Grant: CIHR/Regional Partnership Program/Operating Grants

For the past sixty years, the Manitoba Follow-up Study (MFUS) has documented the health and illness of 3,983 originally healthy young men through regular contact and routine medical examinations. MFUS members, living all across Canada, have also contributed data on smoking, physical activity, leisure activity, functioning and successful aging through mail-in questionnaires. In July 2008, there remained 849 study members, two thirds between 85 and 90 years of age. Some study members are living with debilitating chronic disease, while others enjoy healthy, active and productive lives. Gerontologists continue to attempt to understand the natural aging process by considering factors leading to "healthy" and "successful aging". To uncover not just if, but how and why, an individual might age successfully despite illness and adversity, requires a more encompassing model. The MFUS infrastructure is in place to explore "successful aging" of the Canadian male as a life-long process. MFUS continues to provide an unparalleled opportunity in Canada to support ongoing research in the aging process from early adulthood to death.