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.
- Start Year
- 1991
- End Year
- 2002
- Supplementary 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
Visit CSHA
| Investigators | Contacts |
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Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Follow Up
-
Participants were assessed at 5-yearly intervals: in 1991, 1996, and 2001.
- Supplementary Information
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 8131123
Recruitment
- Recruitment Target
-
- Individuals
- Other : Family caregivers for selected study participants
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 10,263
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 2,129
- Supplementary Information
-
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 |
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
-
65
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- Canada
- Territory
- Ethnic Origin
-
- Health Status
-
- Exclusion of participants with a life-threatening illness (e.g., a condition necessitating life support or terminal cancer)
- Other Criteria
-
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
- Fluency in either English or French required.
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- General population
- General Population
-
- Selected sample
- Supplementary Information
-
Participants were chosen randomly from Medicare lists in nine provinces or from the Enumeration Composite Record in Ontario.
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 9,008
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 2,129
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
-
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 | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
CSHA - Community - CSHA1
|
Community participants were interviewed in their homes (where the 3MS cognitive screening test was administered). The community interview collected also social and demographic ... |
1991-02 | 1992-05 |
| 1 |
CSHA - Community - Maintaining contact study
|
Telephone interview to update address records, to ask questions on current health and to record information on those who had died. |
1993-06 | 1994-02 |
| 17 |
CSHA - Community - CSHA2
|
Community participants were interviewed in their homes (where the 3MS cognitive screening test was administered). The community interview collected also social and demographic ... |
1996 | 1997 |
| 18 |
CSHA - Community - CSHA3
|
Community participants were interviewed in their homes (where the 3MS cognitive screening test was administered). The community interview collected also social and demographic ... |
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
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- Canada
- Territory
- Ethnic Origin
-
- 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.
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
-
Other specific population :
Participants were randomly selected from residents in random samples of institutions, stratified by size, in each region.
-
Other specific population :
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 1,255
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
CSHA - Institution - CSHA1
|
Community participants were interviewed in their homes (where the 3MS cognitive screening test was administered). The community interview collected also social and demographic ... |
1991-02 | 1992-05 |
| 1 |
CSHA - Institution - Maintaining contact study
|
Telephone interview to update address records, to ask questions on current health and to record information on those who had died. |
1993-06 | 1994-02 |
| 17 |
CSHA - Institution - CSHA2
|
Community participants were interviewed in their homes (where the 3MS cognitive screening test was administered). The community interview collected also social and demographic ... |
1996 | 1997 |
| 18 |
CSHA - Institution - CSHA3
|
Community participants were interviewed in their homes (where the 3MS cognitive screening test was administered). The community interview collected also social and demographic ... |
2001 | 2002 |
Population consists of caregivers of the participants in the CSHA community sample and the CSHA institutional sample.
Selection Criteria
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- Canada
- Territory
- Ethnic Origin
-
- Health Status
-
- Other Criteria
- Individuals were excluded if they were from the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Indian reserves and military units.
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
- 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.
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 1,686
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
-
CSHA1: 1686 participants
CSHA2: 1129 participants
CSHA3: 1050 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
CSHA - Caregivers - CSHA1
|
Face-to-face interviews were held with the caregiver of participants diagnosed with dementia and with caregivers (or the person who would act as caregiver if required) of a comparison group who ... |
1991-02 | 1992-05 |
| 1 |
CSHA - Caregivers - CSHA2
|
This was a follow-up interview for the cohort of caregivers who had been interviewed 5 years earlier in the baseline caregiver study: some were still providing care while others were not. ... |
1996 | 1997 |
| 2 |
CSHA - Caregivers - CSHA3
|
The third caregiver study compared three groups: caregivers of people with dementia, those with mild cognitive decline and others who were physically frail but cognitively normal. This was ... |
2001 | 2002 |
Classifications
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Diseases
- Symptoms and signs
- Medication and supplements
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Health and community care services utilization
- Death
- Physical measures and assessments
- Laboratory measures
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Preschool, school and work life
- Social environment and relationships
- Physical environment
- Administrative information
- Cognitive functioning
- Personality
- Psychological distress and emotions
- Other psychological measures and assessments
- Perception of health
- Quality of life
- Life course development
- Functional limitations
- Other perception of health, quality of life and functional limitation-related information
- Tobacco
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Nutrition
- Breastfeeding
- Physical activity
- Sleep
- Sexual behaviours and orientation
- Technological devices
- Misbehaviour and criminality
- Other and unspecified lifestyle information
Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Lifestyle and behaviours
Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
Diseases
Symptoms and signs
Medication and supplements
Non-pharmacological interventions
Health and community care services utilization
Death
Physical measures and assessments
Laboratory measures
Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
Preschool, school and work life
Social environment and relationships
Physical environment
Administrative information
Cognitive functioning
Psychological distress and emotions
Other psychological measures and assessments
Quality of life
Functional limitations
Alcohol