It's being called one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted on aging.

The Research Institute of the MUHC has begun the Montreal component of a Canadian longitudinal study.

Authorities often refer to it as the silver tsunami; it's estimated the aging of the Canadian and Quebec populations will be a public health challenge in the coming decades.

It's believed one in five Canadians will be over 65 by 2025, and that Quebec will be one of the oldest societies in the western world within three decades.

One of the study's principal researchers is Dr. Christina Wolfson.

She says the goal is to gather comprehensive data from baby boomers to the older generation in a bid to respond to the challenges to the health care system and to society in general.

"It's something we need to be prepared for and I think that the signs are there that there is going to be this wave of aging, if you wanna draw the analogy to this tsunami. We need to be prepared to figure out how to manage this", says Dr. Wolfson.

She adds we're not aging the way our parents did.