are limiting bone growth.

And for the first time, they found that people with just one – instead of two copies – of this variant were also affected by lactose intolerance, albeit to a lesser degree, suggesting that clinical definitions and genetic classifications of lactose intolerance could be expanded.

Lactose intolerance was found across ethnic groups – although the largest proportion by far occurred in people of East Asian heritage.

The study of 1,495 Canadian men and women from different ethnicities will be published in the June 2017 issue of the Journal of Nutrition. It is available now online.

Province at U of T to announce funds for mental health services in colleges and universities

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 03 May 2017 15:18:18 +0000

Province at U of T to announce funds for mental health services in colleges and universities

geoff.vendeville Wed, 05/03/2017 - 11:18

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Cheryl Regehr (right), U of T's vice-president and provost, said supporting students' mental health is integral to the success of the university (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Author legacy

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

City & Culture

Students

Mental Health

Undergraduate Students

Graduate Students

Wellness

As part of the 2017 budget, the province is increasing funding for mental heath services and supports for post-secondary students by $6 million per year, for the next three years.

Deb Matthews, Ontario's minister of advanced education and skills development, and Eric Hoskins, minister of health and long-term care, highlighted these initiatives in an announcement at U of T's Koffler Centre on Wednesday morning.

The budget also includes measures to improve access to psychotherapy services and develop a new province-wide psychotherapy program for people with conditions such as anxiety and depression. In addition, children and youth under 24 will receive free pharmacare.

“We know that starting a new chapter in post-secondary education can be an exciting but also challenging time,” said Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

“We know that if we're going to be successful in institutions of higher learning and supporting our students, we can only do that through partnerships with the health-care and mental health-care systems in the community,” said Cheryl Regehr, U of T's vice-president and provost.

Speaking on behalf of front-line mental-health workers, Andrea Levinson, U of T's psychiatrist-in-chief, said the new funding “will certainly have a positive impact on all students and their mental health across the province.”

About “three quarters of lifetime mental disorders” have their first onset in between the ages of 18 to 24, she added, which makes university and college resources all the more important.

Matthias Memmel, the president of U of T's student union, acknowledged the “shared responsibility” of the government, university and student groups to look after students' mental well-being. He welcomed the news.

“At universities across the province, there is a desperate need for better, more accessible mental-health resources at universities across the province,” he said.

Where to go for help:

The Health & Wellness Centre on the downtown Toronto campus offers a variety of mental-health services for students (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Promoting the mental health of students so that they can succeed is a top priority for the university, Regehr said. U of T offers a wide range of mental-health services and programs, across all three campuses.

See U of T's mental-health framework

The Health & Wellness Centre on the downtown Toronto campus offers individual counselling for adjustment and transition issues or coping with depression, anxiety, relationship/family issues and more. As of last year, the university also has embedded counsellors in particular departments, colleges, the Faculty of Dentistry, the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Learn about services at the downtown Health & Wellness Centre

The Health & Wellness Centre at U of T Scarborough provides personal counselling and group therapy.

Learn about health and wellness services at U of T Scarborough

At U of T Mississauga, the Health & Counselling Centre offers students individual or group counselling for help with a host of issues, from exam anxiety to coming out and family conflict.

Learn about services at UTM's Health & Counseling Centre

A gene for adapting to changing seasons? U of T researchers have identified it

ullahnor — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 16:58:35 +0000

A gene for adapting to changing seasons? U of T researchers have identified it

ullahnor Tue, 04/18/2017 - 12:58

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Researchers from U of T Mississauga have identified a gene that controls how we adapt to changing seasons. It is located in our circadian clock (photo by Christoffer Undisclosed via Flickr)

Nicolle Wahl

Author legacy

Nicolle Wahl

Topic

��߲ݴ�ý researchers have identified a gene that determines whether the body will adapt to changing seasons.

The gene, a micro-RNA called miR-132/212, is part of a mechanism in the brain’s central timekeeping system, known as the circadian clock, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This gene has also been previously implicated in mood disorders including depression.

“Not only does the circadian clock control an organism’s behavioural and physiological processes during the 24-hour day-night cycle, it also controls mechanisms that allow the body to adapt to variable day lengths associated with different seasons,” says Lucia Mendoza-Viveros, a PhD student in the laboratory of Hai-Ying Mary Cheng, an associate professor of biology at U of T Mississauga. “Until now, this mechanism wasn’t well understood.”

The findings appear on the cover of the April 2017 edition of Cell Reports.

The miR-132/212 gene that Mendoza-Viveros and her colleagues identified is a micro-RNA. It doesn’t create a protein as most genes do. Instead, it controls the expression of other proteins that help run the body’s central timekeeping system.

The researchers drew their conclusions by studying mice bred without the miR-132/212 gene. They observed that these knockout mice – so-called because the gene was deleted – adapted most easily to a winter light cycle that offered eight hours of daylight and 16 hours of darkness.

