Russell de Souza
Where you live in Canada may play a role in your risk of major diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, according to a new study, part of the PHRI-led Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM), led by Dr. Sonia Anand, senior scientist of PHRI. Her fellow CAHHM member, Dr. Russell De Souza, research associate at PHRI, and assistant professor at McMaster University Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact.
De Souza said the research was driven by concern about health trends in the nation. “The rapid increase of overweight and obese Canadians and the associated consequences, including hypertension and diabetes, is a major health problem and threatens to halt the declines in cardiovascular disease deaths that Canada has experienced in the past 30 years,” said de Souza.
“Knowledge gaps exist regarding the impact of the built environment – or the human-made physical surroundings – on how someone develops risk factors like high blood pressure, and the variation of these built environments across Canada by region and rurality.”
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Read the (open access) article, Development of an on-line interactive map to display environmental health assessments of Canadian communities: knowledge-translation to support collaborations for health, in the Cities & Health Journal, Dec. 2018.
