May is Hearing and Speech Month and Vision Health Month in Canada. The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) is an important scientific resource that includes data that can be used to examine the health and well-being of individuals from midlife to older age – including hearing, speech, and vision health.

As a national research platform on health and aging, the aim of the CLSA is to enable population-based research and evidenced-based decision-making that will lead to better health and well-being for all people living in Canada. The following projects and publications use CLSA data to explore important questions related to aging and hearing, speech, and/or vision health:

• The CLSA Baseline Report on Health and Aging in Canada includes a chapter on physical function, which highlights findings on self-reported vision and hearing in CLSA participants.

Approved Projects:

• Verbal fluency and cognitive functioning in the CLSA
  Dr. Vanessa Taler, University of Ottawa
• Predicting disease progression in age-related macular degeneration using genetic, retinal pathology biomarkers, demographic and environmental factors
  Dr. Parminder Raina, McMaster University
• Genomic investigations of hearing loss
  Dr. Britt Drögemöller, University of Manitoba
• Do genetic and social factors modify associations between sensory impairment and cognitive decline? An analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging
• Dr. Paul Mick, University of Saskatchewan
• The association between glycosylated hemoglobin and incident hearing loss in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging
  Dr. Paul Mick, University of Saskatchewan
• Cardiovascular risk factors and hearing impairment in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)
  Dr. Christy Costanian, Lebanese American University

• Developing a prediction model for dementia in the Canadian population: The role of hearing loss and sensory impairment
  Dr. Amy Hsu, Bruyère Research Institute

• The incidence of visual impairment, its risk factors, and its mobility and health consequences
  Dr. Ellen Freeman, University of Ottawa

• The prevalence of visual impairment, its risk factors, and its consequences in Canada
  Dr. Ellen Freeman, University of Ottawa

Publications:

• Grant A, Kergoat MJ, Freeman EE. Air pollution and the onset of balance problems: The Canadian longitudinal study on aging. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2023 Jan 17;248:114114. 
• Phillips NA, Isler L, Kabir R, Hämäläinen A, Wittich W, Pichora-Fuller MK, Mick P. Hearing and visual acuity predict cognitive function in adults aged 45-85 years: Findings from the baseline wave of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Psychol Aging. 2022 Nov 10. doi: 10.1037/pag0000716.
• Hämäläinen A, Pichora-Fuller MK, Wittich W, Phillips NA, Mick P. Self-report Measures of Hearing and Vision in Older Adults Participating in the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging are Explained by Behavioral Sensory Measures, Demographic, and Social Factors. Ear Hear. 2021 Mar 19.
• Grant A, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Kergoat MJ, Freeman EE. Visual Impairment, Eye Disease, and the 3-year Incidence of Depressive Symptoms: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2020 Sep 24:1-9.
• Mick P, Hämäläinen A, Kolisang L, Pichora-Fuller KM, Phillips N, Wittich W. The Prevalence of Hearing, Vision, and Dual Sensory Loss in Older Canadians: An Analysis of Data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement. Cambridge University Press; 2021 June;40(1):1–22.
• Ishigami Y, Jutai J, Kirkland S. Assistive device use among community-dwelling older adults: A profile of Canadians using hearing, vision, and mobility devices in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement. Cambridge University Press; 2021 Mar;40(1):23-38.
• Kahiel Z, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Kergoat MJ, Freeman EE. Incidence of visual impairment in Canada: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Can J Ophthalmol. 2021 Feb 17:S0008-4182(21)00036-3.
• Grant A, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Kergoat MJ, Freeman EE. Visual Impairment, Eye Disease, and the 3-year Incidence of Depressive Symptoms: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2021 Feb;28(1):77-85.
• Aljied R, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Freeman EE. Visual impairment and the use of formal and informal home care in Canada: the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Can J Ophthalmol. 2019 Jun;54(3):367-373.
• Vafaei A, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Kergoat MJ, Aljied R, Freeman EE. Interaction Between Visual Acuity and Peripheral Vascular Disease with Balance. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018 Oct;66(10):1934-1939.
• Aljied R, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Sabeti S, Freeman EE. Prevalence and determinants of visual impairment in Canada: cross-sectional data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Can J Ophthalmol. 2018 Jun;53(3):291-297.
• Aljied R, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Sabeti S, Freeman EE. Eye care utilization and its determinants in Canada. Can J Ophthalmol. 2018 Jun;53(3):298-304.

Webinars:

• Vision, eye disease, and the onset of balance problems: The CLSA presented by Dr. Ellen Freeman, University of Ottawa
• Seeing, hearing, and thinking: The cross-sectional relationship between sensory status and cognitive function in CLSA participants presented by Dr. Natalie Philips, Concordia University & Dr. Paul Mick, University of Saskatchewan
• Combined Vision and Hearing Loss in the CLSA: Prevalence, Severity and Relationships to Cognitive and Social Variables presented by Dr. Walter Wittich, University of Montreal
• Visual impairment and eye care utilization in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging presented by Dr. Ellen Freeman, University of Ottawa
• Hearing loss and healthy aging: The association between sensory and social measures in the CLSA Tracking cohort presented by Dr. Paul Mick, University of Saskatchewan & Dr. Kathy Pichora-Fuller, University of Toronto Mississauga

Media:

• Why it’s important to pay attention to your hearing on CBC’s The Current
• Research on Hearing and Aging in the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging by Dr. Kathy Pichora-Fuller on Speech-Language & Audiology Canada blog, Communiqué