Broad and deep longitudinal analysis in neurodegenerative disease (BRAIN) – Identifying and predicting trajectories of decline in physical and cognitive function using data from Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (CLSA) linked to routinely collected health system data

Dementia is term used to describe progressive debilitating cognitive decline in individuals who previously had normal cognitive function. The toll of dementia in Canada and world-wide is enormous. This project will help to more clearly define the different types of dementia by looking over time at changes in cognition and other important aspects of health of Ontario participants in the CLSA. The project will link CLSA data from the baseline survey to data from the first follow up and, in those who consented, it will link the CLSA data to data on health care services routinely collected by CIHI from Ontario residents. The data will be analyzed in order to identify different trajectories of cognitive and functional decline in CLSA respondents and to examine the factors that predict different types of dementia and their health and healthcare consequence. The results of this study could help us to better plan for and perhaps prevent or delay dementia.