Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a devastating and costly neurological disorder that represents the 6th leading cause of death in North American adults and a serious economic burden on Canadian health care. There is no cure for AD but protective factors such as early life educational attainment and engagement in physical exercise (PE) or leisure activities (LA) later in life may delay the onset of cognitive decline in the years prior to diagnosis. Pending further study, these factors could represent valuable strategies for delaying AD onset and alleviating the burden of AD on Canada's aging population. The proposed program of research will examine the relative effects of LA and PE for ameliorating risk of AD and delaying loss of memory and other cognitive abilities during the dementia prodrome. These analyses will inform a subsequent investigation of the efficacy of PE and LA adjustments for strengthening the association between biomarker and neuropsychological risk profiles of AD. Taken together, these studies will evaluate the efficacy of late-life PE and LE for reducing risk, delaying onset and facilitating early detection of AD.