Next, the researchers turned to proteomics – the understanding of an organism’s protein make-up – to determine how miR-132/212 affected levels of different proteins in the central clock of the brain. The proteomics screen, which was performed in collaboration with the lab of Professor Daniel Figeys at the University of Ottawa, revealed that mice lacking miR-132/212 had defects in the expression of proteins that control the structure of neurons within the central clock.

When the researchers looked further, they found that neuronal structure was indeed different between mice that had the miR-132/212 gene compared to the ones that did not. These structural differences affected the ability of the knockout mice to respond properly to variations in seasonal cycles.

To confirm their findings, the researchers compared the mice that lacked the miR-132/212 gene with hamsters, mammals that are very responsive to seasonal changes. They suspected that hamsters, which hibernate in winter and are reproductively inactive and experience metabolic changes during that period, would experience changes in neuronal structure and show levels of gene expression similar to those in the knockout mice.

“This comparison told us that we were on the right track – that this gene helps shape the structure of the part of the brain that houses the central timekeeping system,” Mendoza-Viveros said. “It helps the body tell the difference between seasons.”

“When people study circadian rhythms, they usually look at the time of day, but a system in the same part of the brain keeps track of the time of year. By manipulating conditions, you can try to align the body’s schedule to the outside environment.” Cheng said. “Now that we know that miR-132/212 affects the ability of the brain to adapt to seasons, it would be really interesting to figure out whether its misexpression may also be linked to seasonal affective disorders, given its previous connections to depression.”

Fighting global diseases: U of T researchers tackle parasites

ullahnor — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 20:28:13 +0000

Fighting global diseases: U of T researchers tackle parasites

ullahnor Tue, 04/11/2017 - 16:28

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Researchers help identify anti-parasitic drugs by using C. elegans, a worm grown on a lab dish (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Jovana Drinjakovic

Author legacy

Jovana Drinjakovic

Topic

Andrew Fraser and Peter Roy lead research into identifying new drugs that can fight parasites infecting the gut, lungs and livers of two billion people globally – many of whom live in poor and marginalized communities.

The researchers, who are both professors in the department of molecular genetics, work with pharmaceutical companies to identify promising drugs.

“Drugs already exist for some parasite infections, but resistance is always evolving – we need new ways to attack these complex creatures,” says Fraser, who signed a deal last month to work with Janssen, a branch of the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.

“The best anthelmintic drug today, ivermectin, was developed in the 1970s as a partnership between an academic lab and a major pharmaceutical company. It’s a great cooperative model to help solve these huge global health problems.”

Roy says there is also a potential for the agriculture industry to play a role in developing new treatments.

“Most of the meat we eat has been treated with anthelmintics, drugs that kill parasitic worms,” says Roy. “If novel anthelmintics are shown to be useful for cows and sheep, then they might become therapies for humans.”

As their main research tool, the professors rely on a harmless type of worm widely used in labs called C. elegans. Unlike parasites, which cycle between living inside the body and outside, lab worms grow on a dish and are easy to work with.

But to mimic what is taking place in the body – many parasites live in places within the body with little oxygen – U of T PhD students Samantha Del Borrello and Margot Lautens found a way to trick the worm, C. elegans, which needs oxygen to survive, into behaving like a parasite.

“The way worms survive in low oxygen is extremely unusual, humans don’t use this process at all. That’s the key. It means that if we can target this unusual metabolic pathway, we should be able to kill the worms without having any impact on the human host,” says Fraser.

In Del Borrello's case, family history led her to researching parasites. Her grandmother's childhood in 1940s rural Italy was plagued by intestinal worms that ravaged her health to the point doctors thought she would die.

“It is crazy to think that I may not be here because of a parasite, and now here I am working on preventing the parasites from hurting people,” says Del Borrello.

Using a different strategy, Roy’s team has already uncovered a treasure trove of potential anti-parasitic compounds. Two years ago, postdoctoral researcher Andrew Burns was part of a team that uncovered 275 chemical compounds that killed C. elegans. These worm active compounds, dubbed wactives, were then tested on fish and human cells to identify which ones could potentially harm the host.

That team is now teasing apart how wactives work. A new study in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases describes how a compound called wact-86 works by blocking an important enzyme in the worm. The next step is to explore whether wactives can clear parasitic infections in larger animals.

Another potential avenue is to work with a pharmaceutical company from the start. To do this, Fraser is working with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), a Seattle-based non-profit that boosts research in neglected tropical diseases through partnerships between academic labs and the pharmaceutical industry. The organization, among other roles, helps academia and industry share reagents, says Ujwal Sheth, associate director at BVGH.

