Back to Top

What’s New With the OHS?

Since 2010, the Ontario Health Study (OHS) has been working hard to build a platform for chronic disease research. Working together with the research community and Ontarians across the province we are now following the health of about 225,000 people and have collected more than 40,000 blood samples. We’re building a database of health information and a biobank so researchers can better understand the link between genetics, lifestyle and environment—and the role they play in our health.

In this section, you’ll find information about the various Study activities and upcoming initiatives.

Blood tubes in the laboratory centrifuge

What’s behind a cancer diagnosis in women under 50? Researcher looks to OHS data for clues

Feb 3, 2020 // Study Updates

A University of Calgary epidemiologist is using data from Ontario Health Study (OHS) participants to explore how environmental or lifestyle factors could be associated with breast cancer in younger women. Dr. Darren Brenner recently gained approval to study the de-identified data for female participants who were ages 35 to 50 and cancer-free at the time they

News Image

More than 30,000 shared their work story

Jan 9, 2020 // Study Updates

Researchers will have richer data to work with now that more than 30,000 provided their work story to the Ontario Health Study. A big thank you to those that took time to contribute to the Work History Questionnaire by December 1, 2019. Here’s some of the early numbers: 67 – The percentage of participants that

News Image

LifeLabs Cyberattack and the OHS

Dec 18, 2019 // Study Updates

LifeLabs Medical Laboratories is a former service provider to the Ontario Health Study. The OHS learned on December 17, 2019 that LifeLabs had sustained a large cyberattack on its computer systems. Approximately 28,000 blood samples were collected by LifeLabs on behalf of OHS between fall 2012 and March 2017. The blood sample requisition form that

News Image