Grant: Catalyst Grant: Population and Public Health

This pilot study is to prepare field work for a population study on elderly people living in Quebec (Canada), Santa Cruz (Brazil) and Bandjoon (Cameroon), to assess the effects of social stress on function and frailty and to examine if pathways of stress are different in women and men living in three scenarios: Brazil, Cameroon and Canada . These three geographical settings differ in multiple aspects. Regarding life expectancy, Canadian populations have a life expectancy of 82 for women and 77 for men, 10 years more than their Brazilians counterparts (72 yrs for women and 64 yrs for men); and more than 30 years than the African population (47 yrs for women and 45 for men). The knowledge generated by this international research will address why women face increase likelihood of disability and frailty as they age while men have higher probability of dying from less disabling and more lethal conditions. The overall aim of this pilot study is to assess feasibility and to prepare the three research teams for the conduct of the main population study. This pilot study, therefore, will include development of protocols and manual of procedures for measurement of biological samples and physical measures and assessments of validity and reliability of the measurement tools . A total of 192 subjects, 64 subjects at each site, will participate in this research. We will ask them to answer to questions on living conditions, self-reported health and physical function and we will take their anthropometric measures, blood pressure, physical and cognitive function measures, additional frailty markers and salivary cortisol. Reliability and agreement between self-reported and objective measures of function will be assessed. The pilot study will strengthen the collaboration among research teams and local communities to facilitate knowledge transfer of research results. Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows will be involved at all stages of the project.