Canadian Study of Health and Aging
The CSHA objectives were presented at several levels:
- Four core objectives addressed the prevalence, incidence and risk factors for dementia including Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, and the impact of dementia on family and other informal caregivers.
- Secondary objectives covered other health topics (such as cognitive impairment not dementia (CIND), disability, frailty and healthy aging) that could readily be addressed in the context of the study.
- In addition, participating investigators were encouraged to propose supplementary “add-on” studies of personal interest to them, and for which they could obtain separate funding.
- Finally, it was anticipated that the CSHA results would generate “spin-off” studies (such as linking to health services utilization records and to death records) that could be undertaken subsequently by team members under separate funding arrangements.
Overview
- Acronym
- CSHA
- Website
- CSHA
- Investigators
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- Contacts
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General Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Start - End Year
- 1991 - 2002
- General Information on Follow Up (profile, frequency)
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Participants were assessed at 5-yearly intervals: in 1991, 1996, and 2001.
- Recruitment Target
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- Individuals
- Other : Family caregivers for selected study participants
- Number of Participants
- 10,263
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 2,129
- Supplementary information about number of participants
-
There were 9008 community and 1255 institution residents; there were 1686 subject-caregiver pairs, including both community and institution participants with dementia plus a comparison group for each category.
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
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Marker Paper
Canadian Study of Health and Aging Working Group. Canadian study of health and aging: study methods and prevalence of dementia. CMAJ. 1994 Mar 15;150(6):899-913.
PUBMED 8131123Supplementary Information
McDowell I, Hill G, Lindsay J. An overview of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. Int Psychogeriatr. 2001;13 Supp 1:7-18. PMID: 11892976
The Canadian Study of Health and Aging. Patterns of caring for people with dementia in Canada. Can J Aging 1994;13:470-487.
The Canadian Study of Health and Aging Working Group. The incidence of dementia in Canada. Neurology 2000;55:66-73. PMID: 10891908
Lindsay J, Laurin D, Verreault R, Hébert R, Helliwell B, Hill GB, McDowell I. Risk factors for Alzheimer's disease: a prospective analysis from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:445-453. PMID: 12196314
The Canadian Study of Health and Aging Working Group. Patterns and health effects of caring for people with dementia: the impact of changing cognitive and residential status. Gerontol 2002;42:643-652.
Lindsay J, Sykes E, McDowell I, Verreault R, Laurin D. More than the epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease: contributions of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. Can J Psychiatry 2004;49:83-91. PMID: 15065741
Timeline
Populations
The population consists of a representative sample of people aged 65 and over on Oct. 1, 1990. Subjects were living at home (i.e., not in a long-stay institution) at some time during the recruitment phase of the study.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
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65
- Countries
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- Canada
- Canadian Provinces
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- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Health Status
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- Exclusion of participants with a life-threatening illness (e.g., a condition necessitating life support or terminal cancer)
- Other Criteria
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Subjects unable to complete a cognitive screening test because of conditions such as deafness, stroke, mental retardation or current illness did not complete the survey questionnaire but were included in the subsequent clinical examination.
Individuals were excluded if they were from the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Indian reserves and military units. - Supplementary Information about selection criteria
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Fluency in either English or French required.
Sources of Recruitment
- General Population
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- Selected sample
- Supplementary Information
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Participants were chosen randomly from Medicare lists in nine provinces or from the Enumeration Composite Record in Ontario.
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 9,008
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 2,129
- Supplementary information about number of participants
-
CSHA1: Interview (9008 participants), neuropsychological tests (1879 participants), clinical examination (2914 participants), self-completed risk factor questionnaire (6628 participants), proxy risk factor questionnaire (2560 participants).
Maintaining contact study: 8512 participants
CSHA2: Interview (5703 participants), neuropsychological tests (1399 participants), clinical examination (2305 participants), decedent dataset (2614 participants), institutional interview (1025 participants).
CSHA3: Inteview (3437 participants), neuropsychological tests (1476 participants), clinical examination (1322 participants), decedent dataset (1399 participants), institutional interview (284 participants).
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | CSHA - Community - CSHA1 |
|
|
1991 (February) | 1992 (May) |
| 1 | CSHA - Community - Maintaining contact study |
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1993 (June) | 1994 (February) | |
| 17 | CSHA - Community - CSHA2 |
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|
1996 | 1997 |
| 18 | CSHA - Community - CSHA3 |
|
|
2001 | 2002 |
The population consists of a representative sample of people aged 65 and over on Oct. 1, 1990. Subjects were living in nursing homes, chronic care facilities or collective dwellings such as convents.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
65
- Countries
-
- Canada
- Canadian Provinces
-
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Health Status
-
- Exclusion of participants with a life-threatening illness (e.g., a condition necessitating life support or terminal cancer)
- Other Criteria
- Individuals were excluded if they were from the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Indian reserves and military units.
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
-
Fluency in either English or French required.
Sources of Recruitment
- Specific Population
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-
Other specific population :
Participants were randomly selected from residents in random samples of institutions, stratified by size, in each region.
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Other specific population :
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 1,255
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | CSHA - Institution - CSHA1 |
|
|
1991 (February) | 1992 (May) |
| 1 | CSHA - Institution - Maintaining contact study |
|
1993 (June) | 1994 (February) | |
| 17 | CSHA - Institution - CSHA2 |
|
|
1996 | 1997 |
| 18 | CSHA - Institution - CSHA3 |
|
|
2001 | 2002 |
Population consists of caregivers of the participants in the CSHA community sample and the CSHA institutional sample.
Selection Criteria
- Countries
-
- Canada
- Canadian Provinces
-
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Other Criteria
- Individuals were excluded if they were from the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Indian reserves and military units.
Sources of Recruitment
- Specific Population
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- Other specific population : The analysis included informal caregivers of 327 community participants with dementia, a community comparison group of 481; 547 institution participants with dementia and an institution comparison group of 117. There were also 214 formal caregivers included in the first phase of the CSHA.
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 1,686
- Supplementary information about number of participants
-
CSHA1: 1686 participants
CSHA2: 1129 participants
CSHA3: 1050 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | CSHA - Caregivers - CSHA1 |
|
1991 (February) | 1992 (May) | |
| 1 | CSHA - Caregivers - CSHA2 |
|
1996 | 1997 | |
| 2 | CSHA - Caregivers - CSHA3 |
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2001 | 2002 |
Participating Studies
| Acronym | Name | Study design | Countries |
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Harmonization Initiatives Included
| Acronym | Name |
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Datasets
| Name | Data Collection Events | Variables |
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Areas of Information Collected
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Death
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Physical measures and assessments
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Laboratory measures
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Diseases
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Symptoms and signs
- Preschool, school and work life
- Medication and supplements
- Social environment and relationships
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Physical environment
- Health and community care services utilization
- Administrative information
Variables Content Summary
Areas of Information Collected
Areas of Information Collected per per Population and Data Collection Event
Networks
| Acronym | Name | Harmonization Initiatives | Individual Studies |
|---|