NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Dehcho Region

Tags: contaminants, mercury, food, nutrition

Objective(s): To promote country foods in the Dehcho Region in a way that balances contaminant risks and nutrient benefits in order to maximize nutrient status while minimizing mercury exposure.

Project Description: The overall objective of this research is to promote country foods in the Dehcho Region in a way that balances contaminant risks and nutrient benefits in order to maximize nutrient status while minimizing mercury exposure. The research team will work towards this objective through the implementation of research that will consist of the biomonitoring study to evaluate country food usage patterns, contaminant exposure profiles and nutritional biomarkers of participating communities. This will allow for the creation of a public health screening tool that will be used to characterize those most at risk of facing elevated contaminant exposures in the Dehcho Region. The research team will travel to the Dehcho Region to implement sample and data collection in Jean Marie River First Nation, NT. Blood and hair sampling is projected to begin in each participating community in November 2015. To facilitate the blood/hair sampling, the research team will coordinate with each band office for rental of space in each participating community for 2-3 days. The Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority (DHSSA) agreed to support this biomonitoring project (which will measure whole blood metals, hair Hg, and nutritional biomarkers) by making nurses available for blood sample collection. In consultation with community partners, a local research coordinator will be in each participating community to assist with participant recruitment. All community members will be eligible to participate regardless of age, sex, family, parity status or other characteristics. Before participating in the project, each participant will be required to read an information letter before signing an informed consent. Importantly, each participant would be provided the choice to only take part in the project components in which they are interested. For example, one individual may choose to provide dietary information and hair but not provide blood. In addition to blood and hair sampling, each participant will be asked to complete two dietary surveys. For the first survey, participants will be asked to detail what they have eaten over the prior 24 hours. This 24-hr recall will also be used to generate the portion size information necessary to estimate nutrient and contaminant intakes for the second dietary survey, a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). For the FFQ, participants will be asked to use an iPad app, QuickTapSurvey (www.quicktapsurvey.com), to document their country food use over the previous year. The sample will be distributed to specific project members to undergo chemical analysis. Hair samples will undergo analysis for total mercury in the laboratory of Michael Power in the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo. Blood samples will be analyzed at the Université de Montréal by a team member in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Lastly, the fatty acid composition of whole blood will be determined by a team member at the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo. In consultation with the communities, the research team will have a local research coordinator from the community to oversee participant recruitment and provide translation and assistance to participants in the completion of the dietary surveys and sample collection. Additionally, the research team hope to have an additional 1-2 community members to provide additional assistance to participants completing the electronic dietary surveys. After completion of the data/sample collection, the research team will consider having a community member to assist the Master of Public Health practicum student in the production, review, and translation of results booklets or other materials being generated from the results. Each study participant that provided a hair and/or blood sample will receive by mail a confidential, plain-language letter detailing their contaminant exposure levels. The letters will compare their blood mercury, cadmium and lead levels to the average levels of other Canadian populations, and relevant biomonitoring trigger guidelines. The individual results follow-up letters, which will be designed in consultation with the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority, will emphasize the general healthfulness and importance of country foods. In parallel with the individual reporting, the research team will form a Scientific Advisory Committee to guide the knowledge translation of the community-level results via: a) the creation of plain-language community reports and b) hosting public forums in the participating community. These community-level reports would only include aggregate data and could not be used to identify the results of any one individual. Furthermore, in the second and third year, the research will aim to create a screening tool to identify individuals within the Northwest Territories who are most at risk of contaminant exposure. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from November 10, 2015 to December 31, 2015.