Exploring the association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cognitive functioning decline in senior Canadians

With the aging of the Canadian population, the burden of certain chronic diseases such as cognitive impairment and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) play increasingly significant roles. Cognitive functioning decline causes a person to have trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions and it has no effective treatment. Scientists are searching for potential causes of cognitive decline that can be modified or managed to help improve the outcomes of the disease. Meanwhile, COPD causes a person to have difficulty breathing, but it can be treated. In recent years, several research studies point to a potential link between these two conditions. However, the results of these studies are inconclusive. This research project aims to examine the association between COPD and cognitive functioning decline among individuals who are 65 years or older in Canada using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Baseline and the Follow-up 1 data.