Last month, Fraser signed a deal with Janssen, granting his team rights to the company’s drug collection – a potential chemical gold mine with 80,000 diverse compounds. If they find a medicinally promising compound, Janssen could decide take it on, said Sheth. Or, the BVGH could help connect Fraser with other partners with capacity to develop new medicines, she added.

First Nation's community to U of T diabetes researcher: “Focus on the kids”

hjames — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 20:59:15 +0000

First Nation's community to U of T diabetes researcher: “Focus on the kids”

hjames Thu, 04/06/2017 - 16:59

Cutline

A study of Sandy Lake First Nation's children is shifting the focus of diabetes prevention to researching early-risk factors (photo by Vankuso via Flickr)

Hannah James

Author legacy

Hannah James

Topic

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

For the last two decades, Dr. Anthony Hanley has been collaborating with Sandy Lake First Nation as he researches Type 2 diabetes in Indigenous children under the age of seven.

Hanley – who has lived and worked in the remote fly-in community located in northwestern Ontario – says that historically nobody has been able to answer what the major risk factors are for Type 2 diabetes in young Indigenous people.

His research tracks children's health from before they're born – looking at their moms' nutritional and physical health – through the youngsters' development into elementary school, researching the role of both intrauterine factors and early life environments in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).

“It is well recognized that the onset of T2DM occurs earlier among Indigenous Canadians than in other populations,” said Hanley, an associate professor at U of T's Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Hanley is the lead investigator in the ongoing study, funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research. He works with local community members, including a registered practical nurse who carries out the day-to-day fieldwork.

His research is the latest phase in the Sandy Lake Health and Diabetes Project, which has been ongoing for 26 years. It began in 1991 when Sandy Lake’s chief and council approached U of T researchers to help them address the diabetes epidemic in their community.

Dr. Anthony Hanley has been working with Sandy Lake First Nation since 1993 (photo courtesy of ��߲ݴ�ý)

Last month, Hanley presented his early research findings at the “Diabetes and its Complications” International symposium at Mount Sinai Hospital, organized by the ��߲ݴ�ý-Université Paris Descartes.

Hanley said there are many factors affecting increased risk for diabetes amongst First Nations people: studies show low and high birth weights, and disordered infant growth trajectories are risk factors for obesity and Type 2 diabetes later in life.

One of his studies shows that breastfeeding for at least two months can cut the risk in half for diabetes for children aged 10 to 13 years old. Hanley says this is an issue that needs to be addressed through culturally appropriate programs.

At the recent symposium, Hanley told the audience that obesity interventions for Indigenous children need to be situated within the historical context of colonization and the inequities in the social determinants of health.

Loss of a hunter-gatherer way of life coupled with lack of access to healthy foods, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity have created many health problems for Indigenous communities today, Hanley said. Canada's recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission report talks about the legacy of residential schools and other programs of assimiliation that have cast a long shadow on the health status of Indigenous communities.

Sandy Lake is accessible by plane or boat, but during the winter, ice roads make it easier and cheaper to transport fresh food, helping to promote better eating habits (photo by Philipp Budka via Flickr)

Previous Sandy Lake studies have looked at complications from Type 2 diabetes in major organ systems like eyes, kidneys and the heart – complications that could be avoided by preventing diabetes in the first place.

“The community has always said to us, ‘It's too late for the adults. A lot of us have diabetes now, and we want you to focus on the kids and prevention programs,” said Hanley.

Based on the ongoing diabetes research, Sandy Lake First Nation now designs and runs its own prevention programs. Community members have implemented nutritional and physical education for kids, as well as sports programs and summer camps, he said.

“With a focus on young people, we are trying to understand what factors can prevent the onset of diabetes early on,” said Hanley.

Wellness

Standing too much at work can double your risk of heart disease: U of T expert

Prolonged standing at work doubles heart disease risk

Is my sit/stand desk harmful?

How can I reduce risk?

Housing crisis pushing people into rural areas with already stretched health services: U of T research

Read more about the research

Asthma: U of T expert says breathing problems are often under-tested and over-treated

Read the entire Doctors’ Notes column in the Toronto Star

Don't brood or wallow when feeling bad, U of T study says

Read more in The Washington Post

Lyme disease: U of T expert says don't let fear of tick bites keep you inside

Read the entire Doctors' Notes column in the Toronto Star

Time for some vitamin D? U of T researchers find lactose intolerance related to low vitamin D levels

Province at U of T to announce funds for mental health services in colleges and universities

Where to go for help:

See U of T's mental-health framework

Learn about services at the downtown Health & Wellness Centre

Learn about health and wellness services at U of T Scarborough

Learn about services at UTM's Health & Counseling Centre

A gene for adapting to changing seasons? U of T researchers have identified it

Fighting global diseases: U of T researchers tackle parasites

First Nation's community to U of T diabetes researcher: “Focus on the kids”