Linking genomics and health trajectories (LIGHT) for dementia research

Dementia is marked by a decline in the ability to think, remember and to live independently. The increasing number of people with dementia and the impact that has on our health system, economy and families is one of the major challenges facing Canada. By bringing together the detailed information collected in the CLSA and data from home care, long term care and hospitals this research project will help us to better understand dementia. The project will use the most sophisticated tools that we have to sort through this information so that we can figure out why some people get dementia and some do not, and why some people with dementia decline rapidly, some decline slowly and some seem to stay the same or even improve. The results from this project could be an important step in helping us to find ways to prevent and treat dementia.