Bio:

I have a background in medicine, public health nutrition, and health economics, and have been trained as an epidemiologist in evidence-based medicine and environmental health. My postdoctoral research focuses on diet, environmental exposures, and their associations with chronic disease among Canadians, including Indigenous people. I am familiar with most of the health-related national representative Canadian databases, including the linked database between census, dietary and environmental factors, and administrative data, e.g. discharge abstract data and vital statistics.

Research Project:

Mercury exposure, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and mortality
Selenium’s protective effect on stroke
Chinese dietary pattern and health
Global selenium biomarker database

Publications:

Hu XF, Chan HM. Seafood consumption and its contribution to nutrients intake among canadians in 2004 and 2015. Nutrients 2021;13:1–11. doi:10.3390/nu13010077

Chan HM, Hu XF, Cheung JS, et al. Cohort profile: Health effects monitoring programme in Ndil?, Dettah and Yellowknife (YKHEMP). BMJ Open 2020;10:1–9. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038507

Cheung JSJ, Hu XF, Parajuli RP, et al. Health risk assessment of arsenic exposure among the residents in Ndilǫ, Dettah, and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2020;230:113623. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113623

Feng L, Zhang C, Liu H, et al. Impact of low-level mercury exposure on intelligence quotient in children via rice consumption. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2020;202:110870. doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110870

Hu XF, Stranges S, Chan LHM, et al. Circulating Selenium Concentration Is Inversely Associated With the Prevalence of Stroke: Results From the Canadian Health Measures Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. J Am Heart Assoc 2019;8:e012290. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.012290

Juric A, Singh K, Hu XF, et al. Exposure to triclosan among the Canadian population: Results of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2009–2013). Environ Int 2019;123:29–38. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2018.11.029

Kenny T, Hu XF, Jamieson JA, et al. Potential impact of restricted caribou (Rangifer tarandus) consumption on anemia prevalence among Inuit adults in northern Canada. BMC Nutr 2019;5.

Hu XF, Chan HM. Factors associated with the blood and urinary selenium concentrations in the Canadian population: Results of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007–2011). Int J Hyg Environ Health 2018;221:1023–31. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.07.001

Hu XF, Kenny T, Chan HM. Inuit Country Food Diet Pattern Is Associated with Lower Risk of Coronary Heart Disease. J Acad Nutr Diet 2018;118:1237–48. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2018.02.004

Hu XF, Singh K, Chan HM. Mercury Exposure , Blood Pressure , and Hypertension : A Systematic Review and Dose – response Meta-analysis. Enviromental Heal Perspect 2018;126:076002.https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2863

Hu XF, Singh K, Kenny TA, et al. Prevalence of heart attack and stroke and associated risk factors among Inuit in Canada: A comparison with the general Canadian population. Int J Hyg Environ Health Published Online First: 2018. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.12.003

Marushka L, Hu X, Batal M, et al. The Relationship between Persistent Organic Pollutants Exposure and Type 2 Diabetes among First Nations in Ontario and Manitoba , Canada : A Difference in Difference Analysis. Int J Environ Reserch Public Heal 2018;15:539. doi:10.3390/ijerph15030539

Hu XF, Han X, Yang Z, et al. The impact of broadened diagnostic criteria on the prevalence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes mellitus in China. Chinese J Prev Med 2017;51:369–77.

Hu XF, Sharin T, Chan MH. Dietary and blood selenium are inversely associated with the prevalence of stroke among Inuit in Canada. J Trace Elem Med Biol 2017;44:322–30. doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2017.09.007

Hu XF, Young K, Chan HM. Estimating cardiovascular disease incidence from prevalence: a spreadsheet based model. BMC Med Res Methodol Published Online First: 2017. doi:10.1186/s12874-016-0288-y

Hu XF, Laird BD, Chan HM. Mercury diminishes the cardiovascular protective effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the modern diet of Inuit in Canada. Environ Res 2017;152:470–7. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2016.06.001

Yang Z, Liu L, Mao C, et al. Chemotherapy with cetuximab versus chemotherapy alone for chemotherapy-naive advanced non-small cell lung cancer ( Review ) SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FOR THE MAIN COMPARISON. Cochrane Database Syst Rev Published Online First: 2014. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009948.pub2.www.cochranelibrary.com

Zhong B, Liu T, Chiu HF, et al. Prevalence of psychological symptoms in contemporary Chinese rural-to-urban migrant workers: an exploratory meta-analysis of observational studies using the SCL-90-R. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2013;48:1569–81. doi:10.1007/s00127-013-0672-4

Mao C, Yang Z, Hu X, et al. PIK3CA exon 20 mutations as a potential biomarker for resistance to anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies in KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Oncol 2012;23:1518–25. doi:10.1093/annonc/mdr464

Yang Z, Shen W, Hu X, et al. EGFR gene copy number as a predictive biomarker for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies: a meta-analysis. J Hematol Oncol 2012;5:52. doi:10.1186/1756-8722-5-52

Hu X, Li Y, Wang J, et al. Safety assessment of hemp seed oil and its antioxidant function in serum. (In Chinese). Chinese J Food Hyg 2008;20:388–92.

Li Y, Yang R, Hu X, et al. Initial study of Hemp seeds protein on antifatigue and the immunomodulation effects in mice. (In Chinese). J Hyg Res 2008;37:175–8.

Yang R, Pei X, Zhang Z, et al. Study on the Radioprotective Effect of Marine Protein Peptide Combined with or without Ganoderma lucidum Polysaccharides. (In Chinese). Food Ferment Ind 2008;5:1–5.

Book Chapters:

Hu XF & Chan HM. (2020) Selenium and human health. In: Prasad A. and Brewer G. (eds.): Micronutrients in Human Health. Elsevier.

Hu XF & Tang JL. (2016) How to understand an article on economic analysis of clinical practice. In: Tang JL, Glasziou P. (eds.): Essentials in Evidence-based Medicine (2nd Edition). Beijing: Peking University Medical Press, pp. 208-220.