Boomers and beyond
“We won’t age and adapt in the same ways our parents did, so we need complete data to help us make decisions regarding social policies, clinical care and health services,” said Dr. Christina Wolfson, co-principal investigator of the CLSA, researcher at the RI MUHC, and professor at UUֱ’s Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health. “The vast scope of the CLSA will provide us with the data we need.”
CLSA researchers across the country will follow 50,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 85 for a 20-year period. This long-term national study will investigate factors that play a role in maintaining both health and quality of life as people age. The researchers will collect information on the changing biological, medical, psychological, social, lifestyle and economic aspects of people’s lives.
“The CLSA is not just a study, but a research platform that will be used by researchers for decades to come thanks to the range of information that will be gathered and analyzed,” said Yves Joanette, Scientific Director at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aging.
“Today’s announcement of the Montreal component of the CLSA is a reminder of the positive role that the right combination of world-class researchers and state-of-the-art equipment can have on the lives of Canadians” said Dr. Gilles Patry, President and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation. “We are proud to be able to support Dr. Wolfson and her team as they pursue their research as part of this comprehensive national study on aging.”
Funding
The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging is a strategic initiative of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Support for the study has been provided by the Government of Canada through the CIHR and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
Research partners
Data collection will take place at 11 sites throughout Canada: University of British Columbia; Simon Fraser University; University of Victoria; University of Calgary; University of Manitoba; University of Ottawa/Bruyère Continuing Care; McMaster University; Université de Sherbrooke; UUֱ/Research Institute of the UUֱ Health Centre; Dalhousie University and Memorial University.
Useful links
• Research Institute of the MUHC: muhc.ca/research
• UUֱ Health Centre (MUHC): muhc.ca
• UUֱ: mcgill.ca
• Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA): clsa-elcv.ca