TORONTO — Everyone in Ontario is being invited to participate in what's being billed as the largest health study of its kind ever conducted in the province.

The study is aimed at investigating factors that increase the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, asthma, diabetes and other common diseases.

Anyone in Ontario over 18 years old can enrol by filling out a questionnaire about their medical history, lifestyle and diet at ontariohealthstudy.ca.

In the next phase of the study some volunteers will be asked to provide more detailed lifestyle and diet data and information about health indicators including lung and cardiovascular function, eye disease and mental health.

It is hoped the study will shed light on how environment, lifestyle, behaviour and genetics interact and why, for example, depression is closely linked with heart disease.

The study is being funded by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Cancer Care Ontario, the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.