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Using OHS Data for Research

With 225,000 participants, the Ontario Health Study (OHS) is a rich resource for researchers investigating cancer and other chronic diseases. Researchers can now apply for access to de-identified data and biospecimens collected by the Study.
 

Approved OHS Research Applications 2012-2021

  • Applications using OHS data: 58*
  • Applications investigating cancer: 23
  • Applications requesting biosamples: 7
  • Datasets requested: 56
  • ICES data linkage required: 19
  • Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) linkage required: 8
  • Time to project approval (from a fully-complete application): ~60 days

*Includes 17 applications to use OHS data via CanPath

Here’s what you need to know about using OHS data for research:

  • Collaboration amongst researchers is strongly encouraged to maximize the access to and use of Study data and biosamples.
  • Access is time-limited and for approved analyses only.
  • Proposals will be accepted for access to:
    – Questionnaire data
    – Physical measures
    – Biorepository materials
  • OHS data can be linked with datasets through data custodians such as ICES and Cancer Care Ontario.
  • Only de-identified data and biosamples will be provided to investigators.
  • Exclusive access to any data and/or biosamples will not be permitted.
  • Researchers will not receive exclusive access to an analysis or question of interest.

Applications will be reviewed by our Data Access Committee who will consider:

  • Scientific merit of the research project
  • Potential impact on research participants
  • Appropriate use of limited resources

Latest Research Underway Using OHS Data

Diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes are the primary causes of death in Canadian adults and treating these and other illnesses costs the Canadian health care system billions of dollars annually. The researchers using Ontario Health Study data are investigating factors that increase the risk of developing various diseases, as well as what can be done to reduce the chance of developing them. These risk factors may include where people live and work, what they eat, how much they exercise, whether they smoke and other factors that have not yet been identified.

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PHD student using OHS data to look for early signs of cancer

Mar 3, 2023

Nicholas Cheng is using data to compare over 400 OHS participants who’ve experienced a cancer diagnosis, with matched cancer-free participants, to look for biomarkers in the blood that could be used to detect breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers several years before a traditional diagnosis. Hear what motivates this PHD student, as he reflects on his

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New funding available for research using OHS data

Aug 8, 2022

A new funding opportunity from the CIHR Institute of Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR) is available and provides up to $500,000 to use provincial data from the OHS, or to use pan-Canadian data from the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath). Up to $100,000 over one year will be awarded for a single grant. The goal of

Latest Research Findings Resulting from OHS Data

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Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative: Powering genetic discovery across human disease

Jan 16, 2023

The OHS contributed genotyping data from 7,500 consented participants to a groundbreaking global initiative to research the underlying biology of human disease and disease traits. As the largest contributor to CanPath, the OHS is the only Canadian study to be included in the Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative (GBMI), which to date involves genetic data from 2.2

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Smoking history associated with decreased heart inflammation in Clinically Manifest Cardiac Sarcoidosis patients

Nov 24, 2022

The causes of sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease diagnosed in an estimated 21,000 Canadians, remain unknown. A specific form affecting the heart, cardiac sarcoidosis (or CS), is considered especially serious, being responsible for roughly 85% of deaths from the disease despite accounting for only 5% of sarcoidosis cases. A group of researchers led by Dr. David