An Abbotsford dietitian is trying to unlock the secrets behind identifying and treating a disease which affects thousands of elderly people throughout Canada and millions more around the world.
Courtney Wedemire is a clinical dietitian at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and has become the latest recipient of the Michael Smith Health Research BC Health Professional-Investigator award.
This award comes with $450,000 distributed over the course of five years, allowing Wedemire to further her research into sarcopenia.
Having the financial support to further her research could have significant positive implications for countless people, said Wedemire.
“Research is important, research is another way of delivering health care,” Wedemire said.
“As clinicians, we are focused on delivering care to patients at the bedside, leaving little time to contribute to research and help improve outcomes for all patients, so I’m incredibly grateful to Michael Smith Health Research BC for this opportunity to further my research, and I hope it will have implications for patient care province-wide.”
The condition that she is researching is especially common amongst elderly individuals and is something that causes muscle loss and weakness.
According to the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, sarcopenia affects approximately 1.4 to 5.2 per cent of males over 65 years old and 1.6 to 7.2 per cent of females over 65 years old in Canada.
The specifics of Wedemire’s research into this disease will involve better methods of identifying and addressing early muscle loss, including the effects of malnutrition on current treatment methods.
“This award gives me the time and capacity to grow my research program and answer questions that matter to patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit,” she said.
As a dietitian, Wedemire knows better than most the danger that malnutrition poses, especially among the older population, who are already more vulnerable to most diseases and health conditions.
Due to a long list of factors, Canadians over the age of 65 are frequently undernourished, with a 2009 national report revealing that more than a third of Canadians in this age bracket were at risk of malnourishment.
By researching the effects of malnutrition on conditions like sarcopenia, Wedemire can work toward developing methods that will improve the quality of life for current and future patients dealing with muscle weakness issues.