Canadian Health Measures Survey

Canadian Health Measures Survey
Name	Canadian Health Measures Survey
Country	Canada
Administered by	Statistics Canada; Health Canada
Established	2007
Frequency	Continuous (multi-cycle)
Sample size	Approximately 5,000–6,000 per cycle
Topics	Biomonitoring, physical measures, chronic disease, nutrition

Canadian Health Measures Survey

The Canadian Health Measures Survey provides nationally representative direct physical measurements and biomonitoring data for the population of Canada. It combines household interviews with mobile examination clinics to obtain objective indicators of health linked to sociodemographic data, informing public health research, surveillance, and policy in Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver, and other regional centres. The program is administered by Statistics Canada in partnership with Health Canada and engages multidisciplinary teams from institutions such as the Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial health ministries.

Overview

The CHMS collects physical measurements, blood and urine specimens, and interview data to produce population estimates for biomarkers, anthropometry, fitness, and environmental exposures across age groups in Canada. Each survey cycle yields nationally representative datasets used by researchers at institutions including University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, and public-health agencies such as the Canadian Institute for Health Information and the Public Health Agency of Canada. Field operations are conducted in mobile examination clinics visiting metropolitan areas and rural regions, linking to census frames from Statistics Canada and enumeration areas defined by the 2011 Canadian census and subsequent censuses.

History and Development

Launched in 2007, the program followed international biomonitoring initiatives like the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (United States) and was shaped by stakeholders including Health Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and academic partners at McMaster University and Université de Montréal. Early cycles established protocols for standardized anthropometry, pulmonary function, and biochemical assays, with laboratory work performed at accredited facilities aligned with international reference standards such as those from the World Health Organization and the International Organization for Standardization. Subsequent cycles expanded analyte panels and adapted sampling strategies in response to findings and recommendations from advisory bodies including panels convened by Statistics Canada and external expert committees.

Methodology

Sampling uses a multi-stage cluster strategy drawing from the Canadian census enumeration areas to select households and participants aged 3 to 79 (varies by cycle), employing stratification by province and metropolitan area. Trained teams conduct household interviews and operate mobile examination clinics equipped for venipuncture, spirometry, accelerometry, and bone densitometry; biospecimens are analyzed using methods traceable to standards from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and international proficiency schemes. Quality assurance involves calibration protocols, blinded controls, and inter-laboratory comparisons with reference laboratories such as those affiliated with Health Canada and provincial public-health laboratories. Weighting and variance estimation use complex survey methods grounded in design variables from Statistics Canada to produce population-representative estimates.

Key Findings and Trends

Analyses of CHMS data have documented trends in biomarkers of exposure, nutrition, and chronic disease risk factors, informing literature at institutions including Dalhousie University, Simon Fraser University, McGill University Health Centre, and policy analyses by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Results have shown shifts in population-level prevalence of obesity from anthropometric measures, changes in smoking-related biomarkers following tobacco-control measures influenced by Tobacco Act (Canada), and temporal trends in environmental chemicals such as phthalates and persistent organic pollutants linked to regulatory actions by Environment and Climate Change Canada. CHMS data have supported publications on vitamin D status, blood lead reductions after public-health interventions, and national estimates of undiagnosed diabetes informed by glycated hemoglobin measures.

Data Access and Use

Microdata and public-use files are disseminated by Statistics Canada under confidentiality controls, with researchers from universities such as Queen's University and University of Calgary applying through secure research data centres and affiliated network sites. Custom tabulations and analytical products have been produced for federal departments like Health Canada and for provincial ministries of health in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. Data linkage projects have required approvals from provincial data custodians and ethics boards at institutions such as University of Ottawa and Université Laval and adhere to access frameworks used by the Canadian Research Data Centre Network.

Impact and Policy Applications

CHMS evidence has informed regulatory and programmatic decisions by agencies including Health Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, guiding interventions such as revisions to drinking-water standards, chemical risk-assessment priorities, and national nutrition initiatives influenced by the Food and Drugs Act (Canada). The survey has underpinned monitoring frameworks in federal strategy documents and supported evaluations by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and provincial health authorities, contributing to surveillance on chronic conditions, environmental exposures, and population nutritional status used by policy-makers and academic researchers.

Category:Health surveys in Canada Category:Statistics Canada