Research Spotlight
The long-term, population-based research study, led by Dr. Meghann Lloyd, Faculty of Health Sciences at Ontario Tech University, is revolutionary in demonstrating an important relationship between inclusive physical activity and the rate of depression.
The study, which uses statistical modelling of Special Olympics registration data and administrative health records data held at ICES, divided subjects into two categories: those who had participated in Special Olympics and those who had not. Depression diagnosis rates among those in each group were calculated and compared over the 20-year period to reveal significant results:
Special Olympics
participants were
49% less likely
to develop depression
compared to non-participants.
Across the period of
up to 20 years,
the risk of depression was
9.49 per 1,000
person years
in Special Olympics Participants
compared to
19.98 per 1,000
person years
for non-participants.
Age, sex,
type of community
(rural vs urban),
affluence,
and morbidity
of individuals
did not influence the
outcome of the study.
Research Programs
Find out more about Special Olympics related Research Programs in Canada
Research Community
Find out more about the Network of Researchers working with Special Olympics in Canada
Results and Publications
Publications and results from Special Olympics Research Programs in Canada.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
DR. FRANK J. HAYDEN
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS RESEARCH
Research is at the heart of the Special Olympics movement and it began with the work of Dr. Frank J. Hayden at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto.
Click below to find out more about Dr. Hayden and the work that started a worldwide movement