Victoria Longitudinal Study (VLS)

Sample details

VLS investigates human ageing in a cohort of participants based in western Canada. Participants aged 55 to 85 were recruited from Victoria and Edmonton in western Canada for VLS 1 in 1986, VLS 2 in 1992, and VLS 3 in 2001. At baseline, VLS 1 had over 480 participants, VLS 2 had over 500 participants, and VLS 3 had over 530 participants. Participants in each sample were followed up in 4-year intervals with 9, 7 and 4 waves of data collection in VLS 1, VLS 2 and VLS 3, respectively.

Study design
Cohort

Number of participants at first data collection

484 (VLS 1)

530 (VLS 2)

535 (VLS 3)

Age at first data collection

55 - 85 years (VLS 1)

55 - 85 years (VLS 2)

55 - 85 years (VLS 3)

Participant year of birth

Varied (VLS 1)

Varied (VLS 2)

Varied (VLS 3)

Participant sex
All

Representative sample at baseline?
No

Sample features

Middle-aged people

Older and elderly people

Dataset details

Country

Canada

Year of first data collection

1986 (VLS 1)

1992 (VLS 2)

2001 (VLS 3)

Primary Institutions

University of Alberta

University of Victoria (UVic)

Links

sites.ualberta.ca/~vlslab/index.html

maelstrom-research.org/study/vls

neurodegenerationresearch.eu/cohort/the-victoria-longitudinal-study/

Profile paper DOI

doi.org/10.1080/13825580490511161

Funders

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Alberta Health Services (AHS)

Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR)

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR, Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada, IRSC)

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Ongoing?
Yes

Data types collected

Quantitative data collection

Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
Interview – face-to-face
Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)

Qualitative data collection