Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

There are more than 500,000 Canadians living with dementia, and by 2031, that number is expected to increase by 66 percent. This burden on our healthcare system is unsustainable, and there is an urgent need for effective solutions that will allow seniors to maintain cognitive integrity and continue to live independently for longer, limiting the number of care transitions. Cognitive decline encompasses difficulty remembering, learning new things, concentrating or making decisions in everyday life. While some amount of age-related cognitive decline is normal and expected, higher amounts of cognitive decline is considered pathological (termed mild cognitive impairment [MCI]) and may lead to dementia. There is currently minimal understanding of the factors that may lead from MCI to dementia. Although risk factors have been identified (including genetic, psychological and social), it is unclear how they might interact. The proposed study seeks to further characterize individuals with MCI by examining interactions among risk factors. We will use data from UK Biobank. We will examine data from two time points, baseline assessment and follow-up 5-7 years later. We will examine cognitive function, level of physical activity at baseline, level of social support at baseline, and genetic risk status. We expect that individuals who report high levels of physical activity and social support at baseline will be less likely to show decreased cognitive function at follow-up. Furthermore, we predict that those with high genetic risk will benefit less from high levels of physical activity and social support. This study will help to elucidate how risk factors interact and contribute to MCI progression, which will help to inform public health interventions and policies.