Winnipeg: A thousand participants and counting
On Sept. 12, he became the 1,000th participant to visit the Winnipeg Data Collection Site of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). The site is located at Deer Lodge Centre.
“It’s nice that enough people are interested in [studies] like this to help future generations,” Waywood said. “I was interested when I read the brochure and I felt that I could contribute to the study.”
The CLSA data collection site is overseen by the University of Manitoba’s Centre on Aging and is part of the national project, which will follow 50,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 85 for at least 20 years.
CLSA participants complete telephone interviews or in-home interviews and visits to data collection sites, where they take part in physical assessments such as cognitive and hearing tests, blood tests, and a bone density scan.
The study provides a unique opportunity to examine the aging process and the factors that shape healthy aging. By collecting information on the changing biological, medical, psychological, social, lifestyle and economic aspects of people’s lives as they age, the study can identify factors that can be used to develop interventions to improve the health of Canadians.
This past August, another study milestone was reached when the 30,000th participant was recruited into the CLSA Canada-wide.
For Verena Menec, director of the Centre on Aging, this is a significant step forward.
“It’s tremendous to see that so many Canadians are interested in the study and are willing to give their time to participate. Without them, the study wouldn’t be possible,” she said.
