Massive health survey recruiting Manitobans for long-term research

07/05/2019

An national study researching the long-term health of Canadians is looking for the help of a few good Manitobans.

Well, a few thousand Manitobans, actually.

Researchers in Manitoba have joined the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project, a study aiming to answer key questions about what causes cancer and other chronic disease by following the health of hundreds of thousands of Canadians over the span of decades.

The project, the largest of its kind ever started in Canada, already has more than 300,000 people taking part across the country, and researchers want to add another 10,000 from Manitoba.

“This is Manitoba’s chance to contribute and to compare our results with what’s happening in other populations across Canada,” said Cancer Care Manitoba epidemiologist Dr. Donna Turner, the scientific lead on the local arm of the study, called the Manitoba Tomorrow Project.

“We’re actually thinking about disease as an epidemic, we look at the patterns of disease … and then we try to figure out what’s going on. Why is it that some people are getting cancer and some people aren’t? Why are cancer rates rising?”

The national study kicked off in 2008 and volunteers are already taking part in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

Those volunteering for the study fill out a survey about their current health status and give researchers their measurements including weight and height. If they choose to, volunteers can also give a blood and urine sample to help researchers better understand what’s happening at the cellular level.

Then, every few years, volunteers will be asked to come back for follow-up tests and surveys.

Turner said the health of volunteers will be monitored for the next 50 years.

Because of the sheer size of the study, Turner said researchers hope to get a better idea about what causes chronic diseases and cancer and how to prevent them.

“In the long term that’ll be good for (the volunteers) and their families – but also will have a good impact for the healthcare system and society in general,” she said.

“We can see that cancer is a disease that’s associated with aging, and we can’t stop people from aging … but what we can do is help people to age more healthily.”

Turner said around 700 Manitobans have signed up since the project got started here in January.

Researchers are looking for volunteers between the ages of 35 and 69 with no personal history of cancer.

Anyone interested in taking part can sign up by calling 1-855-588-0658 or checking out the Manitoba Tomorrow Project website.

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