Investigators: Dr Emily Banks, Dr Karen Canfell, A/Prof Dianne O’Connell, A/Prof Freddy Sitas (CI), Mr David Smith, Dr Marianne Weber. Significant structural changes to the Australian population are predicted for the near future such that the number of people aged over 65 will increase by around 50% in the next 10-15 years. In terms of health, these changes will carry a significant increase in the social and financial burden to the Australian public and the issue of ‘healthy aging’ will be a prominent concern. Cancer risk generally increases with age, with almost one third of all cancers diagnosed in NSW occurring in individuals over 75 years. Thus, the focus on older individuals in the 45 and Up Study cohort is particularly suited to examining potential risk factors for cancer. This projects aims to use the first (and subsequent) baseline surveys of the 45 and Up Study for cross-sectional analysis of variables pertinent to risk factors for cancer. The proposed cross-sectional analysis will underpin cancer research using the cohort in the future by providing baseline descriptive data and informing hypothesis generation, protocol development, sample size calculations, grant applications, and future study and analysis directions.