Social factors and cognition in the Canadian aging sexual minority populations

The aging population is projected to reach 25% of the population by 2036 in Canada. The proposed research aims to provide deeper insights into the role of inequality and social support on older lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and their wellbeing in Canada by comparing how these factors influence the level of cognitive function compared to their heterosexual counterparts. This research will use the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging data, which is a Canadian population-based survey designed to gather longitudinal health data on a representative sample of Canadians aged 45-86 years. The proposed study will use these data to examine the relationship between stress due to sexual minority status and cognitive function as measured by various tests. The results from this study can lead to building positive outcomes for aging sexual minority adults.